Never in doubt!

In what came as no surprise to Southbank Local News, the Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) claimed top honours in the environment category at the Melbourne Awards last month!

Our passionate group of local green thumbs and sustainability advocates, who first established from a group of 11 in June 2017, has come a long way in a short time.

Now boasting over 130 members, the group holds a special place in the heart of the Southbank community off the back of connecting locals under important shared issues of waste management, sustainability and climate change.

And their efforts were duly acknowledged by the City of Melbourne at a special awards ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall on November 16, claiming the win ahead of fellow finalists Beaconsfield Dental and Pony Up for Good.

One of the group’s leaders Artemis Pattichi said it was great recognition of both the work that all of the group’s members had put in, as well as the importance of the values that it stood for.

“We obviously felt good about the work but it was so wonderful to be recognised for what we’re doing,” she said. “It’s given everyone great motivation to continue turning our passion for sustainability into action and we’re really excited for the year ahead.”

The Melbourne Award is one of a string of recent successes for SSG, which also picked up two $5000 grants from the council to host six sustainability-focused education workshops in 2020 and establish a new composting hub at Boyd.

To read more about the group’s activities, read Artemis Pattichi’s regular Southbank Sustainability Group column in this edition.