28 September 2007 - extra edition
Entries close soon for the 2007 Minister’s Award
Storm clouds gather at the entrance to south Scott Reef lagoon, North West Shelf, Western Australia. Image courtesy Rowan Wylie.
There’s only three weeks to go before nominations close for this year’s Minister’s Award for Coastal Custodians. The Award is open to individuals or organisations that have worked to improve the coastal or marine environment. The winner will receive $5000.
The award runs nationally with a winner announced by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in Coastcare Week, the first week of December, 2007.
Last year’s winner was Dr Tim Ealey, who engaged the local community and schools to restore the coastal environment in Coronet Bay in Victoria’s Westernport region.
This will be the sixth year that the award has been presented with the winner to join a list of quiet achievers who have done extraordinary things for the coastal and marine environments within their local area.
Whether it is the clean-up of marine debris, which despoils our coast and kills our marine creatures, or revegetation of important coastal dune systems, Australians are learning from each other how to improve their coastal and marine environments for future generations
Nominations will be judged in consideration of the following criteria:
- the development of a practical solution to an identified marine or coastal environmental problem;
- an example of innovation in marine or coastal environmental remediation;
- an example of community or school-based awareness-raising about a marine or coastal environmental issue;
- a pro-active approach to cultural or behavioural change relating to the improvement of the marine or coastal environment;
- an example of marine or coastal environment monitoring leading to remediation action; and/or
- an example of cooperation between individuals, organisations, institutions, industries or businesses to improve the marine or coastal environment.
The Minister’s Award for Coastal Custodians was initiated by the Australian Government to acknowledge the often untold good news happening in the Australian coastal and marine environment.
Individuals and organisations can either nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else.
An application form and more information can be found at: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/coastalcustodians.html
