Since she was a child, Timboon's Helen Langley has ventured into the bush to find out for herself how the world worked. Now her lifetime of curiosity has earned her an award. The 70-year-old has become the newest recipient of the Victorian Environment Friends Network's Lifetime Achievement Award. The adventurer said she couldn't quite believe it. "It's still sinking in," Ms Langley said. "It's for being part of community groups, sharing knowledge and understanding and supporting people over the years". For more than 50 years the Timboon Field Naturalists Club's chair has been fostering a community of enthusiasts who see the world a little differently. She said it hadn't been easy. "We get anywhere from 15 to 18 members now at each of the meetings, outings and excursions," Ms Langley said. "But at times in the past there was just me going, but I always went and looked at something, took a walk for example. "It's just the way I've been since I was little. "What was going on around me was always much more interesting than what anybody was trying to teach me. Growing up on a farm near Timboon with some bush land, I also had parents who were always happy to help me look at things and find out about things. "Back when I was growing up it was difficult to find things, there weren't the excellent reference books there are now. "Something like iNaturalist on your phone, taking a photo and getting someone to help figure out what it is, is a new and positive development. "But it could have a negative side where people go around clicking things and sending them in without taking time to consider why it's there, what it's doing and how it's living there. "I think encouraging people to be a little bit curious about what's going on is very, very healthy." Ms Langley - who is also part of the South East Australian Naturalists Association and Australian Naturalists' Network - said it was important to keep asking questions. "People are so busy they don't have the time for a lot of these quieter, slower pursuits," she said. "They don't just calmly sit and observe what's going on. They don't share that with the little people, so often children are kept quite busy but they learn so much and take notice of so many smaller things adults overlook. "Too often their questions are unanswered and I think that's a real shame. We have to hang onto the natural world for the next couple of generations because they deserve to have those amazing things as well."