Students of the Active Citizen Program at the Rotary Peace Precinct (L-R) Trudy Richardson (Parkes), Ty Jones (Forbes), Baiden Forster (Forbes), Kiara Harris (Condobolin), Jayden Pope (Parkes), Charlie Oraha (Parkes), Kevin Read (Aboriginal liaison officer), Billie O’Bryan (Condobolin), Kaiden Atkinson (Condobolin), Senior Constable Daniel Greef (Youth Officer), Jake Smith (Forbes) and Sarah Williams (Forbes Shire Council youth officer).
A morning of spring planting saw 150 native plants added to the Rotary Peace Precinct in Parkes last Thursday.
The eager planters included nine indigenous students who are part of this year’s Active Citizen Program run by the NSW Police Force’s Central West District. They were assisted by Parkes Shire Council employees and guided by Ken Engsmyr of the Parkes Rotary Club.
“Today is about working with Rotary, learning about ways in which people can give back to the community,” said Senior Constable Daniel Greef. “What they did here is a practical example and the precinct links in well with reconciliation, and its link with Wiradjuri culture.”
For Parkes student Trudy Richardson it was an amazing experience. “It was a great opportunity to find out what Rotary does for the Parkes community. I will always be reminded of today, every time I come to this park.”
Ken talked to the students about the Wiradjuri art on display in the park, situated on the corner of Bushman and East streets. The three indigenous artists involved in the project were Sean Cassidy, Sauce Towney and Scott Turnbull.
The students, who are from Parkes, Forbes and Condobolin, were treated to a traditional Rotary sausage sandwich lunch after their hard work.
By Maggi Barnard