Diners don green for fundrasier

Community members donned green outfits and splashed their cash last weekend to show their support for Care For Hedland at its Eco Green Fundraiser Dinner.

With singer-songwriter and environmental activist Kelly Newton-Wordsworth entertaining guests with guitar in hand and Hedland First National principal Morag Lowe overseeing the live auction of donated prizes, the dinner raised $15,000 for the environmental group.

Chairwoman Kelly Howlett said she was thrilled.

“Care For Hedland is greatly indebted to the amazing and kind support it continues to receive from our local community, ” she said.

“The Eco Green Fundraiser Dinner funds raised will help greatly as the focus of the organisation soon shifts towards its popular annual turtle monitoring turtle program.”

The timely injection of money comes as Care For Hedland faces a funding shortfall this year, in part, because of the economic slowdown in the region.

Earlier, Ms Howlett told guests about the many firsts the group had achieved since forming in 2003.

Alongside its major turtle and community gardening programs, the group has encouraged people to use fewer plastic shopping bags, visited schools to promote gardening and conservation and led the drive for Hedland to regularly enter the Tidy Towns competition.

The efforts led to Ms Howlett and Care for Hedland winning prestigious United Nations Association of Australia 2015 World Environment Day Awards last month.

Ms Howlett told guests Care for Hedland was the only locally born-and-bred environmental group.

“We don’t exist anywhere else, just here and just for Hedland, ” she said.

“So tonight for Care for Hedland, please dig deep.”

The many prizes donated by local businesses, included books about Hedland’s history, car detailing works, hotel getaway packages, paragliding vouchers and even a one-on-one coffee session with Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power.

As well as flying in to support Care For Hedland, popular songstress Ms Newton-Wordsworth will this week support a number of local initiatives.

This includes helping well-known resident Jan Gillingham start a new Pilbara choir.