Lesley Porter with Yarra Ranges Mayor Cr Tony Stevenson

Lesley Porter was named as Yarra Ranges Shire Citizen of the Year on Australia Day (Sat.).

The awards ceremony took place at the Yarra Glen Memorial Hall, following a citizenship ceremony.

Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Tony Stevenson, said the awards were Council’s opportunity to formally congratulate some outstanding people who dedicate their time and skills to others in the community.

Citizen of the Year – Lesley Porter
Young Citizens of the Year – Amelie S, Keely M, Jean-Pascal S
Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Trevor Ricketts

Ian De La Rue Award for Community Leadership – Suyin Chan

Environmentalist of the Year – Robyn Speering

Ken McIntosh Memorial Award (Young Environmental Achiever of the year) – Platypus Ambassadors

Community Group of the Year – Plastic Bag Free Groups (Healesville, Warburton and Dandenong Ranges)

“One of the many wonderful things about the Yarra Ranges is that we have so many people, in a variety of groups, who volunteer their time, care and effort to help others,” Cr Stevenson said.

“Among this year’s award recipients, we have people who assist school children and help to get them on a good track with their studies, young people who set out to permanently honour the first local volunteer for WWI and many people who are working diligently to protect our precious natural environment.

“These people have come from different backgrounds and experiences, but they all have the same overarching aim – to make the Yarra Ranges the best it can be, for all that make it their home, whether they’re people, plant, bird or animal.

“I encourage everyone in the Yarra Ranges to not wait until a particular time of year and thank the people around them who are making a real difference and adding to our communities, no matter how big or small their efforts may be.

Forty people from 19 countries including Malaysia, India, China, Spain, the Philippines, Vietnam, Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, among others will be officially welcomed to the country as Australian citizens at the event.

“Becoming an Australian citizen is a big step for someone to make, and I’m proud to see that these people, from all over the world, choose to live in the Yarra Ranges and join us as Australian citizens,” Cr Stevenson said.

“Our community is diverse, passionate and vibrant, and I and my fellow Councillors are proud to officially welcome these people into our community.”

The Council issued biographical statements about the winners:

Citizen of the Year – Lesley Porter

Lesley Porter has worked to directly improve the lives of vulnerable and at-risk young people in Yarra Ranges, through her work over the past 13 years at the Good Life Farm in Chum Creek.

Lesley created the Good Life Farm to provide a farm-based therapeutic and educational program for young people, providing vital life and living skills, youth mentoring, psychosocial support and animal-based therapy.

Some of the young people coming to the farm have experienced trauma, are disengaged from education, homeless, or face other barriers in their lives.

As a result, many children have improved at school, learnt important life skills, gained confidence and made friends. In 2012, she was awarded a Pride of Australia Victorian award for Inspiration.

Young Citizen of the Year – Amelie S, Keely M, Jean-Pascal S

Amelie, Keely and Jean-Pascal, three former students and classmates at Lilydale Primary School, were responsible for the renaming of the Lilydale Cenotaph area to the Ralph Goode Reserve, commemorating Ralph Goode MBE for his significant contribution to the community.

Having formed the idea in a small group at school, the three students set out to research, consult with and seek support from influential people and groups in the community, including Mr Goode’s descendants, local history groups, the museum, the RSL, trader groups and the Mayor. This resulted in a presentation to Council and influenced Council’s subsequent renaming of the reserve.

Ralph Goode, a businessman and Lilydale resident, was Lilydale’s first volunteer in World War I a recipient of an MBE for his community work.

The project showed initiative and dedication from Amelie, Keely and Jean-Pascal in their advocacy and through their passion and perseverance, they have made a significant and permanent change in their community.

Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Trevor Ricketts

Trevor has had significant impact on his community in Monbulk over more than 50 years.

A Justice of the Peace since 1969, Trevor has been involved with countless community groups in his area. In his long history of achievements, he has served as the President of the Business and Traders Association, who lobbied for and succeeded in establishing the Monbulk Police Station, a Charter President of the Rotary Club of Monbulk, President and Life Member of the Monbulk Soccer Club, President and Life Member of the Probus Club of Monbulk, a Trustee and Public Officer for the Monbulk and District Senior Citizens Club for more than 35 years, President of the Monbulk Primary School Committee, who was involved in connecting mains water to the school.

