Natasha Kennedy
Environmental Officer
Natasha was the first Indigenous Environmental Officer to be employed by VicRoads. She works in VicRoads Western Region and is based out of Ballarat. Working within a large region provides plenty of opportunities to balance time in the office with time out in the field.
The role of an Environmental Officer is variable. A few of the activities they undertake include managing hazardous vegetation, cultural heritage management, pest plant and animal management, threatened species management, erosion management, restoration of degraded sites, and working with stakeholders to achieve positive environmental outcomes.
While many tasks an Environmental Officer undertakes may seem to contain the same elements, for example tree removal, the locations of the works are always different.
Every site has its own unique factors which affect the outcome of any project, making every day a new challenge.
Natasha’s passion is for Cultural Heritage Management. She conducts desktop and field inspections to determine if works will affect cultural heritage, and provides advice to her workmates on the correct processes to follow. She liaises closely with the indigenous communities within her region. Natasha also promotes cross cultural awareness to her workmates. Photos used in the profile are courtesy of Barengi Gadjin Land Council.
Vic Roads
VicRoads is the registered business name of the Roads Corporation, a statutory Corporation within the Victorian Government infrastructure portfolio. The infrastructure portfolio comes under the responsibility of the Minister for Roads and Ports.
Our purpose is to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to communities throughout Victoria by managing the 22,320 km of Victoria’s arterial road network and its use as an integral part of the overall transport system; to implement road safety strategies and programs; and to provide vehicle registration and driver licensing services.
<!--EndFragment-->