On 6 March 2022, 3145 Love Our Street started organising street cleans, holding their first event on Clean Up Australia Day.
Stonnington resident, Virginia Wallace, had joined other Love Our Street clean ups and realised Stonnington didn't have its own.
Love Our Street brings people together as a community to look after the environment, to keep local streets beautifully clean and stop litter getting into creeks, canals, on beaches or in the ocean.
"When I heard about the City of Stonnington's Community Grant Program, I saw the opportunity to set up a group and use the funds to set up the group with t-shirts, gloves and other necessary OHS equipment.
"We're very grateful for the support Council provides," said Virginia, Co-Convenor of 3145 Love Our Streets with Lorena Skinner.
In their first year, through monthly clean ups, the dedicated group collected 286kg of rubbish and chalked up 160 volunteer hours. Speaking of volunteers, everyone is welcome, regardless of age or background. Parents often bring their children and some volunteers even bring their pets along.
"Doing this as part of a group is one way you can give back to the community. That's when you realise you are not alone, and other people are horrified with the amount of litter in our parks and local environment and want to do something to make our local community a better place," said Virginia.
On average, 3145 Love Our Street get 4-10 volunteers attending their monthly cleans. They're on a mission to get more people involved; here's why you should show up to the next 3145 Love Our Street clean:
- it's only one hour, once a month
- more volunteers = cleaner streets
- it's local, you don't have to travel
- the sense of community and satisfaction of making a difference.
Most of the litter we see on our streets will become litter in our waterways and finally our oceans. We can create change and make a difference when we all work together. Celebrate 3145 Love Our Street's first birthday and make 2023 the year you join one of their clean ups, for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Stonnington.
3145 Love Our Street meet on the second Sunday of the month, between 9.30 - 10.30am, and clean up the streets of East Malvern and surrounds.
Give them a follow on Facebook or Instagram, or find out more on their website.
