Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/131994
communitylife the competition. According to Keep Australia Beautiful WA, irrespective of whether or not a town wins an award, its people experience increased pride in their town; greater social cooperation; improved facilities and recreation areas; reduced waste; tourism growth; youth participation; and hands-on education. Such outcomes are a reminder that sometimes the greatest achievements are born from a series of small but significant endeavours. These overarching community outcomes are also reflected in the strict judging criteria by which each town is assessed: community action and partnership; general appearance; waste management and litter prevention; natural environment conservation; heritage and culture; water conservation; energy innovation; and young legends. While it may seem unfair to compare towns with diverse circumstances, "it's more about identifying who is doing the most with what they have", says McLean. "Therefore, essentially, we expect a lot more to be achieved in larger towns." With 20 years of judging experience under his belt, veteran Tidy Towns national judge Dick Olenski knows what he's looking for. After visiting and assessing each state and territory's tidiest towns, Dick will announce the national Tidy Towns award winner and category winners. Competing for the title of Australia's tidiest town in 2012/13 are Armidale (New South Wales), Wycheproof (Victoria), Longreach (Queensland), Hedland, Port and South (WA), Victor Harbor (South Australia), Latrobe (Tasmania) and Wugularr (Beswick, Northern Territory). Although Tidy Towns is a competition exclusively for rural and regional communities "[The town's] people experience increased pride in their town." around the country, Keep Australia Beautiful aims for a nationwide approach to achieving sustainable environments. Following Tidy Towns' success, similar programs have been developed for metropolitan and coastal communities: they are known as the Sustainable Cities and Clean Beaches initiatives, respectively. These programs are largely about encouraging, awarding and celebrating the banding together of people in communities. In the context of climate change and natural disasters, however, it's often the Tidy Towns demographic – regional and rural 78 communities – that is the worst affected, so the unity facilitated by the Tidy Towns awards is all the more important. "It doesn't matter if it's a flood, fire or cyclone," explains McLean. "We see communities band together and get the hard work done to ensure their community is back on track." In addition to the awards, Tidy Towns has broadened its offerings recently by providing towns with information, support, networking opportunities and even grants, giving the program a community development framework. "Tidy Towns is about much more than just single projects," asserts McLean. "It's a framework which fundamentally changes the whole culture of the town to collectively focus on the town's sustainability." Get tidy 10 things that make for a Tidy Town: 1. Community pride. 2. A suite of sustainability initiatives that is relevant to the particular town. 3. Partnerships across and within the community (that is, between community groups, local council, businesses, schools and individuals). 4. A well-presented and cared-for town. 5.Friendly locals. 6.The ability of a town to promote its unique qualities. 7.Youth engagement. 8. Volunteers. 9. An action plan for the future. 10.Innovative ideas. Above: Representatives from Caloundra receiving their Overall Australian Winner 2012 award.