Community means happiness for Margaret

BARWON Heads’ Margaret Griffith believes people never retire, they just change direction.

The grandmother of six was last week awarded a Council on the Aging Victoria Senior Achiever Award at the Victorian Senior of the Year Awards at Government House.

Mrs Griffith won the award for her work supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and creating awareness of the Barwon Estuary.

She is the founder and chair of the Bellarine for Refugees (BfR) group, which supports refugees and asylum seekers by advocating for their wellbeing with politicians and other groups, by hosting them at social gatherings and providing practical assistance.

BfR has more than 30 volunteers assisting refugees that need assistance to apply for visas and find a home.

Mrs Griffith is also a driving force behind the Barwon Estuary Project – a project of the Barwon Heads Sustainability Group and Friends of the Bluff which aims to increase the community’s knowledge and appreciation of the biodiversity and fragility of the local treasure, enabling everyone to care for it more effectively.

“I see it as an award for the whole community,” Mrs Griffith said.

“There are a lot of things happening in Barwon Heads and people are very keen to be part of them, and although it’s a senior award, the projects are for people right across the board – any age.”

Mrs Griffith said she had been working with grade 5 students at Barwon Heads Primary School for the past three months to teach them about the Barwon Estuary.

She said all their drawings, photos and poems about the estuary would be included in the school’s 2018 diary.

“That will go to about 500 kids – they will all get one and work in it every day and take it home to their families – it’s a great way to get the word out about the estuary.”

Mrs Griffith said she loved being involved with her community and found it to be a very rewarding way of being retired.

“In my working life I was always involved in jobs that involved me with the community in many ways, and I like to take the skills I learnt through my working life and family life and apply them to community projects.

“I find that it’s a very rewarding way of being retired, but that’s not a good word, because you never retire, you just change direction.

“And we came here to live full time after we retired, so it would be easy to be isolated but if you make a conscious effort to be part of the community, and take a leadership role in areas you think are worthwhile, I think it’s a way of keeping healthy and very importantly, keeping connected with people and making new friends.

“I think it’s a great way to live.”