He’s been a past member and Treasurer of the Monbulk High School Committee, a member of the Lilydale Sewerage Authority Board, past President of the Monbulk Scouts Parents Committee and a member of the liaison committee between Sherbrooke and Lilydale Councils, providing community input for the amalgamation of the Sherbrooke and Lilydale Shires, among many other accolades.

Now, at 86, he is the Vice President of the Monbulk and District Men’s Shed, a club providing mateship and worthwhile projects for men in the community.

He has been tirelessly and regularly involved in launching projects in his community and dedicated to helping others.

He’s well-respected, trustworthy, fair and generous with his time.

Trevor is an extraordinary community member, a leader and a mentor, and a worthy recipient of the Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ian De La Rue Award for Community Leadership – Suyin Chan

Suyin is very well-known in the Upper Yarra community for her tireless work in many different areas. She has been the organisational backbone to countless events and programs in the Upper Yarra.

This includes the Springfest in Warburton – a fundraiser for the Warburton Primary School -, the creation of the Koha Community Café, the Remakery Group, helping to lead the campaign for the creation of the Warburton Skate Park, Warburton Community Space and Community Garden and her work in coordinating volunteers and exhibitions at the Warburton Water Wheel.

In the words of her nominator, “her life is a testament of giving to the community.”

Suyin has touched and improved many lives, has provided training and employment for many in the area and her work has inspired others to take up the mantle of volunteering.

Environmentalist of the Year – Robyn Speering

Robyn has volunteered with her local environmental groups, Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA) and Friends of the Mount Evelyn Aqueduct for more than 10 years.

She is in the community for her honesty, integrity and her willingness to lend a hand whenever she can.

Many community groups across the municipality rely on dedicated volunteers to continue running, and Robyn has been an asset to both MEEPPPA and FOMEA as a knowledgeable and passionate volunteer and as treasurer for both groups for many years.

These groups are responsible for managing substantial grant funding for the benefit of the environment.

Ken McIntosh Memorial Award (Young Environmental Achiever of the year) – Platypus Ambassadors

The Platypus Ambassador Group, which features 23 members aged from 8-12, began in 2017 after young people wanted to help protect the environment and the platypus, which can be found across the Yarra Ranges.

Guided by the Platypus Education Group, they have volunteered at numerous festivals and events, educating the community on the threats platypuses face and what they can do to protect them and their environment. Posters for schools and businesses have been created by the group, starting the conversation about waste issues and advocacy about the dangers posed by illegal opera house nets.

There have been regular litter cleanups in Belgrave over two years, collecting over 2000 pieces of litter, filling 25 bags. Almost 500 trees have been planted by the group along the Monbulk Creek, to enhance and protect platypus habitat.

These ambassadors have shown an inspirational drive to protect the platypus, with each volunteering more than 50 hours of their time and actively engaging with the group. Their advocacy encourages people of all ages to take notice and act. They played a key role in encouraging the State Government’s Opera House net ban from 1 July 2019.

Community Group of the Year – Plastic Bag Free Groups (Healesville, Warburton and Dandenong Ranges)

The Plastic Bag Free groups in Healesville, Warburton and the Dandenong Ranges have been a conversation starter for residents across the Yarra Ranges.

For more than four years, they have been a key driver in the community for people to reduce their use of plastic bags, ahead of the decision by major supermarkets to no longer provide single-use bags.

This has been done by holding sewing bees, making reusable bags and using the Boomerang Bag model.

These groups have worked with local supermarkets and other businesses, encouraging them to ditch single-use plastic bags and raise awareness of their impact on the environment.

Single-use bags can enter our local waterways and, eventually, Port Philip Bay. Plastics in the environment break up into smaller pieces, becoming difficult to manage and posing a significant hazard to marine life.

The Plastic Bag Free groups have also advocated to the State Government for a ban on single-use plastics, which contributed to the government’s announcement of a ban on single-use plastic bags from June 2019.

The group’s members have volunteered their time to help improve their local environment and help to inform the community to make better choices when they shop.

