Citizens of the Year Celebrated at Leichhardt Oval
A local bushcare advocate and a supporter of local teens and their families have been recognised as Leichhardt Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year.
The awards were hosted on 12 May in a ceremony held at Leichhardt Oval’s function centre.
Bronwen Campbell was named Citizen of the Year for her work volunteering in the local area for over 20 years in the field of native vegetation, sharing her thirst for learning about native bush regeneration, biodiversity and protection across the local community.
Her achievements include;
- Volunteering at Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery since 1998, not only collecting but also creating a massive seed database so that she can share her knowledge with others.
- As a Sydney Secondary College Balmain campus former teacher, she continues to teach students there about the connection of native plants and native animals in their own school.
- Involved with the Inclusive Community Education Program run by Sydney Community College that helps people with a disability to learn about plants and plant natives.
A strong advocate for Callan Park, she attends the Callan Park Bushcare group weekly.
Athavan Sresutharsan was named Young Citizen of the Year. The 22 year-old former Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt campus student has been volunteering for five years and was nominated for is his hard work and enthusiasm in supporting local kids, teens and their families.
His achievements include:
- Team Coordinator Youth Care respite programs including ‘Buddies Day’ & ‘Teen Day’.
- Part of the local yard maintenance program ‘Green Team’, which carries out gardening at refuges and shelters to create a more welcoming environment for families fleeing domestic violence or residents of local aged or disability care centres.
- For volunteer work at the Rozelle’s St Vincent De Paul store, Athavan was nominated as a stand out of all young volunteers across the whole Sydney ‘Vinnies’ team.
As part of the Citizen Awards night, Council also launched the Amy Large Volunteer of the Year Award ahead of the inaugural Amy Large Award to be presented in 2017, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to local families, organizations, programs and individuals in need.
Amy Large was widely known for her long years of service supporting Birchgrove Public School committees, the Birchgrove Scorpions Junior Rugby League team, the Balmain Town Hall and the Back to Balmain Day Committees, as well as her work with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
The award is seen as a tribute to Amy recognising her long years of service volunteering for the local community.
– Ends –