‘These awards, held every two years, provide a great opportunity for people to share their ideas and projects that have helped improve the health of the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchments,’ explained CMA General Manager Ms Fiona Marshall. ‘Lots of people in our area are doing great things, but unfortunately we often don’t hear about the work being done and give people a pat on the back for their achievements.’

Chair of the HRLN Ruth Hardy encouraged all Landcare groups and individuals to apply.  ‘Our region has nearly 500 Landcare groups and many individual volunteers working hard to conserve and restore our land and water resources for us to enjoy now and for future generations’.

The term ‘Landcare’ refers to all groups that care for our land and water, including Coastcare, Bushcare and 'Friends of' groups.

The Hunter-Central Rivers region extends from the Central Coast in the south to Taree in the north and Merriwa in the west. Coastcare and marine conservation groups can also apply as the Hunter-Central Rivers region extends three nautical miles out to sea.

These awards are held every two years, with this being the third time the awards have been held. This year community groups, primary producers, councils, businesses, Aboriginal communities, individuals and the education sector are invited to nominate for the Awards under ten separate categories. These include Landcare Legend, Young Landcare Legend, Sustainable Farm Practices, Coastcare, Primary Producer, Community Group, Education, Urban Landcare, Aboriginal and Local Government Partnership.

The categories and criteria are consistent with the State Landcare Awards, which allows groups and individuals to prepare a written application and submit it under both award programs.

$500 prize money is up for grabs in each category of the 2011 Champions of the Catchment Awards.

Applications are now open and close Monday 11 April. Application forms can be downloaded and submitted electronically to the CMA.

Winners in each category will be announced at an awards ceremony at Tocal Field Days on Saturday 30 April at 12 noon on the main stage. People wanting to attend the awards ceremony can pre-purchase tickets to Tocal Field Days for a reduced price of $10 (normally $17). This includes a one day pass to Tocal Field Days on Saturday 30 April and coffee and cake served in a function room after the awards ceremony.

Tickets must be pre-purchased using the ticket purchase form by the 20 April, so tickets can be sent in the mail. This is a great opportunity to experience all that Tocal Field Days has to offer at the same time as sharing experiences in caring for our catchments.

Winners will be assessed by a panel of judges with winners announced at Tocal Field Days on Saturday 30 April.