2025 Dame Phyllis Frost Winner - Gidja Lee Walker

Congratulations to our 2025 Dame Phyllis Frost Winner!

Gidja Lee Walker, (so iconic as to be predominantly known by her mononym like Cher, as Gidja), is based on the Southern Mornington Peninsula. Gidja is a distinguished ecologist, ethnobotanist and natural systems educator, holding a BSc from La Trobe University and a DipEd from Melbourne University. For over 30 years, Gidja has devoted her life to preserving and restoring local ecosystems, and most importantly, using her admirable skills in environmental education toshare her passion for the natural world and extensive ecological knowledge with thousands of people.

For decades, Gidja has been a guiding force for environmental conservation on the Mornington Peninsula. She represents a rare and powerful combination of someone with deep ecological knowledge, grassroots leadership, cultural respect, creativity, and an incredibly skilled science communicator. She is a fierce and humble activist, who can proudly say she’s had a role in the protection of some of our most significant ecological communities including Greens Bush (now part of Mornington Peninsula National Park), Moonah Woodland, Tootgarook Wetland, Frankston Spider Orchid, Euphrasia, Peninsula Gardens Bushland Reserve and more. Her expertise spans restoration ecology, threatened species recovery, indigenous plant use, and fire ecology, and she shares this knowledge in deeply accessible, hands-on ways.

Gidja spent her early years in Daylesford and credits the many hours she spent in nature with her life-long connection to it. From an early age, Gidja had an enquiring mind that sought to grasp complexity. In school, when Gidja put her hand up, the teacher would say “We don’t know the answer to that” before she had even asked the question! As an adult, Gidja has dedicated her life to finding out some of these answers. Over time, she developed an understanding that First Nations people had been living on this land for many thousands of years, and that there was much that we can learn from them. Gidja is inspired by the Bunurong concept of ‘Biik’, which does not just refer to country – it’s land, country, air, water, people, past, future. Gidja’s approach to conservation encompasses this wholistic world view. Over time, Gidja saw species being lost and resolved to do everything within her power to prevent it, recognising that once species are gone, they’re gone forever. Gidja’s art allows

her to connect with the landscape on a deeper level- to understand how all the parts of the

ecosystem fit together in a landscape view. Intuitively, Gidja has always recognised the importance of bringing people along on her journey, volunteering thousands of hours of her time to share her knowledge and passion for conserving the Mornington Peninsula’s precious environment with others.

As an ecologist volunteering in a number of multi-stakeholder working groups, including the Main Ridge Equestrian Grounds Local Management Support Group Committee, the CFA fire prevention committee, the Threatened Species Network, the Community Trust and the Community Advisory Committee for Point Nepean, Gidja has learnt how to bring people with opposing viewpoints together to achieve successful conservation outcomes. Using a diplomatic and sensitive approach, Gidja looks for common ground, avoids stereotyping and asks questions. By listening deeply to others’ point of view, Gidja can appreciate the reasoning behind someone’s point of view, what is driving them and discover points of commonality. Gidja also stresses the value in being flexible. Gidja acknowledges that “it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by environmental destruction”, witnessing the loss of habitat

that she’s worked decades to protect. She highlights that “it’s good to set time aside for yourself seeing beauty in every day… Having friends who care about you… And being able to walk out my front door and see nature. That’s what keeps me positive”. Gidja is a renowned artist, who features many of the peninsula’s local landscapes, flora and fauna in her paintings, the most recent being ‘Trees I’ve known’ at the Cook Street Collective Gallery in Flinders. Art is not just a way of understanding the world but also a therapeutic practice: “Art is really good therapy.”.

Gidja has been instrumental in preserving key ecosystem components on the Mornington Peninsula. This includes significant parts of Tootgarook Swamp, Victoria’s largest remaining shallow freshwater marsh, part of which was threatened by development. Gidja worked with ‘Save Tootgarook Swamp’ to introduce a site-specific Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO30) to enforce stricter land-use controls around the wetland. Their efforts ultimately resulted in the Mornington Peninsula Shire compulsorily acquiring and protecting around 30 ha of contested land in 2018. In the early 2000s, local bushland restoration specialist Mark Adams and Gidja successfully nominated Moonah Woodland as an endangered community under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1998). Gidja’s volunteer involvement on DEEECA’s state-wide ‘Threatened Species Network’ which (active until 2019) resulted in some vital species being pulled back from brink of extinction, including the Frankston Spider Orchid. Gidja also successfully campaigned for the protection of Leafy Greenhood Orchids. Through her volunteer involvement on the Main Ridge Equestrian Grounds Local Management Support Group Committee, Gidja helped to protect significant areas and reduce the potential spread of phytophthora fungus by moving activities away from waterways. Partnering with the Southern Tree Preservation Society and working closely with Mornington Peninsula Shire, through her role as President of SPIFFA Gidja was successful in preserving key areas of Peninsula Gardens Estate during development, including Wet Heath and intact remnants of Heathy Woodland. Over the past four decades, Gidja has educated thousands of children through partnerships with local schools, Schools’ Environment Week and Landcare groups, instilling environmental stewardship.

For decades, Gidja Walker has been a guiding force for environmental conservation on the

Mornington Peninsula. She represents a rare and powerful combination of someone with deep ecological knowledge, grassroots leadership, cultural respect, creativity, and an incredibly skilled science communicator. She is a fierce and humble activist, who can proudly say she’s had a role in the protection of some of our most significant ecological communities including Greens Bush (now part of Mornington Peninsula National Park), Moonah Woodland, Tootgarook Wetland, Frankston Spider Orchid, Euphrasia, Peninsula Gardens Bushland Reserve and more. Her expertise spans restoration ecology, threatened species recovery, indigenous plant use, and fire ecology, and she shares this knowledge in deeply accessible, hands-on ways. Like Madonna, Beyonce or Cher, Gidja is known predominantly by her first name only, and this name is spoken in reverential terms. Gidja is well-respected by Bunurong and Boonwurrung people and weaves her profound appreciation for the connection of First Nations people to country into her teachings. Gidja’s unique ability to connect and communicate with young people has made her a much sought-after excursion leader by teachers.

She understands how to capture the imagination of young people through storytelling, humour and the use of intriguing facts. She particularly enjoys reaching out to the disengaged students in the class, gently providing avenues for them to engage with the learning. What makes her especially unique is how she blends science and art with cultural sensitivity. Through papermaking, painting and storytelling, she helps people connect emotionally and spiritually to nature. Her environmental work is never just about weeds or habitat—it’s about healing, belonging, and listening to the land.

As a result of her decades of contribution, deep expertise, fantastic work and the high regard in which she is kept by the community – we are proud to award Gidja the 2025 Dame Phyllis Frost Award.