Lake Macquarie Landcare and Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre featured among 12 winners at the 2016 National Landcare Awards, which took place last night at the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre.
Burrumbuttock’s Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre picked up the Yates Junior Landcare Team Award ahead of seven other impressive finalists from across the country, for its Creative Catchment Kids program which includes 60 schools Murray and Riverina schools.
Junior Landcarer Charlie Doig was proud and happy to have won.
“It’s so good, I’m really happy because it will probably promote more people to go to Wirraminena Environmental Centre to learn more about the environment,” Charlie said.
Lake Macquarie Landcare is taking home the Australian Government Partnerships with Landcare Award for its work building successful working partnerships between its dedicated volunteers and Lake Macquarie Council. Lake Macquarie Landcare is the largest network of Landcare groups in NSW and works with almost 300 volunteer groups.
Lake Macquarie Landcare Network chairwomen Carmel Brown was delighted to have won.
“Landcare is based on volunteers, so to get recognised for volunteering is awesome. We only have one planet, and we care deeply,” she said.
“It means so much to the Landcarers to have that back-up from council, to know there’s a team of experts there that can help us with the heavy stuff.”
Landcare Australia chief executive, Tessa Jakszewicz, commended the National Landcare Award winners on their outstanding achievements.
“It’s an honour to be able to present these awards to champions within the Landcare community,” Ms Jakszewicz said.
This biennial event allows us time to get together and celebrate all that we have achieved, and enables us to learn from each other’s successes and failures. The hard work of Landcarers all across Australia deserves recognition and praise.”
Winners across nine diverse categories from sustainable farm practices, to Junior Landcare, and Indigenous land management, were announced at the National Landcare Awards last night, which was hosted by ABC Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis and attended by Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Luke Hartsuyker, who presented the prestigious Bob Hawke Landcare Award.
The awards are a key part of the National Landcare Conference, which finishes today and hosted more than 600 Landcarers from across the country in Melbourne as Victoria celebrated 30 years of Landcare.
Kim Chappell
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
