At the recent Agsafe Stewardship Conference and Awards in Brisbane, the drumMUSTER program came together from all parts of the country to recognise outstanding contributions to agricultural stewardship.
Awards presented for the program were for the Community Group of the Year, Council Collection Facility of the Year, and the drumMUSTER Supporter of the Year.
With over 100 delegates at the conference, it was a fantastic opportunity to gather industry professionals and organisations together to discuss advancing stewardship within the industry.
The first drumMUSTER award for the evening was for the:
Community Group of the Year. The finalists were:
- Dookie Lions Club, Victoria
- Kaniva Cricket Club, Victoria
- Coorow P&C, Western Australia
Winner: Kaniva Cricket Club, Victoria
When Kaniva Cricket Club needed a way to fundraise for their community group, they choose drumMUSTER as their pathway. In 2010 the club started inspecting chemical containers and to date have inspected just shy of 50,000 agvet chemical containers. The Kaniva Cricket Club has an annual collection with an average of 6,000 drums returned each year. In 2010, the cricket club saw the benefit in educating local farmers about the program; conducting a farm to farm drive about how to clean the chemical containers and which ones were participating in the program. The Kaniva Cricket Club continue to promote the drumMUSTER program with their drum returns growing every year. The judging panel were impressed with the commitment the club has to raising much needed funds while at the same time helping their local environment.
Council Collection Facility of the Year. The finalists were:
- City of Great Bendigo, Victoria
- Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority, South Australia
- Mackay Regional Council, Queensland
Winner: Mackay Regional Council, Queensland
Mackay Regional Council has been a collection agency for the drumMUSTER program for nearly 20 years. The Mackay region is a highly productive agricultural area and is responsible for one-third of Australia’s sugar annually. Due to the amount of herbicide and pesticide use associated with sugar production, the regional council introduced the drumMUSTER program to help reduce the environmental impact of agvet containers in landfill and on farms.
The judges acknowledged Mackay Council’s proactive support of local growers, ensuring the program’s success across a significant geographical footprint, adding to Mackay’s environmental aim of having a region that embodies the target of Healthy Rivers to Reef systems.
The first Mackay collection was held in November 1999 and with the support of the local farming community, continues to be an active and successful participant of the program today.
drumMUSTER Supporter of the Year. The finalists were:
- Alison Campbell, Pleasant Hills Community Association
- Roz Lloyd, Newdegate Community Development Association
- Tim Van Kooten, Impact Community Services, Bundaberg
Winner: Roz Lloyd, Newdegate Community Development Association
Roz Lloyd is a member of the Newdegate Community Development Association and has been participating in the drumMUSTER program for over 15 years. Roz has led the way with the association on collecting and inspecting chemical containers to raise funds for their community. With Roz’s help the association would not have a been able to collect almost 200,000 chemical containers and be able to raise over $30,000.00. With these funds, Roz and the association have been able to help the Newdgate community with projects such as; an upgrade to the local tennis courts, Australia Day displays and plaques, as well as ANZAC medallions for school children. Roz’s commitment to the drumMUSTER program and the Newdegate community is why he is this year’s Outstanding drumMUSTER Supporter.
I’m very humbled to be recognised for the ongoing work to keep the clean drums rolling back into the compound” – Roz Lloyd