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You may have noticed the catchy green Sustainability Street Signs popping up like mushrooms in neighbourhoods across Australia. You may even have stumbled across a local Sustainability Street Sign Raising Ceremony, complete with a procession of local children, weaving with ‘Ru Chong’ the Giant Earthworm puppet down a local cul de sac. Either way you probably asked yourself ‘What is this Sustainability Street all about?’

Sustainability Street’s aim is simple but bold- to bring people together in their local communities to address the two biggest challenges facing humanity, how to get along better with each other, and how to get along better with the millions of other species that share our planet!

The first Sustainability Street Village (it doesn’t have to literally be a street) was formed in Coburg, Victoria in 2001. Since that time over 200 Sustainability Street Villages have emerged across Victoria and NSW, and recently in SA and WA.

The number of people who are walking to their neighbour’s place, often for the first time, to have a cuppa and a chat about their worms is growing daily.

The Sustainability Street Approach (SSA), which was a finalist in the prestigious Eureka Wards in 2004, was created by Melbourne based environmental educators Vox Bandicoot, who celebrate their 20th birthday this year. The Approach draws on the environmental-education and sociology background of Vox founder Frank Ryan, with a sprinkling of theatre thrown in for good measure. Frank says ‘We strongly believe, if it ain’t fun, it ain’t sustainable!’ This isn’t just fun in the whacky-crazy sense, although sometimes there is a little bit of that. ‘Research suggests people report some of their most enjoyable moments as being when they get together with others to share ideas about shaping their own futures.’ Frank says. “We can wait for the future to happen, for governments and technology to provide solutions, or we can start to shape the future for ourselves”.

Sustainability Street participants frequently describe three benefits of being part of a Sustainability Street Village. Firstly they achieve real reductions in their household energy and water consumption and waste production of an average of 30%. They also say they enjoy working on extraordinary local environment projects, large and small and which, importantly, have helped to influence other people in their neighbourhoods to think ecological sustainability. Lastly but certainly not leastly they report the deep satisfaction of making wonderful new friendships and transcending the traditional ‘windscreen wave’ relationship many of us now have with our neighbours. Reseach shows that people who are socially connected live longer, healthier lives. Being with other people who are taking steps to shape the future has deep emotional and spiritual benefits. And above all, the children in our lives will be significantly nourished to know that we “are on the case”.

At its most basic, the SSA is an eight session sustainability education program, looking at particular in reducing household waste, water and energy use. Meetings are usually held on a monthly basis. (Training is the first of four SSA phases Mulch-learning, Grow- doing and measuring, Harvest- celebrating, Sow-influencing others.)

The education program focuses on the ‘low-hanging fruit, that is the simple and cheap things that we can all do through little more than a change in mindset.

Participants can achieve considerable reductions in waste, water and energy use, just through doing the common sense things like turning off lights, using draught stoppers and composting kitchen waste. As Frank Ryan says “Not everyone can afford to put solar panels on their roof, but with a simple shift to a more sustainable mindset, not everyone has to.”

The objective of the Sustainability Street Approach is to bring about personal and community transformation. It’s about learning how to learn about sustainability, for the rest of our lives. Bringing people together enables the sharing of the collective, skills, knowledge and experiences of the individuals within a group. When it comes to sustainability we are all teachers and all learners. One of a number of innovative elements of the SSA is the ‘Communiversity’, in which a participant presents a short workshop on his or her area of ‘expertise’, whether it be worm farming or Peak Oil, to the other members of the group. It’s about being the Guide Beside, rather than the Sage on Stage.’

Of course experts have their place, but they should be ‘on tap, not on top’, on hand only when they are needed. The whole point of the SSA is to build capacity. The best way to do that is for us all to teach and learn from each other. As part of the Grow phase, SSA Villages also get the chance to work on their own projects. These are limited only by the collective will and imagination of the group. Some of these locally based projects include; community gardens, mini-festivals, sustainability libraries, welcome packs for new residents to name but a few.

These projects are part of perhaps the most important part of the SSA, the ‘Sow’ Phase in which individuals and their local communities, learn what they can about ecological sustainability and then do what they can to encourage, assist or “teach” other individuals or other communities to join the groundswell.

Perhaps the Sustainability Street Approach is best summed up by Jason Cox, member of the very first Sustainability Street Village which is still going strong and meets on a regular basis. “Sustainability Street goes from something your community does, to something your community is…”

There are many ways in which you can start up your own Sustainability Street Village, including in participation with your local council.

For more information email dave@voxbandicoot.com.au