Melaleuca Awards 2010 winners announced

04 Jun 2010

In its eighth year, this year's Awards attracted a record 26 entries across six categories focussing on environmental excellence.

The winners, who each receive $1,000 prize money, a Level 1 water audit, a certificate and a trophy sculpted by local artist Christine Issacs, are as follows:

• Commercial/Industry – GTNT
  In line with its goal to become a model corporate citizen, GTNT is implementing a carbon abatement strategy. Key features include a waste reduction and recycling program in offices, joining the Eco Biz NT program, refitting head office with LED lights and bathrooms with water efficient fixtures as well as purchasing accredited carbon offsets through the National Greening Australia Breathe Easy campaign.
• Community – Garden for Wildlife
  Private land is put to good use through the Garden for Wildlife (GfW) program, which has been operating in Alice Springs since 2007. The voluntary scheme encourages urban residents to take part in conserving nature. Out of 7,000 privately owned town blocks in Alice Springs, 135 are GfW members who establish and improve the native wildlife habitat in their own backyards.
• Individual – Steve Beagley
  Since he began working with the community in the area of sustainable living in 2002, Steve Beagley has audited over 300 Darwin, Palmerston and rural area homes. Steve has trained more than 20 new auditors and has served on the COOLmob committee for many years. He has contributed to the development of audit tools, COOLmob fact sheets, publications, submissions, research, television and radio advertisements, strategic plans and staff training.
• Schools – Girraween Primary School
  Students at Girraween Primary School are getting to know the life cycles of plants and animals while learning about sustainability and living globally. Since it began three years ago, the community farm has been home to a variety of animals and the garden produces a variety of herbs and edible plants. The students are involved in every aspect of the farm from planning, building and constructing enclosures and shelters to preparing terraced garden beds, sowing crops, caring for animals, harvesting and selling produce.
• Small Business - The Plantsmith Nursery
  Strong demand for locally grown plants led to the birth of The Plantsmith Nursery, a business that aims to be as ‘green’ as possible. The nursery does not use pesticides, fungicides or growth regulants, minimises use of herbicides, uses renewable growing media components, uses controlled release fertiliser instead of fertigation, which minimises nutrient run-off, no longer irrigates its lawn during the dry season and recycles pots by sterilizing and re-using them.

As part of this year's Awards students from across the Territory in primary and middle schools were encouraged to create a poster based on the United Nations' International Year of Biodiversity.

Over 300 posters were received in this competition with the winners in the four categories receiving a $100 book voucher. The winners are:

• Junior Primary - Lennon Wells, Millner Primary School, Grade 2
• Middle Primary - Dannique Glanida, Larrakeyah Primary School, Grade 4
• Senior Primary - Travis Djapalawuy, Pularumpi School, Grade 6
• Middle School - Jarrod Puruntatameri, Pularumpi School, Grade 7

Power and Water also awarded two grants towards the environmental projects:

• Land for Wildlife in Alice Springs for a Feral Spotted Turtle-dove Eradication Program; and
• Shepherdson College on Elcho Island to create two fruit forests as a learning and environmental resource for the 500 students, their families and the broader Elcho Island community.

The Chairman’s Award, chosen by Power and Water’s Chairman of the Board Judith King, went to Saffrron Restaurant for their leadership in the hospitality industry showing how environmental improvements can be achieved.

Power and Water congratulates all of this year’s winners and thanks everyone who entered the 2010 Melaleuca Awards. The winners’ posters will be on display at this weekend’s Tropical Garden Spectacular and inaugural Top End Sustainable Living Festival at the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens.