The Huon Valley has come away from Saturday’s 2026 Keep Australia Beautiful National Tidy Towns Awards with a national award win, a highly commended result and a finalist placing for the region overall.
The Huon Valley Native Plant Nursery took home the Biodiversity Conservation Award, the Huon Valley Waterwatch and Waterbug Blitz project was Highly Commended in the Water Conservation and Protection category, and the Huon Valley was recognised as Tasmania’s finalist for the national title of Australia’s Tidiest Town.
Huon Valley Mayor Sally Doyle said the results were a proud moment for the entire community.
“This recognition belongs to the volunteers, community groups and local organisations who have been quietly doing extraordinary things for our environment,” Mayor Doyle said.
“The Native Plant Nursery was established by Council to support volunteers responding to a real local need and in its first year propagated more than 4,000 native plants across 52 species. The Waterwatch project reflects the same spirit – community members giving their time to monitor and protect waterways that are central to our identity, our growers and our ecosystems.”
“These projects are different in scale and focus, but they all speak to the same thing – people in the Huon Valley care deeply about this place and want to contribute to something bigger than themselves.”
The Huon Valley submission also highlighted the Burton’s Reserve cultural burning partnership with SETAC and the Cygnet Folk Festival’s waste program, which achieved a 96 per cent diversion rate in its first year.
Council congratulates all involved and remains committed to supporting community-led sustainability initiatives across the Valley through our Liveability Strategy.
“Council’s approach is to create the conditions where community-led projects can thrive. These award results show what’s possible when local government gets behind the people who are driving change,” Mayor Doyle said.
About the National Tidy Towns Awards
The Keep Australia Beautiful National Tidy Towns Awards celebrate outstanding sustainability efforts in rural and regional Australia. More information is available at kab.org.au/tidy-towns
