What can two young men from Brisbane do with an orange van? Restore dignity, and start conversations.

These two young men are Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, whom in 2014 set out to make the first ever mobile laundry service for the homeless – launched under the banner of Orange Sky Laundry. 

For their work with Orange Sky Laundry, Lucas and Nic were named the 2016 Young Australian’s of the Year. Watershed Landcare is pleased to be bringing Nic and Lucas to Mudgee, as the keynote speakers for our annual Green Day event.

Orange Sky Laundry has grown to a fleet of nine vans in nine cities across Australia, these vans are manned by hundreds of volunteers. In addition to providing clean clothes for the homeless, Orange Sky provides an opportunity for connection between volunteers and customers. 

This week saw Nic and Lucas take on a new venture with the launch of Orange Sky Showers – a mobile shower facility, built into the back of an Orange Sky van.

Nic and Lucas will join a host of other presenters at next week's Green Day, where 600 year five and six students from 16 schools in the Mid-Western Regional Council area will explore this year’s theme ‘Healthy Environment, Healthy Community’.

Green Day will be held on Thursday September 1 at the Mudgee Showground.

Watershed Landcare is always looking for volunteers to help with set-up and pack-down, and ensuring that everything runs smoothly on the day. If you have some spare time to help out on August 31 or September 1 – we’d love to hear from you.

Following the official Green Day festivities, Watershed Landcare will be hosting a meet and mingle with Lucas and Nic at Mudgee Showground from 2:20pm in the main pavilion. If you’d like to come along and meet Nic and Lucas please RSVP to Claudia Wythes at 0412 011 064 or claudia.wythes@watershedlandcare.com.au

If you would like to know more about Green Day, or to get involved, you can contact Vivien Howard on 0488 224 025. This event is supported by Watershed Landcare and is part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.