By Casey Neill
A group of green crusaders shared this year’s Ken McIntosh Memorial Award on Australia Day.
The Yarra Ranges Council award for the Young Environmental Achiever of the Year went to the Platypus Ambassador Group, which features more than 20 members aged from eight to 12 years old.
It started in 2017 after young people wanted to help protect the environment and the platypus.
Guided by the Platypus Education Group, they have volunteered at festivals and events, educating the community on the threats platypuses face and what they can do to protect them and their environment.
They’ve created posters for schools and businesses, collected more than 2000 pieces of litter in the Belgrave area in the past two years, filling 25 bags, and planted almost 500 trees along the Monbulk Creek to enhance and protect platypus habitat.
“These ambassadors have shown an inspirational drive to protect the platypus, with each volunteering more than 50 hours of their time and actively engaging with the group,” their award citation said.
“Their advocacy encourages people of all ages to take notice and act.”
They played a key role in encouraging the State Government’s opera house net ban from 1 July this year.
Ambassador Liam, from Mount Waverley said he joined to help protect the platypus, and was proud the group had played a role in the opera house net ban.
“Sometimes we do a bit of water quality testing,” he said.
Fellow ambassador Boudica, from Sassafras, joined: “Because I like to help the environment and because we learnt a lot about recycling and reusing.”
Charlotte, from Mitcham, said the group had helped her to discover new things in nature she’d never seen before.
She also now knows how to check water health.
Holly, from Tecoma, said she’d learnt “that you should never just leave junk around the streets”.
“At some point it will go into rivers, lakes and oceans and cut off life supply,” she said.
Aiden, from Sassafras, joined because his parents suggested it but found it interesting.
“It’s not like lectures. You actually get to do something,” he said.
Robbie, from Gembrook, told the Mail the group had made possum boxes and sugar glider boxes, and had made a visit to Toolangi.
“We got to see what forests look like when they’ve been logged and when they haven’t and the problems with logging,” he said.
