At ten years of age, on Australia Day 2009, Montana Ahwon won the Premier’s Australia Day Active Citizenship Award for the under 25 years of age category from the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley for the town of Kununurra.

Montana was the first Junior Toad Buster Leader for the Kimberley Toad Busters. She has busted thousands of toads since the end of 2005. She is fearless in jumping into water holes to pick up toads & extracting them from their hiding spots under sandy banks. Montana found this huge toad at Dashwood Crossing on a week long toad bust in her school holidays in July 2008:-

Montana received a letter of congratulations from the Hon Norman Moore MLC Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region which included the following paragraph:-
“To be selected as a Winner in a very competitive field is quite an achievement. Your contribution and tireless commitment to the East Kimberley “toad busting scheme” is to be commended. I understand you are an inspirational young toad buster and have set a fine example to your friends and the whole community.”

Alongside adult toad busters, Montana leads groups of her friends from Kununurra and the Aboriginal communities on toad busts into the Northern Territory. This involves showing other youngsters how to pick up toads, where best to look for them, modeling safe behaviour including wearing gloves to protect themselves from salmonella, how to record the count as well as other making note of interesting animals, birds or snakes they come across on toad busts.

L – R Zevida Bin Busu, Montana Ahwon, Latoya Roberts and Geraldine Roberts

at Dashwood Crossing.

Montana has now developed a slide show that she is using to show friends and school classes all about the business of toad busting.