Our own Christine awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia

Posted on 2 February, 2023 by Ivan

Connecting Country is excited to learn that one of our committee of management members, Christine Brooke, has been formally recognised for her outstanding dedication and volunteering for the environment and local landscape restoration.

Christine was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia – a great acknowledgement for her decades of far-reaching volunteering and commitment to the environment. We are very lucky to have Christine’s commitment to Connecting Country, and benefit from her expertise and experience. The medal was granted on 26 January 2023 for her ‘service to the environment, and to the community’.

Christine has a long history of service, including representation on the North Central Catchment Management Authority, Loddon Plains Landcare Network (formerly Loddon Vale Landcare Network), Sutton-Grange Landcare Group, Australian Landcare International, Natural Resource Management Committee, North Central Goldfields Regional Library Corporation, Loddon Shire Council, Faraday Community Association and of course, Connecting Country. She has also won a number of awards during volunteering, remains an active Landcare volunteer, and deserves a big pat on the back!

The humble Christine told us ‘I am a bit overwhelmed by this because, as you all know, it is not one individual that gets things happening but everyone … as part of a team, of which I’m privileged to be a part’.

Christine has shared her expertise and knowledge across many volunteer organisations over her long career (photo courtesy of Bendigo Advertiser)

The mighty Chewton Chat community newspaper has published a terrific story about Christine, which we have included below. Great work Christine and thank you for your huge contribution!

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) awarded for service to the environment and the community

When local volunteer Christine Brooke and her husband John moved to Faraday ten years ago, Christine already had a strong interest in working for the environment and the community.

Before long she had become involved with local groups Sutton Grange Landcare and the Faraday Community Association. Her roles in Loddon Shire as a councillor and mayor along with her time on the board and community group of the North Central Catchment Management Authority gave her an overview of how the community and the government agencies can work together successfully. She has been involved at national, state and local levels of Landcare.

This led to her being elected to the Committee of Management of the local landscape restoration organisation and Landcare Network, Connecting Country, working across the Mount Alexander region. And this is where all her skills of governance and accountability, her knowledge of natural resource management along with her understanding of how communities can work together are all used so effectively.

As Christine explained to the Chat, ‘Our communities are vibrant places to live, because of the tremendous amount of time and effort given by volunteers to make them so, from the environment, the arts, sport organisations and all the work of parents within our education systems. I believe we can all play a part to keep them that way.’

Chewton Chat
February 2023