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Katanning Landcare environmentalist Bev Lockley named as a finalist for the 2021 GSDC medal

Headshot of Tom Shanahan
Tom ShanahanThe West Australian
GSDC medal finalist Bev Lockley
Camera IconGSDC medal finalist Bev Lockley

Bev Lockley has been committed to preserving Katanning’s natural environment since she moved to the Great Southern 20 years ago.

Now, the Great Southern Development Commission has recognised her contribution by naming the Katanning Landcare volunteer as a finalist for this year’s GSDC medal.

“I believe we need to try and use as little of our planet’s resources as we can, and you can do that by living self-sufficiently,” Ms Locksley said.

Ms Lockley moved to the region after a flight over salt-affected lands in the early 1990s.

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She and her husband were inspired to buy a salt-affected plot of land in Ewlyamartup to enhance the land and develop a self-sufficient off-grid home, which they live in to this day.

Since buying the 160ha property just outside Katanning, Ms Lockley has planted more than 60,000 trees with her husband to reduce the water table and the salinity of the soil.

In her voluntary work outside of her daytime job at Katanning Ice Creamery, Ms Lockley has also been a major player in protecting and enhancing the wildlife around Katanning Town Creek with Friends of Piesse Park.

She has committed her ice-creamery business to using only compostable materials, and will be donating the equipment from the business to Katanning’s new environmental centre at Piesse Park later this year.

Ms Lockley also played a big role in the establishment of Katanning’s Tree Farm and helped get Katanning’s Containers for Change up and running.

The GSDC Medal was first awarded in 2002 to celebrate innovation and leadership in the management of the Great Southern’s natural resources.

The finalists are Ms Lockley, Steve and Geraldine Janicke from Frankland River, and hydrologist Ruhi Ferdowsian.

The winner will be announced at a gala dinner at the Albany Entertainment Centre today.

Emma Firth and Bev Lockley
Camera IconEmma Firth and Bev Lockley

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