Cassowary Awards are back, time to nominate our Wet Tropics champions

The coveted Cassowary Awards are returning in 2021 after a year’s hiatus and the Wet Tropics Management Authority is calling out to the community to nominate its Wet Tropics champions.

The Cassowary Awards are the only awards program in Australia to recognise community contributions to world heritage management.

The 18th Cassowary Awards will be held on 19 June, 2021 in TANK 3 at the Cairns Botanical Gardens. Nominations for the nine award categories open today (24 March) and remain open until 19 April 2021.

Chair of the Authority Leslie Shirreffs said the Cassowary Awards celebrated the actions and contributions of the community throughout the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area’s almost 9000 km2, extending from west of Townsville to just south of Cooktown.

"The Cassowary Awards recognise community efforts to conserve, present and protect the Wet Tropics Area and honour those outstanding individuals and organisations who apply their passion and skills to protect and showcase the Area,” she said.

“We are seeking nominations from across the community—including innovators, educators, young people, tour operators and Rainforest Aboriginal People—so we can celebrate the integral work of these local champions.”

The Authority’s Cassowary Awards have been held since 1999 and have become a prestigious event on the Far North Queensland calendar.

In 2019, a new award category for Climate Change Leadership was established to recognise the need for urgent work in this area.

“The new award recognises the growing importance of research and on-ground action to deal with the impacts of climate change on the Area. This is something the Authority is working hard to address with its Accept Act Adapt Climate Adaptation Plan for the Wet Tropics 2020–2030 and through a range of other projects,” Ms Shirreffs said.

The nine categories members of the public can nominate people for are:

 ▪     Thorsborne Award for Community Conservation and Rehabilitation

 ▪     Tourism and Presentation

 ▪     Innovation and Research

 ▪     Education

 ▪     People. Country. Culture. Award

 ▪     Peter Hitchcock Community Champion Award

 ▪     Government and Industry Initiatives

 ▪     Climate Change Leadership

 ▪     Young Cassowary Award

Winners from the 2019 Cassowary Awards included, Rainforest Aboriginal Elder Allison Halliday, CSIRO ecologist Dr David Westcott, Jaragun Natural Resource Management and Malanda Primary School.

Do you know someone that is a Wet Tropics champion? If so, please complete or download a nomination form here:

www.wettropics.gov.au/nominate