The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.
The NCC awards has seven categories, with Save Wallum a finalist for the Marie Byles Award. The Marie Byles Award celebrates a group which has initiated an outstanding new environmental campaign, launched in the last 24 months, and has demonstrated strong commitment and passion for the conservation of the NSW environment.
‘This finalist nomination is a testament to the hundreds of volunteers who have come together and achieved so much in such a short amount of time,’ says Svea Pitman, one of the original Save Wallum instigators.
‘To be recognised at a state level for the work this community has done to date is humbling.
‘The campaign has been remarkable in its inclusion of varied and diverse ways to share the Save Wallum message, first and foremost from our Indigenous elders and many families’ involvement and support.’
Ms Pitman said unexpected areas of community engagement have included the Wallum song and choir performances, farmers market stalls, pre-school and school ‘special Wallum animal; movement and song classes, the 24/7 vigil and a neighbor liaison to include and accommodate all community voices.
Recognition
‘Stronger recognition of how significant our remaining environmentally intact spaces are, in this time of dire human ecological impact, is one thing that has fuelled the campaign,’ said Ms Pitman.
‘One of the highlights and true gifts has been weekly cultural smoking ceremonies and ecology tours of the proposed development site.
‘This has helped bring a deeper understanding of this precious ecosystem at risk, and allows the community to advocate for it from a place of true understanding and genuine connection.
‘Learning about NSW planning policy and the willingness of community members to skill up quickly in this area to advocate widely for a place that is so unique, has been another area of amazement,’ she said.
‘I also want to acknowledge the enormous contribution our dedicated photographers and ecologists are making to this campaign, in helping us to document the threatened species that inhabit this site, and showcasing them with such professional images, it is a true gift.’
The NSW Environment Awards will be MC’d by broadcaster, comedian and author Wendy Harmer, celebrating the remarkable dedication and achievements of nature lovers, campaigners, grassroots environmentalists, and conservation groups throughout the state.
Congratulations for this well earned recognition of all the hard work, devoted time, & informed advocacy to help save this beautifully intact eco system from destruction. There are so many educated & highly skilled people involved donating their knowledge, time & skills, as well as nearly all of the local community who can see we need to save the last of places like this for our children & grand children. Thank you so much.
Well done ‘Save Wallum’ team. It’s so encouraging to see so many people in the community standing up for the environment and saving this last patch of precious coastal Wallum heathland in Brunswick Heads.
I hope the prize goes to a project more deserving than save wallum, although closer scrutiny might help the followers of this protest realise how flimsy the whole campaign is.
The glossy black cockatoos used to advertise this fiasco are indeed endangered but NOT by this development.
The majority of the local community does not support the protest they are heartily sick of the ridiculous claims made by these so called experts and will be happy to see them leave.
I hear it is confronting for you to see Save Wallum being acknowledged as a Finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024 for the Marie Byles Award which celebrates a group which has initiated an outstanding new environmental campaign, launched in the last 24 months, and has demonstrated strong commitment and passion for the conservation of the NSW environment.
What is nothing less than malicious is denegation of a campaign that has, unlike a lot of protests in the past, put rhetoric aside and focused on the substance of what is at stake re the Wallum Estate. This campaign has been earmarked by taking people on an educative journey about the flora, fauna and geology of the site. Hopefully they are the winners of this award. It is deserving.
Malicious ?
Patricia the “educative” tours are through land that is NOT under threat from development , that is in fact being gifted to the community. Get off this doomed bandwagon .
Jill, you’re way out on your own here. This campaign has the support of many Bayside, Bruns and Mullum locals. The land you describe as being ‘gifted’ to the community is already within a buffer zone that the developer could NEVER do anything to. Don’t get sucked in to the hyperbolic claims by Clearance Property…
Its a prime site to be purchased and reforested as Compensatory Habitat for essential works such as roads or hospitals. – Bush regen works best when expanding healthy habitat. People will have to move inland as the sea rises (projections – aprox 1 metre by century end, and 10+ metres next century) – habitat for wildlife needs protection and enhancement to give them some chance in the coming times.
What’s the current rate of sea level rise? Let’s do the math together in the open. I’ll even ignore that you are contradicting the IPCC report to make it easier for you.