A message of thanks from Mr Matthew Jackson, Chief Executive Office, Parks Victoria.
Today, 5 December 2020 we celebrate International Volunteer Day with the appropriately themed message ‘Together We Can Through Volunteering’. This year more than any other, it has shone a spotlight on the power of volunteers in Australia and around the world. I would like to thank you for your commitment to volunteering with Parks Victoria. Your patience while we navigated extraordinary situations has been appreciated.
For most of 2020, we have had to review many of the activities we carry out – spending many months doing the right thing to keep us all safe. This has meant working from home, limiting our movements and while we have kept most parks open and continued to maintain all the parks, some were temporarily closed and volunteer activities paused.
Although volunteers’ time in parks and waterways has been limited, through the ‘Insights into nature’ webinar series, 902 volunteers connected over eight webinars covering topics like land management practices and volunteer engagement. Thank you for being flexible and utilising online options to connect.
When it has been safe to do so, volunteers across the Parks Victoria estate contributed an incredible 204,950 volunteering hours this year providing invaluable support to nature conservation, protection and park maintenance.
We are excited to continue to support, grow and diversify volunteering as we move into 2021 with many new initiatives and valued partnerships.
Together we are supporting nature’s future every day.
Once again thank you and stay safe over the holiday period.
Regards,
Matthew Jackson
Chief Executive Officer
