LOCAL philanthropists, Eve Kantor and Mark Wootton have been named Officers of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2022 Australia Day honours.

Ms Kantor and Mr Wootton were recognised for their distinguished service to the community through philanthropic support for a range of organisations, and to the environment.

The couple said they were a surprised to receive the award but honoured in every sense of the word.

“We’re a bit embarrassed, but quite chuffed,” Ms Kantor said.

“We’re not sure we’re deserving but someone obviously thought we were.

“We didn’t know we had been nominated until about a week ago when we received an email that said we were among the finalists.”

The couple, who own and manage Jigsaw Farms, a 3400-hectare property located 15 kilometres north of Hamilton which integrates forestry, carbon and indigenous plantings with high-productivity grazing on a large scale, have a long history of philanthropic work.

Since Ms Kantor and Mr Wootton first met in high school 40 years ago, they have worked to champion climate awareness, carbon neutral farming, first nations rights and nuclear disarmament.

“Our major projects that we think have had the most impact is Jigsaw Farms… the Climate Institute which I chaired for 12 years … and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which got the Nobel Peace Prize,” Mr Wootton said.

Closer to home Ms Kantor and Mr Wootton have donated significant funds to local, regional and national causes, including local schools and volunteer-run organisations like the Cavendish Men’s Shed.

“We feel very lucky to have had these opportunities and the best thing is we’ve met fantastic people along the way, the people we’ve had partnerships with are close friends now.”

Both said they were quite shy about the award and that it would not change their day to day lives.

“I don’t even wear a suit, so I won’t be using it (AO), it won’t make one ounce of difference,” Mr Wootton said.

“(We’ll) just keep doing what we’re doing,” Ms Kantor said.

“Basically, we’re a family with four adult children who run a farm … it’s a team effort absolutely … it’s a life’s work.”

Ms Kantor and Mr Wootton will head to Government House later this year where they will receive their awards from the Governor of Victoria.

“(We will) go in April or May, all COVID dependent of course with a whole group of other people and the Victorian Governor will present it on behalf of the Governor-General,” Mr Wootton said.