Green Line Grooves
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Green Line Grooves

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Willmore is understated about it, but the Foundation’s work is invaluable. In high risk areas, where wildlife is threatened by poaching or in war-torn zones, park rangers face life or death situations every day. In fact, over 1,000 park rangers have been slaughtered in the last ten years. The situation is unfathomable for a lot of us who lead pretty comfortable lives.

These are folks without the benefit of workers’ comp and rigorous OHS laws. Government support is meager, training is inadequate, the pay is bugger all and equipment, even basic provisions like boots and mosquito nets, are thin on the ground. Often, the park ranger is the sole-breadwinner and there’s nothing coming for the widow or kids left behind. That’s pretty dire right? Well it was, until the Thin Green Line took up its important work.

The Foundation’s remit is laudable and ambitious. It aims to “protect nature’s protectors”, but it’s almost an overwhelming amount of work. “Our biggest challenge at the moment is that there’s so much need for funds,” laments Willmore. “We’ve got 900 widows waiting for support, but you can only deal with one piece of the puzzle at a time. People can make a positive contribution, though. If you want to support conservation you can do it for less than the cost of half a tank of petrol and listen to music of this caliber.”

So, where did this all start? Willmore studied environmental science at uni, which is where his perception of what he wanted to do changed a bit. “I decided I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab,” he laughs. “I wanted to be on the front line. That’s what it came down to – a choice between the lab or a park.”

After working for several years as a park ranger, Willmore became aware of a desperate need. He was at an international park ranger congress when a colleague from the Congo put up a picture of 30 park rangers. Six faces were circled. Tragically, they were the only survivors of the group. At that moment, Willmore decided to act.

“It was pretty simple, I just wanted to raise awareness of what was going on and support the rangers. The initial idea was to personally interview rangers and film stories about the dangers, even though I didn’t know how to film anything.”

He mortgaged his house, sold his car and spent the next 14 months travelling the world filming park rangers and documenting their experiences. The result was the simultaneous launch of The Thin Green Line – Documentary and the Foundation in 2007. The documentary makes for compelling and at times harrowing viewing. What about the music though?

“Music’s always been such big part of what we do. Nicky [Bomba] and Wally [De Backer] have been involved nearly from the start. In fact, Nicky played at the premier and this’ll be the third time that Tex [Perkins] has played. Then each year since 2007, we’ve had an event with a keynote band”.

As per past years, this year’s event coincides with World Ranger Day. Bomba, Melbourne Ska Orchestra’s fast-talking, charismatic frontman is pretty enthused. In fact, the “super group” was his idea.

“I was talking to Sean about what we should do to hit it off and I thought, ‘Why not get the ambassadors to do a gig’? We’ve never played together before – only little jams. What I think it will be and what it turns out to be are probably going to be two very different things, but what I can say is that it’s going to be rootsy and organic. I’m really looking forward the collaboration.”

Bomba makes his involvement with the Foundation sound like an absolute no-brainer. “I always wanted to be a park ranger when I was at school,” he laughs. “Way before I was involved with music, that’s what I wanted to do. So, when the Foundation was in its inception and Sean discussed it with me, of course I became associated with it.

“I live in the bush too. I just didn’t realise before then that it’s a life or death situation for park rangers. It’s such a great cause – being able to support the families. It really creates some good.”

As for Wally De Backer, aka Gotye, he and Willmore go way back. In fact, Willmore jokes that De Backer “had no choice” about becoming involved. It doesn’t sound like his arm was twisted too hard, though. He’s just as passionate as everybody else about the Foundation and underscores its importance.

“I’m an ambassador for Thin Green Line, so when there’s a chance to do something musical that can raise funds and awareness I like to do it,” he reflects. “The work that rangers do, especially in high-risk areas of conservation, is critical for the continued biodiversity of our planet, something important for the future of all life on the planet. Hence the Thin Green Line’s work, and a concert like this to support their work, are significant.”

Willmore concurs. “Come to the gig, bring some friends and get them to bring some friends,” he smiles. “It’s an opportunity to make a difference for something you believe in.”

BY MEG CRAWFORD