Four exceptional South Australian women have been honoured in this year’s prestigious Inspiring South Australian Women’s Awards.

Popular long-time presenter on ABC’s Gardening Australia television program Sophie Thomson received the Inspiring South Australian Women’s Award, while distinguished Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO was commended in the same category.

In the Emerging Women’s Award category, active volunteer Isabella Courtney took out top spot, with leading-edge researcher Dr Sarah Scholten receiving a commendation.

The Inspiring South Australian Women’s Awards recognise outstanding women who have made significant community contributions in areas such as education, health, charitable and voluntary services, prevention of violence, disability, science and the environment.

Recipients are identified by the South Australian community as worthy of acknowledgement.

The awards, presented last month at Government House, are coordinated by the Australia Day Council of South Australia and funded by the Department of Human Services’ Office for Women.

Australia Day Council of South Australia CEO Jan Chorley said women contributed to all fields of endeavour every day and “continue to be trailblazers across industries”.

“However, what sometimes goes unnoticed is the day-to-day acts of volunteering that keep communities strong and cohesive,” Ms Chorley said.

“The women acknowledged in the 2024 Inspiring South Australian Women's Award are fantastic contributors to our state, and we are hugely grateful to the South Australian community for its continued support of these important awards.”

THE WINNERS

Inspiring South Australian Women’s Award Recipient 2024

Sophie Thomson

Sophie’s love affair with the environment and gardening was inherited from her plant-loving parents whilst growing up and working at the family nursery in the Adelaide Hills.

With more than 35 years hands-on experience, her passion for the environment sees her educating and engaging communities in the health, wellbeing and environmental benefits of gardening.

In the last four years following the 2019 bushfires she has inspired the Kangaroo Island community to increase its community gardens to four and raised more than $100,000 in product to support them.

Much of her ongoing work continues to be with communities affected by natural disasters such as flood and fire.

Seen on the ABC TV’s Logie winning Gardening Australia for over 20 years, she is heard weekly on ABC’s Radio Adelaide gardening talkback show.

As well as her national print media commitments Sophie is an in-demand public speaker at events around Australia. Sophie is a board member, ambassador and patron of many organisations including the South Australian Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium. In 2022 she was awarded the Pelzer Prize for her significant environmental efforts and recently honoured on the 2023 SA Women’s Honour Roll.

“I hope that if this award is proof of anything it’s proof of the importance of gardening,” Sophie says.

“I was once asked to do a TED Talk and when they asked me what I wanted to talk about I said, ‘I want to talk about saving the world through gardening’.

“They said, ‘ha ha, no seriously, what do you want to talk about?’ I told them I was definitely serious, and I honestly believe that gardening can help overcome so many of the issues that we’re currently facing in the world. From a health perspective, gardening is incredibly important. It can help fight Alzheimers and help make people live longer.”

Sophie says community gardens are the perfect example of how getting your hands dirty can have all kinds of unexpected benefits.

“I’m a big advocate for community gardens, whether they be in the city or the middle of the Eyre Peninsula or on Kangaroo Island,” she says.

“I think sometimes councils get the wrong idea about community gardens and think that they’re about producing food, but what they’re really about is producing stronger, more connected and more resilient communities.”

Commendation for Inspiring South Australian Women’s Award 2024

Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO

Distinguished Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO was the first in her family to graduate from university.

A graduate of the University of Tasmania, she won a Rhodes Scholarship to complete her doctorate in philosophy, history and education at the University of Oxford.

Marnie has never forgotten the generosity of this support and its transformational impact upon her career.

In her leadership and her work as a researcher and educator, Marnie shows her commitment to the belief that higher education is the one thing that makes the biggest difference to the health and prosperity of individuals and their communities.

She was Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic at the Australian National University and then made the novel switch to become Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise at the University of South Australia.

She loves advancing the strengthening and development of the South Australian economy and society, and supporting researchers at all stages of their careers and in all disciplines.

She has championed diversity, inclusion and equity in research and education, encouraging greater participation from people from disadvantaged backgrounds, people who are first in family, and gender diversity in higher education.

For her contribution to higher education she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022, and in 2023 she was recognised for her distinguished contribution to the worldwide Rhodes community with a George Parkin Award.

Emerging Leader Recipient – Inspiring South Australian Women’s Award 2024

Isabella Courtney

Isabella, at just 20 years of age, saw the need to provide a difference in the lives of underprivileged children and vulnerable communities.

She founded the not-for-profit organisation the PIEA Project, where PIEA stands for ‘Promote Improvement, Equity, Achievement’.

Isabella is a volunteer who invests her time into breaking cycles of inequity in education, ultimately helping to shape brighter futures for each child that the PIEA project helps.

The goal of the project is to be able to offer free education assistance and resources, including essential school supplies, to disadvantaged students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to access this type of assistance.

At present, the project runs a homework club in conjunction with not-for-profit Puddle Jumpers. Isabella is also an avid fundraiser, organising charity events and raffles through her work at Adelaide University, as well as through personal endeavours for the Adelaide City Plunge, she has contributed significantly to various local charities.

“Being named the recipient of this award is not simply a personal achievement – it's a testament to the strength and potential of all women, and I am honoured to be recognised amongst such inspiring women in such a category,” Isabella says.

“I am infinitely grateful to have grown up around many remarkable women, whose influence has been instrumental within my work. I hope that in receiving this award, and the platform that comes with it, I am able to become a similar figure for future generations of inspiring women.

“Receiving this award further motivates my passion and drive to achieve positive social change, and I am excited to continue doing my work, whilst also using my platform to uplift, empower and inspire other women.”

Emerging Leader Commendation - Inspiring South Australian Women’s Award 2024

Dr Sarah Scholten

Sarah was awarded her PhD in Laser Physics in 2019 from the University of Adelaide, for which Sarah received the Dean’s commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence.

Her research endeavours to harness the unique properties of light to break the boundaries of precision measurement for both fundamental and applied research.

Sarah is developing a leading-edge optical atomic clock that is leagues ahead in performance compared to the versions on current GPS satellites, while keeping it small enough to one day launch into space.

She has a deep interest in translating experimental discoveries and techniques developed during her research efforts into tangible, out-of-lab measurement devices that solve difficult problems and benefit the world.

Sarah is committed to teaching and encouraging the next generation of aspiring physicists. She has been recognised as one of Australia's Superstars of STEM for 2023-24 by Science and Technology Australia, a program which tackles the serious gender inequity of visible diverse role models in STEM-related fields.

By providing young people with a different example to the traditional stereotype of an atomic physicist, Sarah is leading by example. She enthusiastically visits secondary schools, such as Salisbury High School and St Aloysius College to speak to young South Australians about careers and opportunities in science