Knee Deep in Conservation

07 June 2008

    Employees get their hands dirty for World Environment DayMore than 50 Rio Tinto employees and their families pitched in to help Conservation Volunteers Australia with some very important conservation work at Elderfield Park in Perth recently.

Joined by the City of South Perth's Mayor, and his team of primary school sustainability champions, volunteers rolled up their sleeves and pulled on their gumboots to celebrate World Environment Day.

More than 3000 trees were planted along the city foreshore, which Community Investor Senior Advisor Laurie Ball says goes towards preserving wildlife.

"The trees give the birds a better breeding habitat and water quality is improved by planting rushes and nutrient stripping sedge along the waterway," says Laurie.

"Not only was the activity important from an environmental perspective, but it was a great opportunity for employees from across our Western Australian businesses to come together, roll up their sleeves and get involved."

The planting day followed another recent CVA project in Karijini National Park where volunteers worked alongside Environment Minister David Templeman to remove noxious weeds to reduce the risk of bushfires.

CVA currently has a $1 million partnership with the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund, which sees volunteers contribute their time to conservation projects around the State.

In 2007 alone, volunteers revegetated more than 7 million square metres of bushland and collected two tonnes of rubbish from parks in Perth and the North West.

If you're interested in learning more about CVA and the volunteering opportunities available, visit www.cva.org.au.