A band of Curtin green thumbs will tend to Cohunu Koala Park as part of the 11th annual John Curtin Weekend which enters its second week on Saturday.
Third-year Chemical Engineering student Melissa Gilbert will drive the 10 volunteers in a minibus to the park, located in Byford 45 minutes drive south of Perth.
“We’ve got a number of international students who may not have seen koalas and kangaroos before,” Ms Gilbert said.
“It’s only a day trip which makes it easier for a lot of people who have a lot of work to do the week after.”
Grooming the park’s miniature horses, landscaping the koala enclosure and tree planting are on the agenda for the day.
Ms Gilbert said gardening would not be the only skill picked up by the Curtin Volunteers! team.
“The trip is a really good way for the students who haven’t volunteered before to ramp up their volunteering and get into it.”
Curtin’s Student and Community Development Coordinator Maureen Meredith said the impact of John Curtin Weekend on local communities eclipsed even the experience gained by volunteers.
“Because of the falling populations in a lot of the areas visited, the local communities just can’t keep up with all of the jobs that need doing,” Ms Meredith said.
“The volunteers, come in, do the job and go.
“It’s just like Backyard Blitz.”
