Clean Beaches
Cr Pat Chigwidden and Brian Doman - City of Victor Harbor
South Australia was represented by Victor Harbor in November 2016 at the Keep Australia Beautiful National Clean Beaches. The event was held in conjunction with the National Sustainable Cities awards in Frankston, Victoria and representatives from KESAB and the City of Victor Harbor were in attendance. The city of Frankston hosted a full day for awards finalists, starting with a tour of Frankston and its winning sustainability projects, followed by workshops designed to inspire and creatively engage with sustainability issues and finally a tour of the state of the art headquarters of South East Water. The event concluded at a Cocktail reception, hosted by Catriona Rowntree.
| Category | Clean Beaches Winner |
|---|---|
| Overall Winner | West Beach VIC |
| Special Commendation | Victor Harbor SA |
| Dame Phyllis Frost Litter Prevention, Waste Management and Resource Recovery | West Beach VIC |
| Environmental Sustainability | Cemetery Beach WA |
| Environmental Education | Narooma Beach NSW |
| Community Action and Wellbeing | Dover Beach TAS |
| Heritage and Culture | Victor Harbor SA |
| Young Legends | Gio Fitzpatrick West Beach VIC Georgia Poyner Narooma NSW |
Judges Comments
“Victor Harbor’s abundant natural beauty is just the start of what this great place has to offer.” – Averil Bones, Clean Beaches Judge.
“Work to improve Victor Harbor’s main street and access to foreshore areas, and the manner in which Council have partnered with community to realise a new vision for their town centre demonstrates a real care for place, history, inclusion and community. Relationships between Council, resource managers and volunteers like Victor Harbor Coast Care deliver tangible improvements to foreshore areas, including rubbish and weed removal, track maintenance, and substantial replanting of native vegetation. The outstanding efforts of the Victor Harbor Scouts who manage 12 can and bottle bins in the CBD, and fund community projects with collected refunds, should also be acknowledged”.
Tidy Towns (Sustainable Communities)
Barmera, represented South Australia in the Keep Australia Beautiful National Tidy Towns (KESAB Sustainable Communities) Awards, held in Triabunna, Tasmania in May 2017.
Judging was undertaken in April, and Jill Grant (National Judge) had the opportunity to meet students at Barmera Primary School, tour the Barmera Men’s Shed, visit the delightful foreshore area of Lake Bonney, enhanced with the Barmera Playspace and Anzac Memorial Centenary Cross.
Barmera
Council staff outlined many of the infrastructure projects in town and highlighted initiatives such as hard waste disposal and the Barmera Meru committee.
At the national event, representatives from KESAB, Berri Barmera Council, Barmera Primary School and the Barmera community had the opportunity to see initiatives and hear presentations from this year’s finalists and from previous winner Triabunna, enjoy a trip to Maria Island, culminating with an Awards Dinner with very special guests, Keep Australia Beautiful Patron, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Her Excellency Lady Cosgrove.
Barmera were announced as the Overall Winner and hold the title of Australia’s Tidiest Town 2017.
Barmera Representatives - Greg Perry, Helen Morgan, Mayor Peter Hunt, Cr Mike Fuller, Robert Drogemuller and David Beaton
| Category | Winner | Commendation |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Winner | Barmera SA | |
| Dame Phyllis Frost Litter Prevention, Waste Management and Resource Recovery | Barmera SA | Maitland NSW Areyonga (Utju) NT Greenbushes WA |
| Environmental Sustainability | Barmera SA | Horsham VIC Greenbushes WA |
| Environmental Education | Barmera SA Horsham VIC | Areyonga (Utju) NT Greenbushes WA |
| Community Action and Wellbeing | Stanley TAS Greenbushes WA | Areyonga (Utju) NT Barmera SA |
| Heritage and Culture | Stanley TAS | Maitland NSW Areyonga (Utju) NT |
| Young Legends | Barmera SA | Horsham VIC Greenbushes WA |
Judges Comments
“There is a strong emphasis in Barmera on community engagement of all age groups and keeping morale high through some challenging times when prolonged drought has threatened livelihoods and habitats throughout the region.”
“Local job creation that capitalises on local assets and emerging opportunities such as solar farm development and new value added industries based around local produce and tourism events, is yielding success and a variety of opportunities that will help young people stay in the region and also provide resilience in the community.”