THERE are more than 4000 regular volunteers in Lake Macquarie.
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And on Monday night, at the Lake Macquarie Australia Day Awards, the community showed their appreciation to those who go above and beyond duty's call.
Booragul resident Grace McLean was announced Citizen of the Year for her work with NFP Connect, an organisation that encourages non-profit groups to network with, and support, each other.
Kasey Brett, of Merewether, was named Young Citizen of the Year (18 to 30 years) for her work with people who have cerebral palsy.
The 21-year-old was a key driver in setting up the Augmentive and Alternative Communication Chat Program, which helps non-verbal clients to become familiar with assistive technology that sometimes can be cumbersome to use.
Young Citizen of the Year (under 18 years) went to 17-year-old quiet achiever Emily Ogden, of Belmont.
Emily is already a leader at the Warners Bay Girl Guides, where she co-ordinates meetings, designs programs and volunteers for charities.
Steve Dewar, of Toronto, was crowned Volunteer of the Year for his role in the transformation of a highly-degraded public space in Toronto.
Mr Dewar was a driving force in the Tossers Can Be Binners project, which turned the Woolworths and Aldi shopping precinct into a clean area free of weeds and litter. It now has abundant native vegetation that has beautified the public space.
Mr Dewar is also a member of the Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhood Group, who were the joint winners of the Community Group of the Year award.
Last year, the group established a fire-retardant garden which helped to educate people about preparing for bushfires, and implemented the Tossers Can Be Binners campaign.
The Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhood Group also made submissions to council regarding the Toronto Streetscape Master Plan and improvements to infrastructure for cycling and pedestrians in Lake Macquarie.
Coal Point Landcare Group shared the Community Group of the Year honours.
In the past 12 months, the group has completed more than 1140 hours of volunteer work to plant, mulch and weed targeted sites in the Coal Point area.
The group held two National Tree Day events, which resulted in 550 native seedlings planted, mulched and watered, involving more than 120 people.
The group also successfully engaged the local community in their Bioblitz event, where they installed nest boxes for native squirrel gliders.
The Wangi Scarecrow Competition was named Community Event of the Year.
Hosted by Wangi Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group, the event attracted droves of people to see the 50-plus handmade hay-men spread throughout the neighbourhood.