Annelies Willinck: Volunteer par excellence

Prifile of a woman with a passionate commitment to the environment.

When 18 year-old Annelies Hengevel arrived in Australia from Holland, she couldn't believe what she saw. With the other members of her family, she traveled by bus from Melbourne to Bonegilla on a hot December day in what seemed and extraordinarily dry summer.

Several years later, after bush walking experiences in Tasmania and Victoria, she come to appreciate the beauty of Australian wilderness areas. In 1962 Annelies married Jan, sweetheart of her high school years in Holland, now a medical practitioner in Albury. Then come parenting years for their children Lizette, Emmo, Janine and Monique.

In the 1980's, with more time on her hands and the proposed Gordon Below Franklin Dam a national conservation issue, Annelies Willinck becomes increasingly aware of just how passionate she was about conserving the environment.

The Environment Centre was up in Albury and she became a volunteer. Her initial cause was the huge and successful anti-Franklin protest. She also joined the People for Peace movement, campaigning against nuclear weapons.

After 15 years as a volunteer at the Environment Centre, Annelies decided on a change. "Sitting in the Environ mental Centre didn't give me the hands-on work I craved for", she says. "Opportunely, Albury monument Hill Parkland Association was being formed. I joined immediately.

Realising that many school children has limited awareness of Australian flora, Annelies initiated a self-guided Natural Walk on Monument Hill and encouraged schools to use it.

After unearthing a list of plants occurring in the Nail Can Hill area 50 years ago, she was appalled by how much had disappeared.

Annelies, with "a whole lot of other people", helped the Monument hill group research and publish an Illustrated listing of flora, entitled Along the bush Tracks. Last year they produced a companion Booklet, Bush Invaders. Both publications have been well received.

Annelies has also been involved in revegetation programs on the hill. She initiated the Monument Hill groups' latest project, a soon-to-be-opened Indigenous Garden. Annelies Willinck enthusiasm for the environment, and for volunteering, is undiminished. In fact, it continues to grow.

Nearer to home, she's an active member of Bowna Arm Landcare Group and has driven hundreds of

kilometers to survey and map indigenous vegetation with in the Bowna Arm catchment. Among all these activities, she found time to join Parklands Albury-Wodonga as a Board Member.

Annelies Willinck practices what she preaches. For 20 Year she, her husband Jan and their family have annually planted some 3000 native trees and shrubs on their 80 ha Table Top property. The result is simply stunning.

The future? Salinity, sustainability in agriculture, loss of flora diversity, seed availability, and farm tree replacement head her list of concerns. There is also, however, enormous optimism.

Annelies Willinck has real passion for the environment, pride in her achievements and satisfaction on an active role that will leave an enduring environmental legacy.