Seaholme Sustainabilty Street is a community program initiated by Seaholme residents in 2004 to promote interactions in the neighbourhood and better understanding of the environment. 527 homes in Seaholme, north of Civic Parade participate in this program and the group finance is managed by the Louis Joel Community Centre. The support group comprises George & Maroula Said, Diana Rice, Lil & Graham Gunthorp, Peter Horner, Charles Micallef, Diana Rice, John & Katrina Rose, Dan and Maureen Sullivan.
Newsletter Issue 29 – Nov 2010
The group publishes a community newsletter several times a year containing upcoming activities and tips on sustainable living. It is distributed by a group of volunteers which include Catarina Otter, Peter Horner, Mary Nunn, Diana Rice, John & Katrina Rose, George & Maroula Said, Lil Gunthorp, Angela Blake, Fay Hogan, Maureen & Danny Sullivan, Peter Laurence, Miriam Hicks and Carol Winfield.
On 9 October 2004, the group organized a Tree Planting Day, where the residents planted trees, shrubs and indigenous plants along a lane (indicated by the red rectangle in the satellite map above) that runs from Simmons Drive to the railway crossing opposite the Altona Sports Club, with the objectives of beautifying the environment and attracting butterflies and birds to the area. The Council subsequently installed a light which makes the lane safer for pedestrians on dark nights.
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On 21 November 2009, the group hosted the Hobsons Bay Eco Expo at Logan Reserve, showing the community how to save water and energy and giving workshops and demonstrations on organic gardening, composting and grey-water systems.
The organizations that took part in this Expo, gave expert advice and set up booths. These included Environment Victoria, Beyond Zero Emissions, Transition Towns, Home Sustainability Assessments, Green Loans, Vegetarian Network Victoria, Laverton Community Garden, Western Region Environment Centre, Victorian Reptiles, Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek, Toyota Plant, Solar Shop Australia, etc. The Expo was sponsored by the Hobsons Bay City Council, Mobil, Altona Sports Club, Qenos and local businesses. The Expo included a Plastic Bag Exchange activity in which each person could swap 10 plastic bags for an environmentally-friend cloth bag. The prizes included a water tank & pump sponsored by Mobil, worm farms, low-energy light bulbs and Scienceworks passes. Below is a Powerpoint presentation of the Expo, in which you can choose to view slide by slide or all the slides in the Tile mode (click the icon with 9 small squares).
Eco Expo 2009
The Eco Expo organized in 2007 has won a Community Pride Award in the 3rd Annual Sustainable Cities Award.
The recent graffiti-removal project involves painting the wall along the railway track opposite the Altona Sports Club and the planting of shrubs to obscure the wall so as to deter further graffiti. The Altona Sports Club donated $1000 for the project. The Brotherhood of St Lawrence offered the manpower to paint the wall, with permission from the train operator Metro.
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| Before – Graffiti-filled Wall | The Graffiti Busters |
After – Graffiti removed! |
To build relationships between the residents, the group has been organizing a Christmas Party each year for the neighbourhood, which has always been an enjoyable occasion by both children and adults. The Christmas Party this year on Saturday 11 Dec 2010, was equally much anticipated and did not disappoint. I was fortunate to witness its success.
Acknowledgement – Thanks to George Said for supplying the materials and photos.
