UWS Community Award recipient: David Mason

David Mason was the foundation chair and continues as a board member of Hawkesbury Harvest, a grass-roots community association formed in 2000 to address food, health, and farming issues in the greater Sydney region, to address farm viability in the region and advocate for retaining food production in the Sydney basin. 

In the last decade he, through Harvest, has managed to influence the planning for agriculture in the Sydney basin and brought to the attention of policy-makers the importance of its multi-functional role in the basin.

David demonstrates exceptional leadership in his community engagement and readiness to tackle both the big picture strategic debates, as well as the on-the-ground practical implementation challenges in areas such as Farm Gate Trail tourism, farmers markets, and collaborations with schools in paddock-to-plate learning.

Photo: Sally Tsoutas