DUBBO in central western NSW is a big winner in the Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards for 2012, due to its works in preserving native fish on the Macquarie River, through the Lake Burrendong Classic catch and release event.
The award acknowledges the winner in its respective population category (25,000 +) for the highly competitive NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, Wildlife Corridors & Habitats Conservation Award.
The Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards is the largest practical environmental program for regional NSW. The program celebrates the real, innovative and sustainable efforts of participating rural NSW communities.
NSW Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage, Robyn Parker MP, said the quality of the projects in the Wildlife Corridors and Habitats category was outstanding.
“As the most heavily populated area of the country, NSW faces unique challenges and these awards show we have a strong sense of responsibility for our natural environment and the native animals whose future depends on it.
“It’s with real pride we see wildlife protection and conservation strategies being integrated into town planning, development and farming practices across NSW. The winning cities, towns and villages across rural and regional NSW have delivered important projects that will have long lasting, positive impacts on local ecology and biodiversity.
“Much of this work has been performed by groups of dedicated volunteers with support from local government and non-government and state agencies such as the Office of Environment and Heritage. Without their input and tireless efforts many of these projects could not have been realised,” Ms Parker said.
Bernie Murphy, Acting CEO of Keep Australia Beautiful NSW has seen the Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards mature over the years to become an integral part of Council and Community development strategy.
“The Wildlife Corridors and Habitats Award recognises the invaluable work of rural communities when to comes to protecting and rehabilitating fragile ecosystems and encouraging biodiversity. Rural communities have a great deal to gain by being proactive in caring for their environment, both in town and on the land. What this years’ entries have shown is that damage can be avoided, and even reversed with planning, strategy and cooperation. We congratulate the winners for their outstanding efforts.” Bernie said.
