Flinders MP Greg Hunt with Western Port volunteer Dr Tim Ealey.A LOCAL volunteer who has worked tirelessly to revegetate the coastal area around Western Port has won a national award.
Federal MP Greg Hunt last week announced Dr Tim Ealey as the winner of the $5000 Minister’s Award for Coastal Custodians, marking the start of national Coastcare Week.
Mr Hunt said he was delighted to announce the win to Dr Ealey, who had helped rehabilitate degraded coastal areas such as Coronet Bay, Lang Lang and Blind Bight.
“This is a great achievement for Dr Ealey, whose pioneering work was ranked at the top of 26 nominations from around Australia,” Mr Hunt said. “Dr Ealey’s work typifies the characteristics recognised in the Minister’s Award – identifying a problem, using initiative, garnering volunteer support and raising awareness of coastal environment issues.”
At 80, Dr Ealey is achieving incredible results for his local coastal environment by fighting against erosion and planting thousands of mangrove seedlings to rejuvenate coastal and marine ecosystems.
“I am delighted that this quiet achiever has been named the Minister’s Coastal Custodian of 2006,” Mr Hunt said.
Dr Ealey has experimented with a range of planting techniques, and despite losing much of the work in floods, has established thousands of mangrove seedlings in Coronet Bay.
Earlier this year, Dr Ealey obtained an Australian Government Community Water Grant to expand his planting program at the Bass Valley Primary School and to build a glass house to germinate mangrove seeds.
