Taylor Swift lookalike Sheridan Mortlock wins Miss Earth Australia 2022
Sheridan Mortlock was crowned Miss Earth Australia 2022 in a glittering competition held on Sunday, September 4 at the Hyatt Regency Sydney.
The 22-year-old model and environmental advocate from New South Wales finally won her national title in her third attempt. She was named Miss Earth Australia Air in both the 2019 and 2020 editions.
Completing the Top 5 finalists were Naomie White, Riley Aston, Robyn Russel, and Himaya Wijeyaweera. They were crowned Miss Earth Australia Air, Miss Earth Australia Water, Miss Earth Australia Fire, and Miss Earth Australia Charity, respectively.
The new Miss Earth Australia succeeds last year's winner Phoebe Soegiono and will now prepare to represent the Land Down Under at the Miss Earth 2022 pageant in the Philippines this November.
Her advocacy based on the acronym ACE is "Action, Care and Education" knowing just how important immediate climate action is. She believes that these three pillars are what will drive substantial and sustainable action against climate change. She said, "Together let's ACE our conservation and protection of Mother Earth."
Traveling around her country while living out of a camper trailer with her family for 14 months when she was 10 years old allowed her to fully appreciate and see firsthand the beauty and diversity of the Australian landscape. This enriching experience is what she believes unintentionally influenced her sustainability journey.
"Since then I've made it my mission to create a real and powerful impact in the fight against climate change," she said in her introduction video for Miss Earth Australia 2022.
Sheridan went on to undertake a double degree in global sustainability and politics at university with the goal of one day joining the Australian parliament and influencing her country to get on top of climate action.
In a statement on social media after winning this year's Miss Earth Australia, she wrote: "When I first joined MEA in 2019, I was unaware of just how empowering and impactful pageants could be. MEA was my first pageant. I was drawn to this pageant because its advocacy is something that I believe in, and fight for wholeheartedly. I am so excited to seize this opportunity and create change."
