Weeds Officers Recognised for Lifelong Efforts

DARRIN HERON

Since “day dot” Darrin Heron has been on the front line protecting the Clarence Valley from invasive weeds.

The Clarence Valley Council Weeds Officer was nominated for the 2021 NSW Buerckner Local Government Weed Professional Award for outstanding contribution to the on ground control of weeds in NSW and awarded a Certificate of Acknowledgement at the NSW Weeds Conference Dinner at Albury this year. Mr Heron started his job in 1998 as a trainee with Maclean Shire Council, then moved to Clarence Valley Weeds Authority which formed as a business unit of the Grafton, Maclean, Copmanhurst and Pristine Waters councils. “I’ve been here since day dot,” he said. “Back in the day we used paper maps. Now all the GPS technology has made our job so much easier.” In his role Mr Heron inspects a large area from the Lower Clarence out to Ebor for priority weeds, maps weeds infestations, encourages landholders to manage weeds and enforces priority controls under the NSW Biosecurity Act. “Tropical soda apple is our number one weed, followed by groundsel bush, which recently flared its head again since the new highway got put in,” he said. Some of the reasons he was nominated for the award include his ability to develop relationships with landholders and other stakeholders, his approach to holding land managers to account and willingness to share knowledge with other staff and members of the community. “I love working for Council. You meet a different person each day and get a good history lesson about so many places.” Mr Heron also mentors the Yaegl (Traditional Owner) Bush Regeneration Team. Through various projects, his actions have assisted in the development of a relationship between the Local Land Services and Traditional Owner groups. Mr Heron is also well known in the community for his dedication to volunteer groups such as the Yaegl Men’s Group and Lower Clarence Magpies Rugby League Club.

TONY SULLIVAN

Former Clarence Valley Council employee Tony Sullivan will be remembered for the bravery which gave his colleagues an appreciation of life.

The avid Cronulla Sharks fan worked for Council for eight years until his courageous battle with cancer ended on 2 February 2022, at the age of 54. In 2018 Tony assumed the role of Senior Natural Resource Management Officer (Vegetation Management). Around this same time, he received a terrible diagnosis and was given six months to live and had to have his left arm amputated. But despite this he continued to lead and motivate his team of ten staff to implement the NSW Weeds Action Program (WAP) and other weed biosecurity activities. “Tony was quite an inspirational leader for the weeds team here,” Coordinator Natural Resource Management Reece Luxton said. “He not only fought off the cancer with dogged determination; he held the team together. He worked right through rounds of chemotherapy and battled on.” In 2021 Mr Sullivan was nominated for the NSW Stephenson Local Government Weed Professional Award for outstanding contribution to planning and coordinating weed management programs in NSW and was posthumously awarded a Certificate of Acknowledgement at the NSW Weeds Conference Dinner at Albury this year. Some of the attributes highlighted in his nomination included his keenness to assume additional responsibility, the facilitation of change and innovation, and his pleasant manner. “The attribute that made Tony stand out above all was his love and passion for life, and unwavering commitment to his role in weed management,” Mr Luxton said. “Despite physical pain and uncertainty about his future, Tony continued to come to work and put in 100 per cent, which made his colleagues appreciate him and their own lives all the more.” Mr Sullivan used his knowledge in integrated weed management principles to successfully obtain grants for a range of activities funded through Council, the NSW Department of Primary Industries, North Coast Local Land Services, the Crown Reserves Improvement Fund, and the NSW Bushfire Stimulus Fund, and contributed to the development of multiple North Coast weed management strategic plans.