Tidy Towns assessors to visit Ballina next week
Let’s hope Ballina puts on its prettiest face next week — that’s when judges from the Tidy Towns award will be in town.
From August 25 to 29, the Keep Australia Beautiful NSW 2008 Tidy Towns Awards will move into top gear when 24 assessors set off to cover over 25,000 kilometres across New South Wales in search of this State’s top Tidy Town.
Ballina and Byron Bay are the only local towns to enter the award.
The hotly contested Tidy Towns Awards focus on recognising issues which build sustainable communities.
These projects include environmental, cultural and heritage conservation projects, schools-based programs, parkland and local beautification efforts with strong examples of civic pride.
98 towns throughout NSW will be visited in the upcoming assessment week.
The towns could have as few as 15 residents or be huge regional centres with over 50,000 people.
They are all competing for the title of best overall town in six separate population categories to be announced at the Tidy Towns Awards weekend in Dorrigo on 1st November.
Dorrigo is the 2008 Overall State Tidy Town Winner and is proud to be hosting this year’s weekend to announce the 2009 Tidy Towns Awards.
Keep Australia Beautiful NSW Chief Executive Officer Peter McLean said: “The ongoing participation in and support for the Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Towns Awards program is a measure of the enthusiasm, drive and community vision of the people who live in the villages and towns throughout rural and regional New South Wales.
“The big challenge for our assessors will always be to find that special town that has ‘the edge’ over the rest.
“The devastating drought has knocked so many towns around but it is positive to see that towns are overcoming some of these challenges through participating in the Tidy Towns program.”
On top of the Overall Tidy Town Awards, projects undertaken by community groups, individuals, schools and councils are eligible for awards in eight individual categories. These are:
- Grundfos Water Conservation Award
- Remondis Waste Solutions Schools Environment Award
- Heritage Branch Cultural Heritage Award
- Packaging Stewardship Forum Waste Management and Litter Reduction Award
- Department of Environment & Climate Change NSW Wildlife Corridors & Habitats Conservation Award
- Country Energy Innovation Award
- ClubsNSW Clubs Partnership Award
- Civic Partnership Award
