2005 Tidy Towns State Awards

- 2005 Tidy Towns Winners Book

On the 25th of November Collie was announced Western Australia's State Tidy Towns Winner.

Royal Perth Yacht Club was a fantastic venue for the State Awards Luncheon where eight other Regional Winners were announced from across the state.

Representatives from towns as far afield as the Bidyadanga and Bulunjarr Aboriginal Communities in the Kimberley and Forrest Airport on the Nullabor attended the event. Over 130 people in total enjoyed the day's proceedings and the networking opportunities the event presented.

Collie's outstanding work in all of the Tidy Towns categories is testament to the dedication and hard work of over fifty community groups and hundreds of individual volunteers that come together in an effort to improve the appearance and sustainability of their community in the name of Tidy Towns.

The commitment of the Collie Tidy Towns Committee to the involvement of youth in all aspects of the program, in particular the youth mentoring and Young Ambassadors initiatives, is fantastic and demonstrates forethought for the long-term continuation of the Committee.

Initiatives including school programs such as tree planting and composting, participation in Clean Up Australia Day and National Tree Day, were complimented by industry and community-based initiatives focused on recycling, restoration and reuse.

For example, the bowling club carted one tonne of newspaper a week for reuse in soil treatment, the new Collie Weed Action Group introduced community training and a local person started 'recycling' native grass trees.

Of particular note is the annual luncheon held by the Collie Tidy Towns Committee where certificates are presented to recognise outstanding efforts by members of the community. This event provides an excellent networking opportunity and is a great way to reward the contributions of volunteers.

A Special Commendation was awarded to the Kambalda Can Cans Committee by the state judging panel. The Judges felt that the Can Cans had made an extraordinary improvement to Kambalda over the last 12 months, and wished to encourage them to go one step further in their next Tidy Towns effort.

Other Regional Finalists and Winners for 2005 were:

• Great Southern Finalists - Albany and Ongerup
  Winner:Albany
• South West Finalists - Greenbushes and Collie
  Winner: Collie
• Goldfields-Esperance Finalists - Kambalda, Hopetoun and Forrest
  Winner: Kambalda
• Peel Finalists - Boddington and Cuballing
  Winner: Cuballing
• Wheatbelt Finalists - Dowerin, Goomalling and Wongan Hills
  Winner: Goomalling
• Midwest Finalists - Three Springs, Yalgoo, Meekatharra and Dandaragan
  Winner: Dandaragan
• Gascoyne Finalists - Exmouth and Useless Loop
  Winner: Exmouth
• Pilbara Finalists - Point Samson, Tom Price and Dampier
  Winner: Tom Price
• Kimberley Finalist and Winner - Bidyadanga
  

The details of all of the Regional Finalists and Winners can be found in the 2005 Tidy Towns Winners Book.