Published on Monday, 19 October 2009 at 12:00:00 AM
Westonia has claimed the title of Central Wheatbelt Regional Winner for the 2009 Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities Awards at the regional ceremony held in Trayning today. Keep Australia Beautiful WA Tidy Towns' State Program Manager Gail Dodd said the judges had been particularly impressed with what had been achieved by a town with a population of only 250 people.
Westonia has claimed the title of Central Wheatbelt Regional Winner for the 2009 Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities Awards at the regional ceremony held in Trayning today.
Keep Australia Beautiful WA Tidy Towns' State Program Manager Gail Dodd said the judges had been particularly impressed with what had been achieved by a town with a population of only 250 people.
"This tiny town has a huge vision, passionate leadership, and a community who believe in the vision," Ms Dodd said.
"Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities is about much more than keeping towns clean and tidy. The awards reward and recognise towns for their achievements towards sustainability including preserving their culture, protecting their environment and the amenity of their towns."
Initiatives that contributed to Westonia's success included: clean-ups, tree planting and the attractive entry statement including corrugated tin facades depicting scenes of bygone days, with the yesteryear theme continued on facades at T-junctions in the town.
The category awards from the Central Wheatbelt went to:
- Community Action: Westonia and Northam
- General Appearance: Westonia
- Recycling and Waste Management: Trayning and Quairading
- Natural Heritage Conservation: Westonia and Quairading
- Enhancing Cultural Identity: Westonia
- Water Conservation: Bencubbin
A special Volunteers' Award was also presented to Stan Wilkins from Cunderdin for his constant willingness to go above and beyond for his town.
"Keep Australia Beautiful WA recognises Stan's outstanding contribution to the Tidy Towns program. His commitment has made his local community a better place to live, work and visit," Mrs Dodd said.
Westonia will compete with other regional winners for the overall WA Tidy Towns title to be announced at the State Awards Ceremony on 20 November at the Royal Perth Yacht Club. All regional category winners will also be in the running for a State category award.
"We were really impressed with the calibre of entries in this region and I congratulate Westonia, the local category winners and all entrants and wish them all the best in their ongoing efforts to build vibrant and sustainable communities," Mrs Dodd said.
The Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities' judges for the Central Wheatbelt region included representatives from the Department of Environment and Conservation and a guest judge, Glenys Anderson OAM, former CEO of Keep Australia Beautiful, Queensland.
Keep Australia Beautiful WA is supported by the Department of Environment and Conservation. Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities is sponsored by the Packaging Stewardship Forum and Grundfos and Golden West Network (GWN) is a media partner.
For more information about Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities visit http://www.kabc.wa.gov.au/ or contact Gail Dodd on 6467 5131.
Registrations for the 2010 Tidy Towns program are now open.
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