Engaging the community and commemorating National Volunteers Week

The crunch of autumn leaves and the golden sun on the Boyd Community Hub sign at the City Rd/Kings Way junction is captivating. Every autumn, we eagerly anticipate seeing the changing tree colours at this spot.

As we entered the second fortnight of autumn, the anticipated rains arrived, providing our community garden beds with a thorough watering and offering respite to our volunteers managing the watering roster.

The unusually warm days during the first fortnight of May were conducive to outdoor activities. Our senior gardening team has compiled a season-specific planting list since the first week of autumn.

The diligent efforts of the volunteer team are now visible in the garden beds, with fennel, radish, carrots, leeks, beetroot, turnips, broccoli, and more thriving. Look for signal rocks (red, yellow and green) in the garden beds to know when they are ready to harvest.

The notice board has been updated, and the working bee dates are displayed along with the Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) contact information.

At the recent working bee session, we had an excellent turnout of around 18 to 20 volunteers who contributed significantly. We were also visited by a few four-legged family members, who provided support to our hard-working volunteers with affectionate paw shakes and cuddle time for the young community members accompanying their parents.

On May 10, the City of Melbourne’s urban forest team of conducted a workshop as part of the community consultation process. Members of the Southbank community contributed their opinions both in person and online.

The health and wellbeing of the community are significantly influenced by green spaces, especially in the context of a changing climate. The selection of appropriate tree species is crucial and requires an assessment of community values, neighbourhood character, climate suitability, and biosecurity risks within the evolving climate landscape.

The previous 10-year draft plan for the Urban Forest in Southbank emphasised that the “Urban Forest in Southbank will feature water-sensitive and innovative green corridors for pedestrians and wildlife that seamlessly integrate both public and private realms”.

A network of diverse and vibrant public spaces aims to provide an immersive sensory experience both at street level and from elevated viewpoints. This vision is gradually being realised, as demonstrated by the children’s park at Kavanagh St and Southbank Boulevard, and the linear park at Dodd and Miles streets. These open spaces are worth visiting and enjoying while exploring the neighbourhood. An essential factor in our planning for the next ten-year tree planting initiative was the local biodiversity connectivity and preservation of existing species.

Residents with an interest in wetlands are invited to participate in a City of Melbourne survey (https://forms.office.com/r/Nwe...) regarding the floating wetlands established since December 2022 along the Yarra Rive/Birrarung and Victoria Harbour. The aim of this survey is to assist researchers and town planners in comprehending the social impacts and community value associated with the floating wetlands trial.

National Volunteer Week in May acknowledges the contributions of the Southbank Sustainability Group community and volunteer team. They collaborate to maintain and develop a garden space for the Southbank community. This year, the theme for National Volunteer Week – Connecting Communities – celebrates the power of volunteering in bringing community together. SSG wholeheartedly embraces this message, as it has been integral to our values since our inception.

World Environment Day on June 5 called for collective action to end plastic pollution. SSG brought attention to this in our August 2024 article in Southbank News:

About the group

SSG is a solution focused group of Southbank residents working to bring positive change in sustainability practices. Reach us at

[email protected] or FB/SouthbankSustainabilityGroup or on Instagram @SouthbankSustainabilityGroup.

If you are interested in getting involved, join us at our upcoming June meetup on Saturdays, June 7 or 21. •