Byron Shire Council (BSC) have won the international Green Apple Award for their Sandhills Wetlands project in Byron Bay.
The Suffolk Park Community Association (SPCA) had submitted the nomination after they visited the site when they were considering the options for how to improve Baywood Chase Lake in Suffolk Park.
‘We nominated Byron Council and then totally forgot, until last week when we were advised they had won,’ SPCA President Kelly Minahan told The Echo.
‘We saw the environmental significance of the Sandhills Wetland and believed the work deserved to be recognised internationally. We were very pleased to nominate Byron Shire Council.’
‘We believe BSC is the first Australian local government council to win a Green Apple Award. If BSC is successful in the next round of the Green World Awards, Byron Bay could have the opportunity to host the Green World Awards in 2028,’ he said in the press release.
Restored after sand mining
The original wetlands, on a 1.8-hectare site in the heart of Byron Bay, were destroyed by sandmining in the 1960s and for many years the site was overgrown, degraded and attracted antisocial behaviour.
The project restored the ecological function of the wetlands, reinstated the natural landscape and honoured cultural heritage The project was co-designed with Arakwal and supported by Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council and Crown Lands.
The awards will be presented in November at the House of Lords in Westminster, UK.
The Sandhills Wetlands project has also won three other awards, including the landscape category of the National Trust (NSW) Heritage.
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