Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards
Individual Caring for Public Land - winner Vicki Boyle
The leading lights of our local environment were recognised this weekend when the winners of 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards were announced at a celebration held at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne.
The 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards celebrate the environmental contribution that individuals, community groups, schools and councils make to the environment undertaking activities that improve the quality of land and influence, educate and inspire others to make a difference.
The winners were presented by Doctor Kate Auty, Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability and special guest Dr Rhonda Galbally AO former CEO of Our Community.
The premise of landcare is that action makes a difference. The Landcare movement has grown from a group of farmers that came together to address erosion in the 1980s to become both a known brand (Landcare Australia) and a way to care for the land through community action.
These days, landcare activity also encompasses the work of ‘friends’ groups and ‘committees of management’ who often form because of a shared desire, or need, such as controlling weeds next to a walking track, or helping protect an endangered species.
Frequently the catalyst for the formation of such groups is a single passionate person and Regional Landcare Coordinator for the Port Phillip and Western Port region Doug Evans says
“Recognising those people and organisations who make a difference to the environment is a great accolade and, more often than not, these winners are delighted but extremely surprised they have been nominated to received an award let alone being publicly rewarded for their work.”
A prime example of this was winner of the ‘Individual Caring for Public Land’ category Vicki Boyle, who lives near Belgrave.
Vicki started out by ‘doing a bit of weeding’ in her spare time. She began cleaning up the area where the Puffing Billy Trestle Bridge crosses the local creek, and because she couldn’t join the local friends group on their designated days “I decided to start cleaning up, then a friend of mine joined me, and then some other people joined and now we are a group that works very Tuesday, in partnership with Puffing Billy.”
Vicki is more than just a friend of the environment and her actions show someone who enjoys doing things for other people. She works with people with disabilities in her daily life and like many who undertake activities within the environment, finds the time out from her normal life rewarding.
“I find it a privilege working in the forest. What we do (landcarers) is nothing extraordinary and I find it amazing sometimes how some people don’t realise that nature is there for everyone, they stop and smell the leaves and think it’s wonderful and then ask me why I’m working on land that doesn’t belong to me. I have to explain to them that nature belongs to everybody,” Vicki explained.
Vicki is a member of her local Friends group – Friends of the Sherbrooke Forest and through her actions also encouraged the formation of the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group. Her work along the Puffing Billy Trail, she hopes, will contribute to local tourism and she also works with endless numbers of agencies, landholders and groups in the area to ensure all that can be done, is being done. Vicki says it is important for people to understand both the impact and the contribution they can make.
“The definition of landcare has changed since it began, it’s not about farmers but more about ways to care for land. In urban communities it is quite difficult to get people to understand to they are part of the bigger landscape and they can make a difference in their own backyard.”
Vicki’s personal achievements are nothing short of extraordinary. She was a reluctant nominee for the awards and an even more reluctant winner. In more ways than one, she is typical of the ‘leading lights’ that prefer to stand in the shadows and inspire through action.
It is this action that the Landcare Awards celebrates. The winners embody the impact that positive action can make whether that’s protecting native species or landscapes and whether the work is done by an individual, council, school or group.
These people are Melbourne’s Leading Lights. Their actions speak more loudly than words.
Winners of the 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards:
Individual Caring for Private Land-Janet Truscott and Grant Murray, Mornington Peninsula
Individual Caring for Public Land-Vicki Boyle, Belgrave
Primary Producer Caring for Land-Faye Tuchtan and Graham Wood, Bass Coast
Community Group Caring for Public Land-Friends of Merri Creek, Urban Melbourne to North of Melbourne
Community Group Caring for Private Land- Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group, Labertouche
Local Government Caring for Land-Nillumbik Shire Council, Nillumbik (from Kinglake to Eltham)
Young People Caring for Land-Balnarring Primary School, Mornington Peninsula
Call the PPWCMA for more information on 03 8781 7900
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