CANBERRANS are asked to help ACT Rural Fire Service Brigades keep our community safe by buying a Wattle Day badge during the next two weeks in support of National Wattle Day on 1 September 2014.

The ACT Volunteer Bushfire Brigades Association (VBA) has again joined forces with the Wattle Day Association (WDA) to sell Wattle Day badges.

“ACTRFS volunteer firefighters will be out in force over the next two weeks selling Wattle Day badges at major shopping centres and other locations to raise funds on behalf of the VBA which represents volunteer firefighters here in Canberra. The badges will sell for $3 each,” VBA President Ian Harding said.

“Volunteer rural fire brigades and the Wattle are Australian icons and are a perfect fit to help promote the meaning of Wattle Day.

“Wattle is Australia’s national floral emblem; National Wattle Day is a day to celebrate Australia and being Australian, and the volunteers in our local rural fire brigades show the best of the Australian spirit.

“The simple message for the day is ‘Celebrate an Aussie icon and help an Aussie mate’.

“In recent years more than $15,000 has been raised from badge sales, enabling the purchase of defibrillators for all ACTRFS volunteer brigade Command vehicles and other support for brigade training activities.”

[“Acacia pycnantha Golden Wattle” by Melburnian – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.]