Awards & Press | Gardening on Country

Gardening on Country is Kinaway certified, Supply Nation registered, Australian Made, and the winner of the 2026 MIFGS Sustainable Garden Product of the Year Award.

Winner — 2026 Sustainable Garden Product of the Year, Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (Womby Hand Trowel)
Winner — Up-and-Coming Business Award, 2023 Victorian Aboriginal Business Awards (Kinaway Chamber of Commerce)
Finalist — First Nations Small Business, Power Retail All Star Bash 2026
Finalist — Australia's Favourite Family Business 2025
Kinaway Certified and Supply Nation Registered
Australian Made certified, with products sold into New Zealand and the USA
Over 1.7 million bottle caps diverted from landfill

Awards & Recognition

2026 MIFGS Sustainable Garden Product of the Year

The Womby Hand Trowel was named Sustainable Garden Product of the Year at the 2026 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show — judged across environmental and social sustainability, innovation, visual appeal, functionality and quality. Judges specifically recognised the trowel's end-of-life reprocessability, its use of a hard-to-recycle material, and the First Nations perspective behind the product.

View the official award listing →

2023 Kinaway Up-and-Coming Business Award

In our founding year, Gardening on Country won the Up-and-Coming Business Award at the Victorian Aboriginal Business Awards, presented by Kinaway Chamber of Commerce and recognised by the Victorian Government.

View the Premier of Victoria's announcement →

Power Retail All Star Bash 2026 — Finalist, First Nations Small Business

Named a finalist in Power Retail's inaugural Top First Nations Small Business Award, launched in partnership with Aboriginal Retail Australia.

View the finalist announcement →

Australia's Favourite Family Business 2025 — Finalist

Selected from hundreds of entries as one of 20 finalists in Kochie's Business Builders' Australia's Favourite Family Business Awards.

Professional Development & Programs

Minderoo Foundation — Dream Venture Masterclass (2024)

Mitchell Skuta was accepted into Minderoo Foundation's Dream Venture Masterclass in 2024.

Carlton Football Club — Loorende-gat Business and Entrepreneur Program (2024)

Mitchell Skuta participated in Carlton's Loorende-gat Business and Entrepreneur Program, a business development program for First Nations professionals and entrepreneurs.

View Mitchell's program profile →

Our Certifications

Kinaway Certification

Confirms Gardening on Country as a verified Aboriginal-owned and operated business, certified by Kinaway Chamber of Commerce.

Supply Nation Registration

Registers GOC as a verified Indigenous business within Australia's national Indigenous business directory — recognised by government and corporate procurement programs seeking to engage Indigenous suppliers.

Australian Made

Confirms our tools are manufactured here in Australia, from local materials. Our products are also sold into New Zealand and the USA under the Australian Made logo. In 2026, Gardening on Country was one of the local manufacturers whose products featured in the Australian Made Week national TV campaign alongside ambassador Andy Lee.

View our Australian Made licensee listing →

In the Press

Earth to Sea News — "Four things for spring, all made here from what the country already has" (12 September 2026)

Featured alongside three other Australian sustainability-led makers, the piece covers the Womby trowel's origin — including the family story behind the business and its support for Indigenous ranger programs through Country Needs People.

Read the feature →

Herald Sun — "From little things big changes can happen" (6 March 2026)

A feature on Mitchell Skuta and the origin of Gardening on Country, published as partner content alongside Bunnings' Community Legends campaign. Covers the beach clean-up that sparked the idea, the partnership with Precious Plastic Melbourne, and the business's growth to 50 Bunnings stores at time of print.

Bairnsdale Advertiser — "The Womby wins big" (17 April 2026)

Local coverage of the MIFGS win, with co-founder Sarah Skuta speaking on the milestone for the then three-year-old business and its progress diverting bottle caps from landfill.

Read the feature →

Bairnsdale Advertiser — "Gardening on Country a business winner" (8 February 2024)

Local coverage of the 2023 Kinaway Up-and-Coming Business Award win, with Sarah Skuta speaking on the recognition in the business's first year.

Read the feature →

Aboriginal Retail Australia — Featured Member (30 October 2025)

A feature covering GOC's launch into selected Bunnings stores across Victoria, with founder Mitchell Skuta speaking on making sustainable gardening more accessible. Also notes GOC's finalist place in the Australia's Favourite Family Business Awards.

Read the feature →

National Indigenous Times — "Tops tip: Gardening on Country turns lids into tools" (6 May 2024)

GOC's earliest national press feature, covering the founding story and the partnership with Precious Plastic Melbourne to turn bottle caps sourced via Lids4Kids into finished tools. The AAP story was also syndicated nationally across the Australian Community Media network, including The Canberra Times.

Read the feature →