Mollymook environmental activist and community campaigner Monica Mudge has been named as the New South Wales Community Hero category of the 2024 Women of the Year Awards.
Monica is the visionary behind Treading Lightly Inc, a not-for-profit organisation that stands at the forefront of environmental advocacy in the Yuin region.
Following the Black Summer bushfires, Mrs Mudge and her team tapped into their grassroots knowledge and connections, and rallied passionate volunteers into action.
A wife, mother of two strong young women, and a yoga teacher, Mrs Mudge holds a special connection to Country and her community and has been instrumental in setting up trauma-related programs for people of all ages, and environmental initiatives including Take3 for the Sea.
Conjola Park bushfire survivor Katrina Walsh said Mrs Mudge was an “amazing steadying force supporting community, focusing on our small communities even before bushfires were a problem”.
Bushfire Recovery Centre coordinator Michelle Babington said Mrs Mudge was instrumental in organising supplies to be distributed to Conjola during the emergency.
“Monica is a community-driven powerhouse,” she added.
The NSW Women of the Year Awards recipients were revealed at a ceremony on Thursday, 7 March, at the International Convention Centre, Sydney.
