Tweed Sustainability Awards
Winners
The Tweed Sustainability Awards celebrate champions in our community who are going above and beyond for sustainability in the Tweed.
Our goal is to:
- recognise champions who are going above and beyond for sustainability
- support the growing community of people, projects and businesses focused on protecting the Tweed's unique and internationally significant environment
- inspire others to lead the way in sustainable practices.
Sustainability means:
'Balancing environmental, economic and social impacts to satisfy the needs of the present, without affecting future generations’ ability to meet their needs.'
Tweed Sustainability Award winners 2023
Regenerative agriculture
Woodland Valley Farms (second year running)
Regenerative farming for soil carbon sequestration and sustainable food production
Woodland Valley Farms achieved 350.6 tonnes of soil organic carbon sequestration, zero organic waste, regenerated 50 hectares of land, operated fully off-grid, and saved 86% in egg packaging waste.
Wildlife and habitat conservation
Fingal Head Coastcare
Creating and maintaining habitat to keep Fingal special
Fingal Head Coastcare engaged with kindergartens to university students and contributed over 4,000 hours, planted over 2,000 plants, maintained 32 hectares of land and improved public safety and access.
Tourism
Kirra Dive on the Tweed
Connection to Sea Country and threatened species conservation in Tweed Coastal Waters
Kirra Dive on the Tweed preserve and protect Tweed coastal waters in consultation and collaboration with local Traditional Descendants, NSW government departments and local conservation groups for sustainable tourism.
Kirra Dive on the Tweed is working to ensure sustainable tourism for Cook Island Aquatic Reserve.
Highly commended certificate: Tweed Eco Cruises
Tweed Eco Cruises
Caring for the environment and culture beyond the river bend
Tweed Eco Cruises removed over 2 tonnes of debris from the river in the past 2 years while promoting environmental and cultural awareness.
Bringing cultural and environmental education with Arabella Douglas of Currie Country.
Hauling goods up the river to flood affected communities during the 2022 floods.
Hospitality
Pipit Restaurant
Innovation cooking to maximise local produce and reduce food waste
Pipit Restaurant promote creativity with local produce and reducing food waste, 100% sustainable seafood sourcing, and take a holistic business view on waste and supporting young chefs for economic and social outcomes.
Local ingredients and a sense of landscape in modern dining.
Highly commended certificate: Potager
Potager
Delivering a more sustainable dining experience
Potager's 20kw Solar System equals 555 trees planted and a reduction of 9215 litres of petrol/10472kg of coal burnt each year.
Potager solar panels installed.
Certificate of appreciation for HSC student work placement.
Sustainability - Education
Stokers Siding Public School
Little people looking after little life
Stokers Siding Public School’s Nature Explorers program assists children to identify and nurture little environmental friends like insects, bees and water bugs, and help them understand how we can improve native flora and fauna health.
Sustainability - Business
Summerland Credit Union
Australia’s only regionally-based banking institution to be a B-Corporation
Summerland Credit Union achieved a 21% reduction (39% with Green offset) in CO2 emissions (petrol, diesel, electricity, paper and flights) over the past 2 years despite growing the business by 24%.
Highly commended certificate: Husk Farm Distillery
Husk Farm Distillery
Farm to bottle, a new philosophy in sustainability
Husk Farm Distillery’s zero waste ‘full circle distillation’ process has improved further with a new mill achieving 30% better yield and a 21% decrease in electricity usage.
In-house bottle refilling station.
Bulk products for bars and cardboard shredding for packaging.
Sustainability - Adult
Beverley Fairley
Converting sugar cane land to rainforest at Kynnumboon
Beverley Fairley planted 12,000 native plants to create over 3 hectares of rainforest and wetland habitat at Kynnumboon, expanding on 20 years of restoration work by the landowner.
Sustainability - Community
Murwillumbah Farmers Market
Fostering local food security, sustainable agriculture, waste reduction and community
Murwillumbah Farmers Markets support local farmers and artisans with a sustainable route to market, reducing food miles and food waste, and promote a circular economy, and limit emissions.
People's Choice
Agape Outreach Inc
Rescued food to feed homeless and disadvantaged
Each year Agape Outreach Inc transform tonnes of rescued food into meals for the disadvantaged, repurpose tonnes of second-hand clothing, reduce waste sent to landfill and reduce their environmental footprint.
Rescued food distribution at Agape.
Recognising winners
As a winner, you will receive:
- Promo logo to use on social media channels - “I was a winner in the 2023 Tweed Sustainability Awards”
- Professional photoshoot
- Social media post
- Tweed Link winners’ article
- Environment and Sustainability e-Newsletter feature stories
Award categories
Nominations were invited in the following categories:
- Regenerative Agriculture: Recognising outstanding contributions to the restoration of soils, waterways and biodiversity in agriculture.
- Wildlife and Habitat: Recognising outstanding contributions to the protection and conservation or active management of wildlife and native habitat.
- Tourism and Hospitality: Recognising outstanding contributions by tourism and hospitality operators to the environment and community.
- Sustainability: Recognising outstanding contributions to improved sustainability across the following sub-categories:
- young people (under 18)
- schools/education sector
- Not-for-profit/community groups
- businesses
- adults