Volunteers honoured at annual Bushcare Awards
Explore Councils by state
Community enthusiasm for environmental conservation has grown this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the formation of one new Bushcare – and two Landcare – groups in the Blue Mountains.
At the annual Bushcare Awards on 21 November Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “It is always such a privilege for me to be able to present these awards and reflect on the immense achievements of the Bushcare program. Volunteers, such as we see gathered here today, are the lifeblood of our community. Your tireless efforts to help protect our environment and to create the outstanding sense of community that we are lucky enough to be part of, is of immeasurable value to us all.”
During the ceremony, Mayor Mark Greenhill congratulated representatives from two Bushcare groups, the Fairy Dell group in Springwood and the Popes Glen group in Blackheath, for reaching the impressive 30-years-of-service to Bushcare mark.
Individual awards were also given to Ross Day, who received the Bushcare Legend award, Ian Glover, who received the Masters Award, Neil McGlashan who received the Hard Yakka Award and Dan Marshall, who was awarded the Landcare Legend award.
Other awards were given to Beth Winsor who received the Environmental Warrior, and Farley, Iris and Jim Moen who received the Junior Bushcare Memorial Shield. The awards ceremony also paid tribute to the loss of three highly respected and sad missed Bushcare volunteers, Lachlan Garland, Thelma Murphy and Liz Kabanoff who all passed away this year. Tributes to these members of Bushcare have also been published in the Summer edition of The Gecko newsletter.
The Bushcare program is one of the largest and longest running volunteer programs in the Blue Mountains and it has been run by Blue Mountains City Council since 1992.
The program co-ordinates over 500 local volunteers to regenerate bushland and restore waterways at over 60 sites across the Blue Mountains region.
To learn more about volunteering with Bushcare go to: https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/envirovolunteers
Or join here: https://www.bushcarebluemountains.org.au/join-bushcare
Photo: Mark Mark Greenhill with Ross Day, recipient of the Bushcare Legend Award.