Kalgoorlie-Boulder was named the State’s tidiest town last year as part of the Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards, and this year is looking to earn itself a national title. National Tidy Towns judge Gail Langley recently visited and toured the city with KalgoorlieBoulder Urban Landcare Group chief executive Kim Eckert. Ms Eckert said the tour was to introduce the judge to the city’s key sustainability projects.
“We haven’t in the whole history of Tidy Towns gone this far,” she said. “Tidy Towns is not just about rubbish, although that is an important aspect. “It’s about promoting and enhancing regional and remote communities in sustainability.”
Ms Eckert said the tour started at the nursery in Karlkurla Bushland Park, where many of the city’s environmental and conversational land management resources were held. Also highlighted was the Williamstown cactus project, which saw the removal of 765 tonnes of high-priority invasive cacti species from Williamstown in East Kalgoorlie.
Other initiatives showcased included an LED lighting project on Hannan Street, the city’s extensive solar panel implementation, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community Garden and the Heartwalk trail through the CBD.
“The city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder does a fantastic job in environmental sustainability projects and I am working with the sustainability officer to showcase the city’s projects,” Ms Eckert said. She said Kalgoorlie-Boulder was among the first 35 members to engage in the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership, a local government program encouraging regional cities to share sustainability ideas.
The 2018 Tidy Towns Awards will be hosted between April 5 and 7 in Barmera, South Australia
This article first appeared in the Kalgoorlie Miner on 15 February 2018
