The Year 6 kids at Albert Park School had a visit from some of the NSW Shadow Minsters last week, as part of Lismore MP Janelle Saffin’s information gathering tour. 

Ms Saffin said Shadow Ministers Kate Washington (Environment and Rural Health and Paul Sculley (Minister for Resources) were on a tour to see how the portfolios of environment and resources could work together. 

Part of their visit was to see the riparian restoration works on the Wilsons River – done as part of the Richmond Landcare’s Wilsons River Schools Education Project.

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The goal was for the Ministers to gather on-the-ground feedback from local landcare groups, and the seven local schools involved - including the children from Albert Park School.

Alongside the ministers, the children planted trees on the Wilson’s River Landcare restoration project (near the Keen Street baseball fields) and spoke to the politicians, telling them about was happening.

“It was really lovely – the kids really engaged with them and talked about their project and how they feel about it,” Ms Saffin said.

“The project is now eight years old and so the year six students have been able to see the development of the trees over time.

“It’s gone from being from a messy degraded riverbank, to one that looks good and functions well in a flood zone, binding the riverbank together.

“The Ministers said the project showed the importance of landcare as the perfect model of cooperation, so that community and schools can work together look after and restore the land and the river.”

“Its value is understated.”

Earlier in the day, Ms Saffin had taken the Ministers to visit a Hurfords sustainable forestry farm operation.

“It is also good model of how forest farms and logging can be done,” Ms Saffin said.

“Hurfords utilise cell grazing models with cattle – and get rid of bell miners and log on a rotation model.”