May 29, 2009
The grand champion sustainable gardener for 2009 is a Tamworth nurse who admits to caring passionately about being environmentally green in her own backyard.
Panorama Rd, Calala, resident Sharon Taylor was named the grand champion Tamworth Regional Sustainable Communities Award winner today at a presentation in Tamworth that acknowledged the caring role so many community members have in promoting sustainable gardening.
The 2009 awards are the second to celebrate the environmental move to honoring Tamworth residents who are embracing more sustainable practices in their gardens and green spots but continue a tradition of civic awards for great gardens.
Tamworth Regional Council horticultural manager Eric Budgen said that the quality of entries this year had been outstanding although numbers were not huge. Mr Budgen said the competition judges were impressed and excited by the extent of the sustainable gardening being practised and promoted. He said it was clear that the wonderful results being obtained were influencing and educating more people, particularly young school students, to do more to look after their environment, conserve water, and use recycling as an everyday habit in more places.
Among the school winners were students who daily harvest their vegie patches, feed the chooks and recycle the water onto green spaces. McCarthy High School, the secondary schools winner, has also recently started an environmental council which is looking to introduce new green lessons, like recycling bins next to every rubbish bin in classrooms, on an ongoing basis throughout the school campus.
Prizes, including vouchers and cash from sponsors Bunnings, Country Energy, Tamworth Nursery, Namoi CMA, Penford, Wests Entertainment, Joblinkplus, Glenavon Partnership and the Northern Daily Leader were awarded to 13 different winners.
Ms Taylor has a big residential space to garden – about five times the normal suburban house block – and started transforming a jungle of grass and environmental weeds five years ago when she moved in. She says the veggie garden is now almost self-sufficient and elsewhere the garden contains a wide selection of indigenous plants native to the local Tamworth area. She mulches, and mulches, and has swales and detention basins throughout the yard to collect stormwater and tanks for rainwater capture. Although she’s committed, she’s not a purist and a greenie with a pink hue. She also helps design gardens but admits these days weekends are about the only time she spends in hers.
The rural residential winner was Barraba couple Allan and Petah Hingst. Mr Hingst is nearly 87 and does it from a scooter wheelchair these days. He’s a former market gardener who retired to Barraba nine years ago. They really wanted to live in the bush, but couldn’t, but have instead brought the bush right up to their house with natives and birds surrounding them.
The full results were:
Community Group
1st - Billabong Clubhouse
2nd - Manilla Matters Committee
Secondary School
1st - McCarthy Catholic College
Large Primary School
1st - Westdale Public School
2nd - Kootingal Public School
Small Primary School
1st - Nundle Public School
2nd - Tintinhull Public School
Rural/Hobby Farm
1st - Harry and Robyn Fletcher
2nd - Frank and Lorna Szymanski
Rural Carbon Credit
Special Award - James and Mare Hombsch
Residential Tamworth
1st - Sharon Taylor
Residential Barraba
1st - Alan and Petah Hingst
Grand Champion
Sharon Taylor (Tamworth)