A conservation reserve in South Morang will be named in honour of former Whittlesea councillor Nicola Davis.
Ms Davis served as a north ward councillor for almost two years before she died from cancer in April last year.
Recognising her services to the community, Whittlesea councillors voted unanimously at their meeting last week to name the 245 Gordons Road reserve the Nicola Davis Conservation Reserve.
Fellow north ward councillor and close friend Rex Griffen was visibly moved when he spoke of Ms Davis’s impact on the community.
“It was never a race with her – it was all about engagement and participation,” Cr Griffen said.
“She assisted many community groups; she got a lot of mums together.”
Cr Sam Alessi said he was both delighted and saddened to be naming a park in her honour.
“Nicola had an infectious effect on all of us,” he said.
“I didn’t know Nicola before council, but over that very short period she had an incredible impact on fellow councillors and on the community.”
The park is set aside for conservation purposes and is next to a bike trail.
Ms Davis’s mother, Teresa Humm, thanked the council on Facebook for “the perfect memorial” for her daughter.
“From a small child, conservation has been her passion and this is a very fitting tribute to her, where we as a family can remember her lasting legacy and be so proud of all that she achieved in her shortened life,” she said.
News that the council was to name the reserve in Nicola’s honour came on Ms Humm’s 60th birthday.
“Surely a gift from heaven,” she wrote.
