Tidy Towns FAQs

What is Tidy Towns About?

Each year, entry into the awards is open to all regional and remote communities, no matter how big or how small.  There are seven categories and an overall state winner.  Tidy Towns is about people getting together to provide a place where visitors are delighted to come, and locals want to stay, and it’s about reducing litter, water and energy consumption, celebrating culture and heritage and protecting Western Australia’s precious natural environment.

Read  about criteria and Awards 

State category finalists and the overall state finalists are selected from information in their submissions and then visited by judges.  Winners are announced at a gala ceremony in October.

Who can be involved?

You don't need to have the whole of your community involved (although that helps): individuals, clubs, schools, groups of residents, the local shire or community groups can enter.

What sort of projects can be included in Tidy Towns?

Almost any community project can be considered as a Tidy Towns project - work on what is important for your community. Community groups may already be working on many projects that can be rewarded through Tidy Towns, such as:

• Attracting grants to work on environmental or cultural projects
• Cultural activities such as festivals or painting murals
• Cultural planning initiatives
• Eco-tourism and cultural tourism projects
• Planting native trees and gardens
• Eradicating environmental weeds
• Fauna and flora recovery
• Improving homes or yards for elderly or disadvantaged people
• Providing Environmental Education programs in schools
• Local awards for a variety of community efforts
• Partnerships between community and government to address local issues
• Mentoring youth leaders in your community
• Recycling programs
• Reducing water and energy use
• Rehabilitating native bushland
• Restoring historic sites
• School environment displays at shopping centres, field days etc.
• Providing facilities such as seats, bins, shelters, BBQs
• Community litter clean ups
• Recording oral histories
• Propagating local native seed
• Water harvesting

Snapshots 2016 has more details of projects undertaken by State finalists.  

What is the 2017 timeline?

What support is provided to participants?

Keep Australia Beautiful staff are able to assist entrants with information throughout the year. Contact tidytowns@kabc.wa.gov.au or phone (08) 6364 6643. 

In 2015 Tidy Towns was a finalist in excellence in public sector management in 'Managing the environment' Category of the Premier's Awards.  

Tidy Towns is environment friendly.  

Keep Australia Beautiful (WA) offsets carbon emissions from travel undertaken during the judging round by supporting Greenfleet.

Together we are helping Australian landscapes by removing carbon from the atmosphere and restoring biodiverse native forests.

Watch a televised panel discussion on the benefits of being involved in Tidy Towns (as well as KAB programs Clean Beaches and Sustainable Cities).