A C T S U S TA I N A B L E CO M M U N I T I E S
A W O R D F R O M O U R PAT R O N
Keep Australia Beautiful has worked tirelessly for
more than forty years towards raising awareness
about our environment and encouraging all
sectors of the community to get involved in the
achievement of sustainable outcomes.
It gives me great pleasure to accept the role
of Patron of the Keep Australia Beautiful ACT
Sustainable Cities Awards.
The Keep Australia Beautiful, ACT Sustainable
Communities Awards recognise excellence in
environmental sustainability and commuity
building within the ACT. These awards celebrate
innovation, hard work and achievements
of individuals, community groups, schools
businesses and government who are taking
positive steps towards improving their local
environment.
Each year the ACT Sustainable Communities
Awards Ceremony provides an opprtunity
for leaders in environmental and social
sustainability to come together to network,
share ideas and learn from each other.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
I am looking forward to working with Keep
Australia Beautiful in celebrating the many
unique and diverse ways in which our
community is so passionately engaged in
seeking to achieve a sustainable future.
Andrew Barr, MLA
Chief Minister
Patron of the ACT Sustainable Cities Awards
We’re making significant progress in building a
more sustainable future for Canberra. The ACT
Government’s policies and programs will protect our
lifestyle as well as the environment we all value so
highly.
Held at the breathtaking Margaret Whitlam
Pavilion in the grounds of the National
Arboretum Canberra, the 2016 event featured
a lively and informative panel conversation
hosted by comedian Chris Endry and featuring
innovators in their fields, Canberra Urban
Honey’s Mitchell Pearce , 2016 ACT Emerging
Architect Prize winner, Erin Hinton, Kevin Keith
of Consult Australia and Patrick Nolan of ACT
Transport and City Services.
At the end of the day Government legislation, policy
and actions alone cannot achieve sustainability.
It requires community awareness, support and
a strong commitment to action from the private
sector, governments and the community. These
awards recognise this partnership and provide
an excellent opportunity for the efforts of our
local community groups, businesses, industry and
government to be recognised in their work towards
achieving a sustainable future for Canberra.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
A C T S U S TA I N A B L E CO M M U N I T Y
OF THE YEAR, 2016
Industry collaboration comes in the form of
mattress collection points at major retailers and
developing a Mattress Product Stewardship
Scheme with bedding manufacturers and retailers.
WINNER
“Soft Landing Mattress Recycling are worthy winners
of this award. In addition to an impressive recycling
rate they are aleading example of how businesses can
combine social and environmental sustainability. Their
win shows the things that can be achieved when people
work with their hearts and their heads”
- Cormac Farrell, ACT Sustainable Communities
Lead Judge
S OFT L AN D ING MAT TRESS REC YCLI NG
Finalists STEP, Hand-in-Hand Community Outreach, GrowSPACE, Light House Architecture
and science
In their first five months of operation, social
enterprise Soft Landing Mattress Recyling has
recovered over 11, 000 end of life mattresses,
recycling over 80% of matress materials.
While impressed with these achievements
in awarding Soft Landing with this title,
ACT Sustainable Community Judges were
unanimous in their praise for Soft Landing’s
approach to social sustainability and their broad
community engagement. Soft Landing work
closely with ACT government, industry and
community.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
Seeking to address intergenerational
unemployment, Soft Landing seek to provide a
second chance for people to rebuild their lives.
A successful partnership with Habitat Personnel
has resulted in the creation of employment
opportunities for local people experiencing
barriers to work including the long term
unemployment and Indigenous Australians
experiencing disadvantage.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
I N D I V I D UA L A C T I O N
WINNER
DR DAVID SHOR THOUSE
Finalists Jeanette Purkis, autism advocate
Dr David Shorthouse has had a profound
influence on nature conservation and
environmental sustainability in the ACT.
For over 45 years Dr Shorthouse has been
pivotal in shaping environmental thinking
and outcomes within ACT government,
industry and community having worked
as a university lecturer, author, ecological
researcher, environmental planner, government
advisor, project developer, and environmental
consultant on urban land development.
In nominating him for this award, STEP member
Bill Handke, praised Dr Shorthouse for “His
quiet and considered manner that makes him
an easy person to work with, while his deep
knowledge and understanding of issues mean
that projects are soundly based, successful and
rewarding.”
DAME PHYLLIS FROST LIT TER
PREVENTION
WINNER
S OFT LA N DIN G MAT T RE S S RE C YC L I NG
Australians dispose of over 1.6 million
mattresses annually, representing a significant
impact on our dwindling space for landfill.
In their first five months of operation, social
enterprise Soft Landing has recycled over 11,700
mattresses, with the goal of processing 25,000
mattresses each year.
Over 80% of mattress materials are recycled
including foam which is converted to carpet
underlay, wood that becomes mulch and
synthetic materials that go on to fill boxing bags.
