By Kate Aubrey Marketing and Awards Manager Banksia Foundation
The Banksia Foundation is a partner with EcoNews and on October 9 last year it celebrated 25 years of promoting individuals and organisations that do extraordinary and inspirational work in the area of sustainability.
At the very special 25th annual Banksia Awards night, there were 71 outstanding achievements being recognised.
Out of these 71 finalists, 17 exceptionally creative and innovative environmental champions received a Banksia award corresponding to their particular area of sustainability.
When the Banksia Foundation was first established in 1988, worry about environmental degradation was on the rise, yet there was no regular and ongoing recognition for people and organizations actively engaging in creating a more sustainable world.
The Banksia Foundation recognises that there is much cause for concern at the current state of our environment, however, Banksia has chosen to bring about change by focusing on the positive.
For 25 years, the Foundation has maintained its mission to elevate the awareness of our natural environment through positive recognition and celebration of Australia’s most passionate sustainability leaders.
In this milestone year, the Banksia Indigenous Category received a record number of finalists across six outstanding programs throughout Australia.
One long-standing Judge commented, “the strength of the partnerships being formed around Indigenous projects and culture combining State and Federal Governments, Academic institutions, the private sector, associations, and both Indigenous and non Indigenous communities, have never appeared before in such strength in the Banksia Awards…”
To reinforce the invaluable contribution of our Indigenous community, this years’ Indigenous Winner, the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s (TSRA) Land Sea Management Unit (LSMU) also took home ‘the best of the best’, the Banksia Gold Award.
The Units success is based on their holistic approach to engaging with the Islander community.
Through successful partnerships they have pioneered a grass-roots community-based planning and management approach for the Torres Strait Islander people, the Queensland and Australian Governments, and the nation as a whole.
Damien Miley, Program Manager explained “In 2006 the board agreed to set this unit up, before we did, we firstly talked to community about what they saw as being the environment and what was special for them.
“From that was the creation of the land and sea management strategy.”
I had the privilege of visiting the Torres Strait Islands after the Awards night.
It was great to experience the elation of their win with the entire community. With little tourism in the Torres Strait, I was asked a number of times, why I was visiting the Islands? I explained I was here to visit TSRA, and it turned out everyone had already heard they won two national awards.
Someone insisted I buy the local paper as they had just read about it. Sure enough headlined in the Torres News on page 2, October 15t “Land and Sea Unit scoops the pool at Environment Awards”.
I could feel the pride instantly and I hadn’t even been to the remote Islands yet!
The following day, Kelly Flower, Project Manager and myself visited two remote islands, Warraber and Ugar.
We traveled via helicopter where I felt exhilarated seeing from a lofty height the amazing vision of dugongs, turtles and a shark.
Now I knew, I had definitely arrived in the Torres Strait.
The LSMU employs 70 staff (mostly Indigenous) with 40 being outer-island Land and Sea Rangers.
As part of the Unit, the Land and Sea Ranger Program monitors a number of Natural Resource Management areas.
On Warraber Island, I met with Willie Lui, Environment Portfolio Member. Willie, along with Miya Isherwood, Portfolio Member and Jenni Pilot, Project Support Officer, had made it to the awards night.
It was such an honor to meet him again, but this time, on his country. He was so enthusiastic to show me some of the programs they had been working on.
Warraber Island, being a sand clay island suffers severely from beach erosion during king tides in the wet season. Willie Lui mentioned he had noticed the sea levels rise over the past 25 years.
As part of the LSMU, rangers monitor and collect data for the Torres Strait Climate Change Research Strategy.
This strategy includes a list of actions required to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts.
With this knowledge, the community has built a seawall, and piled green waste to help build up the sand banks.
The LSMU has also put in place signs preventing beach access to high-risk areas. I was most impressed by their recycling initiative, managed by one man in a community of 270.
Food scraps are collected from each household and placed in bio-bins, the compost is then moved to the community garden.
The food grown there is free for the community and used often for cultural ceremonies or celebrations.
Each Island has a community garden put in effect by LSMU and managed by community.
I was fortunate to travel to Ugar Island also, and meet seven rangers working on a Leucaena project.
Noel Baker, Ugar Liason Officer explained how Leucaena is an introduced species which spreads rapidly and drains the nutrients out of the soil killing all the native plants.
He was grateful to have rangers from surrounding islands working with him to clear this pest.
I spoke with all the rangers, and one theme that was consistent amongst them all, was their feeling of empowerment being a Ranger.
They explained how winning the Banksia Gold Award in particular really showed them and their community how the work they are doing on the ground has far-reaching impact.
Not only does this inspire them to continue, but they hope to inspire other Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Really underpinning what the Banksia Foundation is all about.
I could clearly `see how the LSMU has acknowledged the critical role that community plays in acting as local custodians of their environment and has empowered them in the decision-making processes.
Out of the 247 islands in the Torres Strait, only 17 are inhabited islands.
Stan Lui, Project Manager (sea) explained how all 17 of them have a separate management plan in place.
The plans are developed according to what the traditional owners and the community members want.
This experience has made the Banksia Awards real for me.
Sitting in the office and reading about all the amazing work that is being carried out around Australia is enriching in itself, but being able to then have the opportunity to actually witness what is being done first-hand is just simply amazing.
It has reinforced for me Banksia’s mission to focus on the positive to bring about change.
The TSRA are doing amazing and inspirational work and by winning the Banksia Gold award, their work has now been brought to the attention of a wider audience who might not have had the privilege to know their work otherwise.
From my experience visiting with the TSRA, it was clear why they were named the 2013 Banksia Gold Winners.
I believe non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australia could all learn from and be inspired by this successful program and maybe get a little bit closer to ‘closing the gap’.
The Banksia Foundation is a national not-for-profit organisation, overseen by a national Board of Management, which promotes environmental excellence and sustainability through its Awards program and other associated initiatives.
The Banksia Environmental Foundation was founded in 1989 by a diverse group of 44 Australians who shared a common goal to do more to support and recognise members of the community for their positive contribution to the environment.
More information about the Foundation or the Awards can be obtained from www.banksiafdn.com.
For further information contact: Banksia: Kate Aubrey | 03 9684 4667 | kate@banksiafdn.com