Cara Harrington (Marketing Manager – Vitasoy), Sangeerni Iyer ( CEO – Vitasoy), Cass Moore (Mulloon), Carolyn Hall (Mulloon), Kathy Kelly (Mulloon) and Richard Campbell (Managing Director – HydroTerra).

Mulloon Institute recognised as a Finalist in the Nature Positive Award at the 35th National Banksia Sustainability Awards 2024

We were up against an incredibly strong field in the prestigious Nature Positive Award, and while we haven’t taken out the top gong this year, we sincerely congratulate Vic Catchments for their wonderful work in restoring waterways while uniting communities and building biodiversity - their work is truly inspiring and worthy of this award.

This prestigious award celebrates achievements in conservation, habitat restoration and species protection. It recognises individuals, organisations and initiatives leading the way in sustainable management practices, ecosystem rehabilitation, and innovative research and technology for preserving biodiversity.

This recognition as a Finalist is a testament to our incredible team at Mulloon Institute, Mulloon Consulting and Mulloon Creek Natural Farms. Their unwavering dedication and hard work have been instrumental in getting us here tonight.

2024 may not be our year for the win, but the pursuit of excellence continues. We are grateful to Banksia Foundation for amplifying our mission of restoring landscapes to benefit biodiversity and agriculture, and for sharing our story of hope for the farming future of Australia.

A BIG thank you to the Banksia Foundation and judges. This national recognition at these 35th National Banksia Sustainability Awards builds on our story of hope, attracting increased visibility to our work, and opens doors to new partnerships, collaborations and expanded funding opportunities.

The Mulloon Institute’s flagship project is the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative (MRI) in southern New South Wales which is helping rebuild the functionality and resilience of the Mulloon catchment, its riparian corridor, tributaries, floodplains, wetlands, hills and woodlands, and is forming a critical biodiversity corridor in the region.

The MRI has provided a story of what can be achieved when grassroots rural communities come together and aspire to make change in how their landscapes function and how they manage their landscapes. It has shown communities that catchment-scale projects are possible, that funding can be found and that support from natural resource managers, regulators, scientists, and politicians can coalesce around participatory projects. It demonstrates how rural communities can deliver a better future that combines safeguarding the richness of nature, with sustainable and financially productive agriculture and adaption to climate change.