WINNERS ANNOUNCED - Tas Community Landcare Awards 2023

CONGRATULATIONS to this year's winners of Landcare Tasmania's Recognition Awards. These awards celebrate and recognise the incredible people making significant contributions to Landcare in Tasmania.

Tasmanian Premier’s Landcare Award: Celebrating Innovation And Inspiration

Sharyn Yelverton

Image: © Natasha Mulhall

Sharyn has been an extraordinary volunteer with Landcare. Since her arrival in Tasmania in 2014, she has been a very active Landcare member. She was Coordinator of Friends of Randalls Bay Coastcare (FORB) for four years ad now manages a subcommittee for the Friends of Randalls Bay Coastcare. Her contribution to Landcare does precede her work in Tasmania with many years of Landcare involvement in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Landcare is and always has been a very important part of her life.

Sharyn has been very successful in coordinating a team of volunteers in the local native plant regeneration at Randalls Bay. The revegetated, rehabilitated areas are now flourishing with the loss of only one plant in the past year! Her knowledge and work to lead a team of volunteers to prepare the area, using moisture retention material, adding nourishment, and to provide protection of the plantings, as well as regularly watering all new plantings until they are able to survive without additional care, has enabled the successful regeneration of the Randalls Bay Conservation areas. This work has enabled volunteers to see the successful outcomes from the work they do.

Sharyn's work is varied and has included the track building of the very successful Echo Sugarloaf walking track, the FORB Quarry Reserve, Beach and environmental cleanups, social fundraising functions at her home and much more.

If you view the Friends of Randalls Bay video that has recently been produced by Miro Digital you will see the dedication and passion of Sharyn to Landcare.

Tasmanian Landcare Group Award: Collaboration For Positive Impact

Mount Roland Land Care

Image: © Natasha Mulhall

Well done to this outstanding group - Mount Roland Land Care!

Mount Roland Land Care continue to go from strength to strength, adapting and evolving to their community needs while consistently delivering proactive natural resource management action.
The group has a legacy of river care works throughout the Dasher, Minnow and Don catchments.

They have been consistent in delivering strong weed control advocacy throughout the Kentish community in collaboration with the Kentish Council while continuing on-ground weed control through community working bees around the Mount Roland Regional Conservation Area and surrounding areas.

They have even developed a Foxglove hotline, where the Kentish community can report Foxglove sightings across tenure. The sites identified have led to rapid control action through community working bees and contractor work, while supporting their advocacy and improving weed mapping across the region.

The Kentish community was struck by a terrifying storm event in June 2022 that flattened whole swathes of old-growth trees and damaged farms and homes, with a falling tree killing a local resident. The group responded with a community event called Reflections on a Storm, aimed at debriefing and healing a traumatised community. A community get-together with poetry, music and sharing stories at the Claude Road Hall.

The group has also led workshops on weed control and ID, seed collecting and farm shelterbelts. Amongst all this they have conducted a study on the impacts of culverts on the threatened Giant Freshwater Crayfish, Astacopsis gouldi, with local volunteers and crayfish expert Todd Walsh.

They are also delivering the 1000 Trees for Kentish 2023 project, delivering revegetation projects on priority private land, developing on the success in the previous year engaging community in tree planting projects.

This group actively try to engage more youth in land care through their events by introducing family and young person membership categories, and allowing young people over 12 to vote and to be elected to the Mount Roland Land Care Committee.

Membership for the Mount Roland Land Care group has almost doubled in the last two years and has swelled to a massive 101 people as of June 2023. The group host a popular annual AGM, sharing a hearty hot cooked meal with dessert and a selection of interesting presentations while getting the serious business of the group done.

Young Tasmanian Landcarer Award: Future Leaders

Luke Cooper

Congratulations to our Young Tasmanian Landcarer Award recipient - Luke Cooper!

Image: Ellen Rose Sorensen and Ben Mildren accept the award on Luke's behalf, followed by heartfelt speeches Photo: © Natasha Mulhall

Luke Cooper is a founding member and current president of the UTAS Landcare Society, a youth-focused roving Landcare group that connects eager young volunteers with Landcare groups who need a helping hand across Tasmania.

Luke is also the founder and current treasurer of Wildcare Friends of the Henty, a group based in Strahan dedicated to the conservation and management of the Ocean Beach area and the Henty River. Through his work with these two groups, Luke has created an incredible impact on Tasmania’s ecosystems, from almost eradicating the invasive Montpelier broom from Ocean Beach to restoring a patch of Eucalyptus globulus wet forest at the Sandy Bay campus.

There are few corners of Tasmania that Luke hasn’t touched with his work, and his impact on local communities across the state has been substantial.

Over the past year, Luke has led over twenty-five Landcare events across the state, providing opportunities for students at the University of Tasmania to learn about regeneration and restoration, improve their land management skills, and immerse themselves in a broad range of Tasmania’s most incredible natural environments. Luke is extremely passionate about sharing his vast knowledge with others. He is incredibly hands-on during Landcare trips and loves to teach newbies and share his incredible botanical knowledge with others.

He is active on iNaturalist and has become a well-known figure in the Tasmanian scientific community for his excellent plant identification skills. He also shares information about all things Landcare on Instagram.

Luke is also a former member of the Landcare Tasmania Member’s Council, where he has volunteered his time to represent the interests of the Friends of the Henty and other West Coast groups at the state level. He has been involved in a leadership role with UTAS Landcare since its inception and he has mentored others to enable them to take on leadership roles themselves.

Honorary Life Membership: Unwavering Commitment

The following Landcarers have been awarded an Honorary Life Membership for their long standing commitment to Landcare Tasmania. The recipients are awarded a Lifetime Individual Membership that includes all membership benefits.

Janice Stevenson
Graeme Stevenson

Image: L-R Landcare Tasmania Board Chair Bill Harvey, Award Recipient Adam Holmstom, Landcare Tasmania CEO Peter Stronach. Photo: © Natasha Mulhall

Adam Holmstrom

Roll Of Honour: Celebrating Local Legends

The following Landcarers have been placed on the Landcare Tasmania Roll of Honour for their significant contributions through their Landcare work within their local community.

Anne Booth
Vivienne Briggs
John Cox
Todd Dudley
Michael Foley
Ian Gatenby
Bob Graham
Desley Kippax
Robyn Lewis
Graham McLean
Robyn Parker
Jodie Presnell
Roz Thurn
Peter Voller
Lennice Wilson
Frank Wilson
Sharyn Yelverton
Karen Ziegler

A big thanks to all of the supporters than helped to make this awards dinner and presentation during our 2023 Conference, a wonderful evening to celebrate the hard-work of the award winners and nominees, including donations of wine and dessert!