Town takes tidy crown

BEECHWORTH has been crowned Victoria’s Tidy Towns winner in Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria’s (KABV) annual 41st Tidy Towns and Cities Sustainability Awards this week. KABV awards focus on creating a more sustainable, resilient, and beautiful Victoria. The announcement of the highly coveted award at a gala presentation evening in Melbourne included four local projects clinching wins in various categories too. It’s the fifth time Beechworth has been the state winner, with the prized award returning to the town in 2009, 2014, 2017 and 2019 while the town won nationally in 2010 and 2020. DRAG’D Out Beechworth took out the well-being category, the Burke Museum with its ‘People of Beechworth' exhibition won the cultural and heritage category and Wooragee’s Dr Pieter Mourik was victorious in the Indigenous Culture category for his Aboriginal ring tree project. Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) nabbed a win in the Awards Energy category with its Transitioning Yackandandah to 100% renewable energy project as an independent entry. Thrilled volunteer Iris Mannik, who with Anne Wilson has rounded up projects for years in Beechworth to submit in the awards, said the wins highlighted volunteers' individual projects as well as projects which didn’t win, and the entire local community. Iris submitted the first entry to the KABV awards three decades ago with a Lake Sambell project. “It’s a big program across Victoria that recognises and showcases volunteers’ hard work particularly in small towns like Beechworth,” she said. Totally Renewable Beechworth with its 'Home Energy Efficiency Expo” and Beechworth Lions Club project - Platelayers Cottage Repair - had been among five finalists. Anne Wilson said KABV awards recognised and rewarded volunteers for their work with an impetus for them to undertake more projects. “Any project undertaken in a small town benefits all of us in many different ways,” she said. "All have an impact on the community, and you never know what the projects hold for future outcomes." Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) founder Matt Charles-Jones said TRY's win had been an exciting endorsement for a successful community of volunteers and many partners over 10 years of the project. Matt said the renewable energy project provided important opportunities for clean energy and carbon emission reduction as well as good financial outcomes. “It’s a massive boost for community resilience too,” he said. Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria and national chief executive officer, Olivia Lynch, said the accolade was a testament to the remarkable commitment and dedication of the Beechworth and Yackandandah communities in creating a more sustainable, resilient, and beautiful Victoria. "Beechworth and Yackandandah exemplify the positive impact that community-driven environmental initiatives can have,” she said. “Dedication and hard work displayed by these communities serve as an inspiration to all Victorians to take action in protecting and enhancing our natural and urban environments and in building stronger more resilient communities." Indigo Shire mayor Sophie Price said it was great to see local projects get the recognition they deserve at state level. “We have a high level of volunteers and it’s great to see them recognised alongside their projects,” she said. Beechworth will now head to the National Tidy Town Awards to be held in Gascoyne Junction, Western Australia in May next year. Iris said a Drag’d Out Beechworth performance at Monday night’s award ceremony had been unbelievable where the crowd went crazy with enjoyment. For more information about the Tidy Towns and Cities Awards, and the 2023 Finalist and Winners visit www.kabvic.org.au/sustainabilityawards/.

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