Lilli Pilli resident Reece McDougall has been presented with a NSW National Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to heritage conservation and management.
Mr McDougall was presented with the award by Cronulla MP and Minister for Environment, Mark Speakman at the 2016 Heritage Awards ceremony held last week in front of an audience of over 400 heritage practitioners and volunteers.
Mr McDougall has dedicated over 30 years’ of his working life to managing heritage and environmental policy at senior and executive levels in the public and private sectors.
He has had a long and illustrious career in the heritage industry and is widely recognised in the heritage industry for his skill in resolving complex heritage issues and identifying innovative solutions for major development proposals.
Mr McDougall began his career as a forrester after studying for a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) from ANU and a Masters of Environmental Science at Macquarie University.
He worked as the Landscape Officer at the National Trust.
He became the Environmental Manager for AWT Ensight, the commercial arm of Sydney Water.
From 1998 to 2006 he was Assistant Director at the NSW Heritage Office before becoming Executive Director from 2006 to 2008.
As Executive Director at the NSW Heritage Office and then the Cultural Heritage Division of the NSW department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Mr McDougall was responsible for State government policy and strategic initiatives for managing Aboriginal heritage in NSW.
He led the implementation of the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill 2009, including a review of the policies, procedures and regulations relating to Aboriginal cultural heritage, permits and offences in NSW.
He later went on to become Chief Executive Officer of GML Heritage Pty Ltd before retiring from full-time work in 2013.
Mr McDougall’s contribution is not only confined to good heritage outcomes.
In congratulating him on his lifetime of achievements, the Judging Panel Chair, Ms Jacqui Goddard, said “we are still enjoying the fruits of many of Reece’s successes not least in the efforts of the people he inspired and mentored”.
Mr McDougall continues to be a strong advocate for heritage. He serves as a community representative on the Sutherland Shire Council’s heritage sub-committee and is a Special Advisor to GML.
