Upper Hunter Shire excels in NSW Tidy Towns Awards

Published on 06 March 2023

Upper Hunter Shire Council is proud to announce that Scone and Murrurundi were named overall winners for their population category at the Keep Australia Beautiful NSW 2022 Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards, with Scone being crowned overall winner in NSW. The prestigious awards recognise the commitment of our communities to sustainability, as demonstrated through exemplary projects and programs, all supporting a shared vision of a sustainable future.

In Scone, the community demonstrated an incredible commitment to sustainability through projects such as the Highways and Byways Healing the Land initiative, the Scone District Garden Club's Habitat & Wildlife Conservation Award, and the Scone Literary Festival's Heritage & Culture Award. Belltrees Public School also took home the Winner of the Communication & Engagement category for their inspiring project 'Regenerative Agriculture at Belltrees'.

Murrurundi took out the Population category A and won the Heritage and Culture Award for their Murrurundi 150th Train Festival. The Murrurundi Preschool Seed Library was also Highly Commended in the Communication & Engagement Population category A. The Upper Hunter Shire Council's Hall Crawl was also a winner on the night, taking out the Community Spirit and Inclusion Award. 

Upper Hunter Shire Mayor, Maurice Collison, who attended the awards ceremony, praised the community's commitment to sustainability and congratulated the winners. "I am so proud of our community for their innovative and sustainable projects that have contributed to making our region a better place. This is a great achievement for both Scone and Murrurundi and a testament to their hard work and dedication. I congratulate all the winners and commend the Scone Tidy Towns Committee for their ongoing efforts to promote sustainability in our region."

The Keep Australia Beautiful NSW 2022 Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards were held on 4 March, 2023 after being postponed in November 2022 due to flood activity. As the overall winner, Scone will host the 2023 awards.

We are proud to have such passionate and forward-thinking communities in the Upper Hunter Shire, and we will continue to support and promote sustainable initiatives throughout the region.