HANNAH Blondell first travelled to Australia as a backpacker from England in 2007 with her friends and worked as a lifty at Mount Buller for three seasons.

“We had an absolute ball and along with working at Buller we also fell in love with Mansfield,” Hannah said.

As a child, she spent a lot of time in the forest surrounded by nature.

“I grew up in Surrey which is in the Southeast of England, and before school I would walk my Labrador in the woodlands and teach myself the names of trees and wildflowers,” Hannah said.

She developed a passion for gardening from her grandparents.

“They had phenomenal gardens with established trees and shrubs, manicured lawns, vegetable patches, perennials and they propagated their own annuals,” Hannah said.

“There were thousands of annuals, and the garden was a firework display when in full bloom.”

Hannah then channeled her love of the outdoors through her work as a gardener at the Mansfield Shire Council in the parks and gardens department for 10 years.

She worked in conjunction alongside supervisor Heath Aromataris and she upgraded and installed the perennial gardens of the main roundabout alongside maintaining many of the reserves within the Mansfield Shire.

“This included brush cutting, mulching, cultivating, planting, tree and shrub pruning, watering, irrigation, instillation, leaf collection and so much more,” Hannah said.

“We showcased the beauty and uses of Australian native plantings through plant selection and pruning techniques.

“The idea behind the design was to show which plants thrive in Mansfield’s unique microclimate and to increase native fauna.

“I have watched the flora grow from starting off in six-inch pots to now established plants, and as they’ve grown, so have the insects and bird life.

“In England a robin is a gardener’s best friend, and I’ve found over here that wattle birds enjoy the garden just as much.”

Hannah still has fond memories of the year 2020 when she received her citizenship on Australia Day.

“It felt very special,” she said.

“My partner Graham, friends and work colleagues came to support me and help celebrate the day and on the way home we had a bbq and drinks with friends.

“It came with a good mix of Pommy and Aussie humour, wit, laughs and I was asked a hundred times about the cricket team which I now support.”

Hannah decided to undertake the citizenship process because she had settled into life in the community of Mansfield.

“I’d lived here for so long and I felt it was not necessarily an obligation, but something that I wanted to commit to Australia,” she said.

After she submitted her application to the Australian Immigration and Citizenship website, she then underwent the citizenship test in Shepparton.

“After correctly answering questions such as, what is Don Bradman’s batting average?, does yeah nah mean yes, no or maybe?, does beetroot belong on a burger?, and which Prime Minister held the world record for drinking a yard of beer?, I was then contacted by the Australian Immigration and Citizen department and the council to confirm the date for citizenship,” Hannah said.

On the day of the ceremony it was held on the main street of Mansfield with events orchestrated by the Mansfield Shire Council.

“It started with the councilor’s acknowledgement and respect of the traditional land owners, speeches, nominations and a citizenship ceremony where all new citizens had to say the Australian pledge aloud,” Hannah said.

“There were local community groups helping along the way and the local orchestra was fantastic.”

Hannah said that Australia Day was the best day to get her citizenship.

“It’s Australia’s national day and I love how patriotic people are,” she said.

“I understand that Australia Day can be controversial and diversive, but at the same time it can also be unifying.”