The programme, supported by a Government grant of $3.5 million, is part of the Jobs for Nature scheme launched in the 2020 Budget to boost employment and protect and enhance the environment while accelerating the recovery from the economic impact of Covid-19.
Environment Minister David Parker at the Bay Conservation Alliance cadet programme launch at Oropi Memorial Hall. Photo / George Novak
Environment Minister David Parker was at the Ōropi Community Hall to welcome the cadets, along with several community leaders including Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder, Western Bay of Plenty deputy mayor John Scrimgeour and Rob McGowan, an authority on conservation and rongoā Māori (traditional Māori medicine).
Gregory told the Bay of Plenty Times he was keen to get started and the hands-on work and learning in local estuaries and forests would have him "right in my element".
He had been a car audio installer all his life but lost his job post-lockdown. He had dabbled in conservation work as a keen fisherman and hunter, so jumped at the opportunity to join the programme.
Te Puke man Levi Pouwhare had just finished an environmental diploma at Toi Ohomai when he saw the programme pop up on Facebook.
He said he wanted to "give it a go" because he wanted to give back to his iwi Tapuika and work within iwi projects.
A number of people turned out for the launch. Photo / George Novak
Another cadet, German-born Tauranga resident Anna Wentsch, had been volunteering for environmental groups in the city for two years when she was told about the "amazing and life-changing" opportunity.
She said being given the chance to upskill like this was a "blessing" because she had been looking in vain for a paid job in conservation for a long time.
The qualifications and certificates she would earn, including outdoor first aid and utility licensing, would make her a far better candidate for jobs at the end of the programme, she said.
The cadets will work with 29 environmental experts to learn and complete a range of different conservation work over the next 13 weeks.
Chair of the Bay Conservation Alliance Julian Fitter called the cadets "pioneers" and told them they were in for a "lifetime job" in saving the environment.
"Conservation work is not like rocket science, it's a lot more complicated. The natural world is far more complex."
He said jobs in conservation were "meaningless" without understanding and training and that was what made this programme so important.
Parker said the Jobs for Nature programme would create 5000 roles nationally in the coming years but could not say exactly how many would be based in the Bay of Plenty alone.
Environment Minister David Parker at the Bay Conservation Alliance cadet programme launch at Oropi Memorial Hall. Photo / George Novak
Restoring lost wetlands, helping the region's biodiversity that was under threat and reversing environmental damage was far more important than "just building roads", he said.
Department of Conservation iwi representative and former Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital co-chairman Carlton Bidois said environmental work had been "under-resourced for decades" and it was now more important than ever to "fix what we've done".
Department of Conservation iwi representative Carlton Bidois spoke at the event. Photo / George Novak
He said a programme that centred around sustainability and took people back to nature could be nothing but rewarding for the region.
Further intakes into the programme would come later this year.