Certificate recipients:

Betty Crittenden, Montrose

Betty has been a dedicated member of the Mt Evelyn RSL sub-branch for more than 35 years.

She has organised dances, dinners and social activities for members, hosted morning teas and fundraising events, including selling ANZAC tokens and pins and poppies for more than three decades.

She is always around and active in supporting the RSL and its members, and assisted the club with paying off its building loan eight years early with her various fundraising drives.

She was instrumental in setting up a Women’s Auxiliary and served as president for 22 years.

She is a life member of the RSL’s Women’s Auxiliary and received the RSL National Certificate of Merit with a Gold Badge in 2013.

She currently serves as the RSL’s treasurer.

Belinda Grooby, Monbulk

Belinda is the founder of the Tribe Monbulk Youth Group.

She set up the youth group as an inclusive, safe space for young people to come together with their peers and enjoy time together.

The group gives young people a place where they feel respected, heard and encouraged to express themselves equally without judgement and more than 20 young people are currently members of the group.

Belinda and the youth group were recently successful in receiving funding through Council’s 2019 Grants for Community round, which will enable the Tribe team to grow the group further and hold events through the year.

Emma Taylor, Belgrave

Emma is a passionate community member and a keen volunteer, supporting groups such as the Belgrave Lake Park Cottage Playgroup, Kallista Kindergarten and Belgrave Survival Day.

As President of the Playgroup Committee, Emma manages bookings for party hire at the cottage, which is a key fundraiser for the group.

She has adapted the group during her time to help assist people experiencing family violence and has coordinated the planting and construction of an Indigenous-themed sensory garden which children enjoy each week.

Alongside her work with the Playgroup Committee, Emma is on the organising committee for Belgrave Survival Day, a significant event for the community.

She has supported this year’s event with a fundraising trivia night and the creation of a new Calm Zone, for families to bring children who experience sensory processing overloads.

This will help to make the event accessible for more member of the community.

Her dedication to her community is apparent in all of her work and has improved the lives of many, both directly and indirectly.

Jasper F, The Patch

Jasper is a year four student at The Patch Primary School with a strong passion for the environment.

He introduced the school to Zoos Victoria’s Fighting Extinction Schools program, which helps to save endangered wildlife locally and around the world.

Jasper and his brother, Wilbur, presented the program to the school, emphasising that the program would fit well within the school’s curriculum.

The students agreed and, as a result, all year 3-4 students have participated in biodiversity programs, learning about the importance of habitat and how to reduce species loss.

With other students, Jasper organised a free dress day at his school, raising $500 through donations for the Healesville Sanctuary’s Leadbeater’s Possum project; over the course of his Gold Coin Challenge, he raised over $1200.

Jasper has demonstrated an extraordinary awareness of environmental issues and a commitment to living his values, helping to grow his knowledge and the knowledge of others.

He is inclusive, supportive and encouraging of his peers and cares deeply about the environment and the many creatures that call it home.

Badger Creek Community Planning Group

The volunteer members of the Community Planning Group have been working since October, 2016, to consult with their community, form partnerships with other groups, the local primary school, businesses and other stakeholders and hold workshops and events aimed at improving their town.

More than five events have been organised, with more than 700 people engaged and more than 1000 volunteer hours dedicated to the cause.

The members care about their community and are inclusive and passionate in the way they get others involved.

Patrick Boucher, Yarra Ranges Life TV

Patrick and his team at Yarra Ranges Life TV have produced videos telling stories around the Yarra Ranges since 2017.

With a mission to inform, engage and entertain viewers, the team regularly report live from community events and produce regular videos recapping the week in news from other local publications.

While it is a commercial operation Yarra Ranges Life TV delivers enormous social benefit to many, highlighting many of the underappreciated facets of life in the Yarra Ranges, and encouraging greater engagement from locals and visitors.

Through the two years that Yarra Ranges Life TV has been running, Patrick and his team have amassed a regular viewership of people in the Yarra Ranges and beyond, and racked up more than one million Facebook video views.

Patrick’s dedication to telling the stories of people and groups across Yarra Ranges has resulted in countless videos being produced, supporting events and programs big and small.

He is appreciated and respected by Council and the community, and a deserving recipient of a certificate of recognition.