Save Water Alliance won Award

Much to our amazement, last night the Save Water Alliance won an award from the Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) in the category of "Member Group Award" - for the most outstanding community group campaign of 2008.
Anyway, the background is that Bernard Eddy, our Vice-Chairman, has been liaising with the ladies from the Nature Conservation Council for a long time, and also the Wilderness Society, and the Environment Defender's office. So these key environmental campaigners are well aware of the Save Water Alliance's efforts.

Anyway a few weeks ago, the key NCC Secretariat people came down to have a look at the Kangaloon Aquifer, and Bernie and I, and Leon Hall from REPS, showed them around the general area.

While we were touring the district, Mithra from the NCC, happened to find 3 four-leafed Clovers. We figured that was a good omen. We now find out that it was indeed a lucky symbol for us.The NCC Secretariat, led by Kate Faehrmann, then put up an automatic response email system for responding to the Dept of Planning re the Kangaloon Aquifer Environment Assessment (via their website).

Then, unbeknown to me, Bernie nominated me for an individual award (which was nice of him). So he and I decided to go along to their Awards Night event, in Sydney, last night. Expecting nothing, I was not surprised to be "passed over" in the individual awards event (in favour of Doug Lithgow, from Newcastle who has been lobbying for 35 years for things in and around Newcastle and who has personally got Nobby's Lighthouse protected (from everything including the Pasha Bulker). So he was a well deserved winner.

But then we discovered that the Save Water Alliance (along with 6 other groups) had been nominated by the NCC secretariat . And lo and behold, we were awarded the prize by the judges (the NCC Committee).

David, (with his cow), with Paul Stephenson,
Mayor of Goulburn, and (at the time) Independent Candidate for the local NSW seat.
Bernie is working the phone on the far left of screen.
This was our our biggest publicity stunt, in Bowral last year.
we have also held three Public Meetings - two in Robertson and one in Bowral (so far).

I would especially like to thank Bernie and Dorothy, Mim, Olivia, David, and Kim and Peter for their loyal and untiring support. And Gavan for his sage advice along the way, and Lucy for her encouragement and publicity support.

For me, the most invigorating part of the evening was simply being amongst 120 other people who were all true believers fighting for environmental causes (large and small) around NSW (and Australia).

It sometimes gets lonely here, fighting for a cause, and thinking that everybody is against us. So, it was great to "feel the joy" for a change.