The national finalists in the Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Tidy Towns Awards have been announced and will now compete to become Australia’s Tidiest Town 2009.

The iconic Tidy Towns program commenced in 1969 in WA with Bunbury the first ever winner. The awards identify, acknowledge and promote Australia’s best examples of sustainable communities in regional and rural areas across Australia.

In 2009 the national Tidy Towns finalists are:

• NT: Atitjere (Harts Range), 250km north east of Alice Springs, pop 220

• WA: Kambalda, 620km east of Perth, birth of Nickel mining in Australia, pop 4,200

• SA: Stansbury, 210km from Adelaide on the Yorke Peninsula, pop 450

• TAS: Oatlands, 80km north of Hobart, features Georgian architecture, pop 800

• VIC: Horsham, Western Victoria, Wimmera Region, pop 13,500

• NSW: Tamworth, 400km north west of Sydney, Country Music Capital, pop 36,000

• QLD: Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, seaside escape, pop 41,000

The national awards presentation will take place on Friday 8 May, hosted by the Governor General at Government House, Yarralumla in Canberra. Registrations close 15 April.

Each year, tens of thousands of volunteers donate their time and effort to undertake practical local initiatives with projects ranging from litter prevention and promotion of recycling to water and energy conservation to bush regeneration, endangered species and habitat protection and the preservation of local culture and heritage.

Keep Australia Beautiful will also be fundraising in the lead up to the 40th anniversary celebrations. There is a chance to win a weekend away and a Navman to help you find your way there, an online auction of memorabilia and sales of Australian made organic cotton T-shirts.

For further information visit www.kab.org.au/tidytowns