The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is calling on Central Coast women to help protect national parks and threatened wildlife.
With 125 new roles on offer across the state, women are especially being encouraged to join at the frontline to break down the misconception that field roles are too physically demanding for women to consider.
NPWS Hunter Central Coast Director, Kylie Yeend, said the service was excited to encourage more women to apply for roles across a range of levels, supporting equal opportunity and diversity in the workplace.
“There’s no reason field roles with NPWS should be male-dominated – if you love teamwork, problem solving, the outdoors and are willing to learn, we want to hear from you,” Yeend said.
“Our Field Officers are out in the national parks every single day, maintaining and improving visitor facilities, roads, fire trails, camping areas, historic sites and recreational facilities.”
“They’re involved in pest and weed control and play a critical role in hazard reduction works and wildfire response.”
Tyne Hamilton, who grew up at Ettalong, joined the NPWS as part of the Field Officer Traineeship Program in February 2015.
During her traineeship, she was supported by the service to complete a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management at the University of Newcastle, spent three years as a Field Officer based at Bucketty Depot before moving into the NPWS Enhanced Bushfire Mitigation Program at Lake Munmorah where she helped to maintain asset protection zones and prepare areas for hazard reduction burns.
She is now employed full-time as a Technical Officer as part of NPWS’ Enhanced Bushfire Mitigation Program and is a trained and certified remote area firefighter.
“It’s hard to summarise what a Field Officer does in a day in a single sentence because the role is so diverse,” Hamilton said.
“We maintain walking tracks, build new visitor facilities, conduct hazard reduction burns, undertake pest eradication programs, weld broken gates, care for and protect indigenous sites and respond to wild fires.
“I love my job because I get to work outside every day in the most incredible locations and I’ve had the opportunity to learn some really interesting and unexpected new skills.
“The work can be physically demanding but it is so rewarding to be able to fix things and ensure special places are protected for our future generations.
“A lot of people think field work is only for big, burly men – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s not about your technical skills or your physical strength – it’s about your willingness to learn.”
Applications are invited until July 6 from people of all genders and many of the roles are targeted for employment of Aboriginal people.
The recruitment is supported by $22.9M in funding committed by the NSW Government as an interim budget boost ahead of the next bushfire season.
Source:
Media release Jun 22 and media statement, Jun 30
National Parks and Wildlife Service