Bringing neighbours together to build a more connected and resilient community
Knowing your neighbours. Understanding the natural environment around you. Having practical skills to prepare for extreme weather. And knowing there are people nearby who care about the same things you do.
These are some of the things that can make a community stronger.
With $10,000 from Southside Community Foundation’s 2026 Grants for Collaboration, Port Phillip EcoCentre will bring local people and organisations together through Collective Capacity-building for Reconnection and Resilience, a new program focused on connection, learning and hopeful action in a changing climate.
The newly redeveloped EcoCentre will become a hub for the program, creating a welcoming place for people to meet their neighbours, connect with local nature, share knowledge and build practical skills.
In 2026 and 2027, the EcoCentre plans to co-host a number of events alongside local community groups.
These will include public workshops, sessions for people working with the community, First Nations-led events and a gathering where local environmental and community groups can simply come together over a meal, share what they are working on and explore what they might do together next.
Parts of Southside and surrounding areas are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and flooding. The program will help people better understand these local risks and what they can do to prepare, including a proposed extreme heat preparedness workshop for people working directly with the community.
Resilience is about being prepared for difficult days and it’s also about connection.
The EcoCentre events are designed to help people get to know neighbours and community groups they may not know, deepen their connection with local ecosystems, build confidence to take action and create new opportunities for local organisations to work together. First Nations voices and knowledge will also be part of the program, with events developed with local Yalukit Willam educators.
We’re excited to see what ideas, relationships and community-led action grow from bringing people together.
