The Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities program celebrates 40 years of community spirit this year!
The competition, which has been running annually since 1969, encourages group participation in projects on recycling, litter prevention, water conservation, and the celebration or protection of cultural and natural heritage values.
The 40th anniversary of Tidy Towns is a time of reflection on the success of the program, and on the effectiveness of the role staff members play in engaging regional communities to enter. Help in writing submissions is available to all entrants, but some who have not been involved before may be hesitant to ask for that help. People may also be unaware that almost any regional project can be considered as a Tidy Town project.
The competition’s name has changed in recent years from Tidy Towns to Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities. It’s about communities lightening their footprint on the planet through encouraging their members to work together to protect and conserve both the natural and cultural environments. A town’s natural beauty is immaterial. The judging criteria is very broad – it includes everything from how the community works together, heritage and culture, to environmental innovation with water, resource recovery and youth environmental education initiatives. Indigenous cultural heritage is of enormous significance to the program and entrants should work on what is important for their communities, such as recording oral histories, language, and traditions.
Keep Australia Beautiful (WA) proudly honours and thanks Western Australian communities that promote sustainable living and the protection of the environment for this and future generations.
