Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Mark Parre is busy passing on his skills and knowledge to the next generation because, after nearly 30 years with the Shire of Denmark, retirement looms.

In 1993, Mark began work at the Shire as team leader for a group of workers contracted to create a nursery and seed bank.

Originally only a six-month contract, Mark was retained to plant the trees that he and his team had propagated.

“At that time the Shire was closing down many of the tip sites and gravel pits that were scattered through the area and revegetation of these sites was sorely needed,” he said.

“Things just grew from there.”

As the Shire’s revegetation officer, Mark has been involved in the planting of more than 700,000 native seedlings and worked with more than 500 volunteers.

He considers himself lucky to have had volunteer help from Greenskills, Worklink and the Southern Aboriginal Corporation, and local schools have lent a hand.

In the past decade, the majority of volunteers have come from the WA College of Agriculture Denmark creating a great relationship between Mark and the College.

Born on a large property south of the Stirling Range, Mark grew up exploring the large areas of native bush where he lived.

He saw it as a wonderland, a place of discovery and it was there that his interest in native plants began.

“While I’d been interested in native plants well before working at the Shire I’d never actually been employed in this kind of role,” Mark said.

“I did have a Certificate II in Horticulture and I later got involved in running a bush care course but it wasn’t until much later that I got my Diploma in Conservation and Land Management.”

And while working mostly on his own and developing his own programs to achieve the Shire’s revegetation goals, Mark realised the importance of accountability.

“Every day I would write notes in a little diary about what I did, where I went and things about my job that were worthy of recording,” he said.

“I now have 29 of those little diaries and they have stood me in good stead.

“When the Shire asked for facts and figures I could just refer back to my notes.

“Being diligent, transparent and accountable, and able to show results helped me retain this job year after year. I’ve always had wonderful support from the Shire councillors and for the work I do.”

A current project is to photograph and document the impact of the recent bushfire on one of Mark’s first revegetation sites.

The aim is to see what plants survived, what new plants appear as a result of natural germination and what the impact is on every plant’s worst enemy – weeds.

After joining Mark on his field visits, Terran Ablett, 23, now assists in all aspects of his work.

Terran, who has volunteered with Mark on and off since he was 14, will take over when Mark retires early next year.

“Terran has already done his Certificate IV in Conservation and Land Management but more importantly he has the interest and passion to carry the job forward,” Mark said.

“It’s important for me to let go of some of the responsibility this role entails and I plan to still be close by after I retire but as a volunteer instead.”

Mark said the highlight of his long career had simply been being able to do what he does.

“The work is the greatest reward and when I revisit a site I planted up years before and see the diversity of flora and fauna it really makes my heart sing.”

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 7 April 2022.