Grey skies, green thumbs and warm hearts at SSG winter gardening bees

Even with the grey, overcast skies and chilly June weather at both working bees, our action-oriented volunteer team’s smiles remained bright, and they showed up in droves! In fact, these mornings were even more exciting than usual on warmer days.

On June 6, we welcomed winter wholeheartedly. The absence of harsh sun to tire us or dry out the soil, the task of pruning, planting new winter crop seedlings to name a few like Asian greens, sweet potatoes, Russian kale, lettuce and herbs like coriander was a breeze.

The transplanting of plants to new beds was done without any fear of heat stress. It was a working bee organised on Friday, June 5, after World Environment Day. After completing the gardening tasks, the members gathered to discuss how Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) leads and supports the Southbank community through ground-level action in sustainability practices and gardening. This includes providing information, advocating for change, and conducting educational workshops on various topics related to positive climate action.

In recent past we hosted expert talks on food sustainability, food security, sustainable fashion, planting a sunflower for young children and the importance of native and indigenous plants in creating a ecosystem to support native insect biodiversity.

The second working bee on June 20 coincided with the upcoming Winter Solstice Day on June 21. The gardening tasks were completed with the help of our seasoned team members and a few new ones who have never done any gardening or even planted a seed, and who joined the volunteer team to clean the beds of autumn leaves, fertilise the beds with vermicompost and worm juice as well as prepare worm food out of cuttings and autumn leaves for the hungry worms in the worm farm.

At SSG, we embrace the spirit of gardening and believe in creating a safe and welcoming space for everyone, especially new residents. Through this connection, attending members learn about urban gardening and local greening efforts. The Southbank resident community is one of the most diverse and fastest growing, with a very dynamic and young demographic. Currently, we are approximately 28,000 residents and are projected to grow to around 40,000 by the year 2040.

Each resident here takes pride in living in the world’s most liveable city. In response, the City of Melbourne has launched a new initiative called Garden City.

This urban greening strategy aims to transform Melbourne into one of the world’s greenest, coolest, and most sustainable cities. The initiative focuses on rapidly developing pocket parks, expanding existing reserves, and driving community-led flora initiatives. The City of Melbourne is driving this initiative through the Urban Forest Strategy and Urban Forest Fund.

On June 12, SSG members and a few community action-leading residents from Southbank attended the “Meet an Urban Forester” session organised at the Boyd Community Hub.

Dr Freya Thomas from the Urban Forest team informed us that the first stage community consultation draft will be released in July. This draft is based on the initial community consultation held in May 2025.

During the interaction, attendees discussed several issues and questions, including the selection of tree species by the council, the need for more variety in the trees chosen, and the potential hazards posed by leaf litter and fruit drops from certain trees on footpaths. Other concerns included maintenance, cleaning of leaf litter, and the phasing or removal of aged trees.

Read more about the Southbank Greening and Urban Forest Project in – participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/urban-forest/project-overview.

The new Greening Guidelines were recently released, and a few of us SSG members attended the Future Melbourne Committee meeting on June 17, where these guidelines were presented. These guidelines aim to promote community-led gardening in our neighbourhoods by providing clear and easy-to-follow instructions for creating gardens in inner-city local streets.

Importantly, these guidelines do not require permits as long as they are followed and complied to, taking into account the specific needs and limitations of the local community. To know more check out guidelines at melbourne.vic.gov.au/garden-city-guidelines.

To learn more about positive climate action-oriented sustainable gardening and greening efforts, do join us at the upcoming working bee session on July 4 from 10am to 12pm at the Boyd Community Hub.

About the group

Southbank Sustainability Group is a solutions-focused community group of Southbank residents working to bring positive change in sustainability practices in community. Reach us at [email protected] or facebook.com/SouthbankSustainabilityGroup or instagram on southbanksustainabilitygroup.

If you are interested in getting involved with Southbank Sustainability Group, join us at a Saturday meet-up or send us an email. •