Not content with this impressive achievement
Soft Landing aspires to a 100% diversion rate by
2020.
In addition to their strong focus on resource
recovery, Soft Landing work to Increase
employment opportunities for those with
significant barriers to work, including the long
term unemployed.
Inspired by their ACT success story, Soft Landing
aims to roll out their program nationally by
2019.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
GOT AN
OLD
MATTRESS?
You can recycle it!
Mattress recycling is now available in the ACT, including a convenient pick up option.
The facility, run by Soft Landing, recycles up to 90% of mattress components.
For further information please call 02 6260 1046 or visit tams.act.gov.au
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILIT Y
COMMUNIT Y AC TION + WELLBEING
L IGH T H O U S E
A R CHIT E C T U R E & S C I E N C E
WINNER
WINNER
HIGHLY COMMENDED STEP
In winning this year’s Environmental
Sustainability Award, Light House Architecture
and Science were recognised for their
achievements in energy innovation.
Specialising in space and energy-efficient
homes designed to suit Canberra’s climate,
Light House Architecture and Science simplifies
the sustainable design process to create
comfortable and clever homes.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
Utilising integrated science modelling and
testing services during the design and
construction process, Light House has recently
extended their team to offer testing, modelling,
reporting and retrofitting services to Canberra
and other cool-climate communities.
Tailoring their services to individual homes,
orientation and budget, Light House provides
scientifically tested retrofitting advice resulting
in significant reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions and savings in heating and cooling
bills.
GrowSPACE
HIGHLY COMMENDED HAND-IN-HAND
The GrowSPACE the Revival Community Garden
at the Aboringinal Tent Embassy came in
response to a request from then Fire Keeper,
Roxley Foley, for improved access to quality food
for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy residents.
Supported by crowdfunding, the GrowSPACE
team and over 50 volunteers set out to create 15
square metres of self-watering growing space
from 60 donated recycled pallets over a three
day Camp & Plant workshop.
The garden space is a vibrant community
meeting point producing organic food for tent
embassy residents and the local community
including staff at the adjacent Old Parliament
House.
Inspired by the success of the Revival garden,
GrowSPACE have been invited to create an art
and healing space in collaboration with local
Indigenous people in Alice Springs.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
H E R I TA G E + C U LT U R E
YO U N G L E G E N D S
MA R IBYR NONG
PR IMA RY SC HOOL
WINNER
WINNER
LA R RY B R A NDY
HIGHLY COMMENDED JACOB KEED +
ABORIGINAL STORYTELLER
SAM (Sustainability at Merici)
A proud Wirradjuri man, Larry Brandy has
demonstrated his passion for sharing his culture
with people of all ages for over 30 years. In that
time he has performed in schools, childcare
centres, museums and festivals in Canberra
and overseas, including an invitation from
the Australian Embassy to perform in Jakarta,
Salawesi, Bali and Nauru.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
Driven to encourage young Aboriginal
people to consider science as a career, Larry
has incorporated Aboriginal science into his
workshops and recently begun working with the
ACT Science Week Committee.
In 2012 Larry was awarded a Churchill
Fellowship, travelling to New Zealand, USA and
Canada to learn how they inspire Indigenous
students to pursue higher education.
Driven to promote a school community that valued
environmental sustainability and improving their
local area, Maribyrnong Primary School has initiated
many sustainable practices often at student request.
Students have taken lead roles in maintaining the
school’s native and community gardens, built worm
hotels and bird houses, introduced classroom energy
monitors and participated in school clean-ups.
Reductions in water and energy consumption and
waste going to landfill have resulted in Maribyrnong
Primary being one of only 8 ACT schools to be
awarded an Act Smart Schools five star accreditation
for sustainability.
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
E N V I R O N M E N TA L E D U C AT I O N
SPONSORS
Thank you to our sponsors and supporters for this event.
WINNER
STEP ( S out he r n Ta bl e l a n d s Eco s ys te m Pa r k)
Established in 2008 and continuously
developing, STEP is managed by community
volunteers as a Regional Botanic and
Educational Garden with plants of the Southern
Tablelands of the ACT and NSW.
With a demonstration garden featuring 16
eucalyptus species and 170 understorey
plantings, STEP educates the public on
the plants and their associations, provides
information on regional plant species suitable
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016
for domestic gardens, advises on landscape
restoration and demonstrates food and fibre
plants traditionally used by regional indigenous
people.
STEP aims to build a better informed community
that advocates for landscape conservation
and restoration of local native species of the
Southern Tablelands region.
K E E P AU S T R A L I A B E AU T I F U L
AU S T R A L I A N S U S TA I N A B L E
CO M M U N I T I E S AWA R D S
17.11.16
Keep Australia Beautiful • Tidy Towns + Sustainable Communities • Awards 2016