The awards, run by Keep Victoria Beautiful, recognise and celebrate grassroots initiatives and positive actions that change behaviours, protect the environment, reduce waste and increase social wellbeing in rural and regional Victoria.
Echuca Neighbourhood House received a high commendation for its free community soup deliveries.
The free ‘non-contact’ soup delivery service was a collaboration with the Moama Bowling Club initiated during the height of the pandemic.
Chefs from the club cooked and packaged up the soups and members of the neighbourhood house took care of the deliveries, which proved to be hugely helpful to people who had lost their jobs or were feeling lonely and isolated as a result of the pandemic.
Echuca Neighbourhood House manager Sarah Peake said it was fantastic news.
“I’m very proud of the House and everyone who was involved,” she said.
“I can't thank Moama Bowling Club enough and also the community members who came forward to deliver the soups.”
Campaspe Shire Council won the waste award for its Give a Scrap program, which started on July 1, 2019 as an expansion of the existing opt-in garden organics service.
It was rewarded for a “highly effective communications and education campaign” which kept Campaspe’s contamination rate low and has 67 per cent of local residents taking part in the program.
Keep Victoria Beautiful Tidy Town spokesperson Dick Gross said he was impressed by the calibre of entries and significant uptick in submissions from across the state.
“The awards have provided our rural and regional communities with a sense of purpose and something to strive towards in what has been an extremely difficult year,” Mr Gross said.
“Ultimately, the awards don’t just promote the remarkable projects happening across rural and regional Victoria, they also help promote tourism in these amazing communities.”
The Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards have been going since 1983 and have gradually moved beyond simply rewarding towns for their tidiness and instead are focused on recognising and celebrating positive actions taken by communities and individuals.
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