Hullo there Rewilders,

We tried something new over summer, with call outs over social media for informal watering/weeding bees.

Thanks to everyone who participated - and special thanks to everyone who came past off their own bat with a bucket or a hose! We've been reasonably lucky with the weather, as autumn approaches. So far so good.

For our next innovation ... regular working bees - at least for the next six months.

Please put these dates in your diary!

This autumn, work will begin with a session on terracing and soil prep at Prahran on Sunday 17 March. After that, there will be at least one working bee on the 2nd Sunday of each month. Additional sessions for nature strips and other activities TBA; watch out for announcements via social media and newsletters to follow.

Working bees March - August

Save these dates:

• Stonnington Volunteer Expo: Free event! with 35 local volunteer organisations including Rewilding Stonnington. 10am- 2pm Thursday 15 March, Malvern Town Hall. Register via Eventbrite; or for more info check the Council website.
• U3A: We are partnering with U3A Stonnington to present a series of lecture/demonstrations on indigenous plants and biodiversity in our local area, 10am-12 noon on Thursdays 16, 23 and 30 May 2024. The series will be open to both Rewilding and U3A members. Please check the U3A Course Guide or contact us for more information.
• Biorhythm: we are also partnering with eco art project Biorhythm on an adaptable public art installation featuring local indigenous plants. The installation will open 17 April-14 May, at the junction of Grattan Gardens and Greville Sts Prahran. Check our social media for further details …

Please do join us at one or more of these exciting events!

Updates:

• Nature Strips: unfortunately, it looks as if implementation of Council's new Nature Strip Policy and on line application process will be delayed. We would encourage anyone thinking of planting their nature strip to proceed with an application under the existing system. Check out our revised Nature Strips Guidelines 2024 or contact us for more information.
  
• Walks projects: following last year's funding announcement, we are advised that the project is part of the first tranche delivered under the Federation Funding Agreement - Environment. It will be managed via an agreement with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). We await advice from the Department. Watch this space ...
• Housing estates:Rewilding Stonnington's submission to Homes Victoria on plans for the Essex Street and Horace Petty estates, included our concerns for residents' future amenity including design quality, lack of open green space and loss of mature trees. Check out Council's response in the Attachments to the Agenda for the Council meeting on 19 February, pp. 30-124.

In other news:

Council's Sustainable Environment team are looking for apartment dwellers who have completed sustainability retrofits to their Stonnington apartments. If this is you, and you are interested in being part of a case study for the High Life Expo later this year, please email the team or submit an expression of interest form

Do check out the Playbook for Urban Biodiversity produced by the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne as a key outcome of the Urban Nature: Urban Myths Symposium co-hosted with the City of Melbourne in 2023.  This amazing free resource is now available for download; it provides a series of plays or actions, addressing barriers to implementing urban nature in Australian cities.

If you have news items about events or activities in our local area relating to green space, the environment or biodiversity, please do let us know. We're always happy to share.

Growing wilder!

Alison Richards (President) for the Rewilding Stonnington Inc. Committee 2023-24:
Nadine Samaha (Deputy President), Mary Mahoney (Treasurer), Jason Whyte (Secretary), Julie Laidler, Marion Miller, Graham Ross, Kirby Roper, Grace Warner.