It’s all about community, community, community

We are in full force with community events again, making everyday environmental solutions accessible while we build our neighbourhood’s sense of community even more. Community is at the heart of so much of what we’ve been working on and of what’s planned for this month. With another very successful planting day event behind us and many more, like Melbourne Knowledge Week and a DIY Green Cleaning workshop, coming up. Southbank Seedling Planting Day On March 20, we had our second round of community planting, where about 50 Southbankers came together to replant in the community garden the winter vegie seedlings returned from seeds. We even met a couple of soon-to-be Southbankers, who told us how they loved the sense of community we create there and the role it’s playing in choosing to buy their next home here in Southbank. Coordinating so many people to plant in specified garden beds following companion planting principles all while having a good time took some coordination and organising as one can imagine! A very smooth-running event with many happy faces spread across the garden was only made possible by the hard work of our education events and communications champions team, plus our volunteers behind the scenes and on the day. A big thank you goes out to them. Communities across the city coming together A few days later, we got to expand our sense of community by meeting another group similar to ours in Kensington. A couple SSG members visited the Kensington Community Composting Hub and met the people behind this award-winning community project aiming to reduce waste in urban areas, while reducing the carbon footprint of the whole process. We were warmly greeted and walked through the composting hub, open-handedly sharing knowledge and resources to help with our own upcoming community composting hub. We thank Jacqui and the team behind this wonderful project for their great work and open-hearted welcoming while we work in opposite ends of our city to improve our collective environmental footprint. City of Melbourne 10-year Community Vision A few of our members participated in a City of Melbourne planning workshop recently, one which will play a big part in determining our council’s focus on issues and priorities both across the community and our city in general. Representing Southbank, voicing our neighbourhood’s priorities and concerns, we made sure there was a strong presence across a few workshop tables where input was collected and that our needs have been included in council’s guiding plan for the next 10 years. The final plan should go before the council soon before it’s put into effect. Reusable goodies On Saturday, April 10 at 11am we’re back with our regular group meetups! We’ll have a wonderful Southbanker doing exceptional work in reducing our environmental impact as a guest star, Filomena. Filomena, determined to do her part in improving the state of our plastic waste, came up with her own solution. She spent last year’s lockdown sewing produce bags made out of repurposed sheets and fabrics from op shops. She will be giving around 200 of them away for free to Southbankers during our meetup, so you never need to use another single-use plastic produce bag again. Come find us at the Boyd front garden to meet Filomena, hear her story and get some bags. DIY Green Cleaning workshop On Saturday, April 17 at 10:30am, we’re hosting a free DIY Green Cleaning workshop for the community, with well-known expert Doris Pozzi. Using common household ingredients, participants will learn how to make their own eco-safe, zero waste home cleaning supplies (from laundry detergent to general cleaning) that are better for our health, waterways, the environment and wallets. Hosted at Boyd’s Assembly Hall room, we know this is an event many of you have been looking forward to for a while. Make sure you register your seat as soon as possible at diy-green-cleaning.eventbrite.com Melbourne Knowledge Week 2021 Our group was picked out of hundreds of applicants to be a part of our city’s esteemed upcoming Melbourne Knowledge Week (MKW). During the week of April 26 to May 2, we will be hosting self-guided and guided events, sharing our recipe for success with people from across the city by encouraging them to start a community or projects like ours anywhere and making climate action feel fun and manageable in the process. During the self-guided interactive tour running all week, the garden will share its secrets and stories of challenges and wins with its participants. Our group will be similarly sharing our four years of learnings from bringing a community together to face climate change in a different way, with two guided weekend tours. One on May 1 at 10am and another on May 2 at 3pm. Check the MKW21 website for more information and the full lineup of great sustainability events. Next meetups Our next meetups will be Saturdays April 10 and April 24 at 10am. Look out for the registration link on our Facebook page or email updates. As always, we welcome everyone regardless of sustainability or gardening skills and experience. About the group A solutions-focused group of Southbankers working to bring positive change in sustainability practices and education to our neighbourhood, while building a wonderful community of like-minded people. Free to join. 2019 Environment Melbourne Award & KVB 2020 Sustainable Cities Environment Award winner •