Sustainability wins again!

By Sean Car

The Southbank Sustainability Group’s (SSG’s) impact on the environment and the local community has been recognised again with yet another award.

Following its success in the 2019 City of Melbourne’s Melbourne Awards, taking out the win in the environment category, the passionate group of sustainability-focused locals was last month acknowledged as part of the Sustainable Cities Awards.

An initiative of one of Australia’s oldest environmental groups Keep Victoria Beautiful (KVB), the Sustainable Cities Awards recognise and celebrate positive actions taken by communities in urban areas to protect and enhance their local environments.

SSG co-founder Artemis Pattichi said the group was honoured to have won the community environment award ahead of so many other incredible finalists, such as the Yarra Riverkeeper Association.

“It’s a great honour and we understand that our work is more visible within our city, but to win an award at a state level it’s a huge honour and we weren’t expecting it. It goes to show that all the seemingly small steps we take add up over time and do make a difference,” she said.

“It’s really encouraged us to keep going and pass on our recipes of success to other communities. Any win for SSG is a win for Southbank and a win for sustainability in general because it gives people a chance to see things done differently and that it can be effective and work.”

The group continues to inspire positive change in the community from its home at the Boyd Community Hub. Having convinced the City of Melbourne to establish a community garden as part of Boyd Park, the group now has its sights set on a new composting hub in the precinct and continues to hold regular meet-ups and workshops •

For more information: facebook.com/SouthbankSustainabilityGroup