Tidy Towns Alumni - Treasuring Our Trees

Treasuring our trees was born out of a tragic 2021 storm event, which saw 25,000 trees felled across the yarra and dandenong ranges. Arborist David Ferrier couldn't sit by and watch them simply rot away or be turned into woodchips - so he set about creating Treasuring Our Trees. A non-profit, that has at its heart, a mission to salvage and repurpose these beautiful trees into something meaningful for community and country.

Winner of the 2024 Tidy Towns Community category, David has worked with government and community partners since those '21 storms to expand the capacity and program offering at Treasuring Our Trees to include salvaging trees from infrastructure projects, working with schools and community groups and, First Nations projects across the state. A keen St Kilda Football Club supporter, David's passion and enthusiasm are immediately obvious as soon as you step into their workshop/factory/learning space in Lilydale.

The team at Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria have been out to see David several times, to learn more about their great work, and stand amongst the beautiful, processed trees - on their way to new long, productive lives - safe from the woodchippers.

The storms were a tragedy, but Treasuring Our Trees has turned that tragedy into a great range of outcomes for the environment and the community.

Stay up to date with their great work at their webpage here.

Congratulations to the Paint Australia Beautiful Winners!

Victorian Paint Australia Beautiful Winner - South Geelong Primary School

Congratulations to all the winners of the Paint Australia Beautiful Competition, with a special shoutout to the Victorian Winner - South Geelong Primary School.

The South Geelong Primary School winning design was from Maichi in grade 6.

Maichi’s mural design honours the deep connection between our school community and the land of the Wadawurrung People. Inspired by the sacred Bunjil, a Wedged-tailed Eagle revered by First Nations cultures as the creator of the land, flora, and fauna in our region, her artwork reflects the many natural and man-made wonders of this place.

The design features the tail feathers of Bunjil being formed by the fingerprints of this year’s Year 6 students, symbolising their unique imprint on the legacy of our school. This mural will not only serve as a lasting tribute to the Year 6 class, but also as a visual affirmation of our collective acknowledgment of the Wadawurrung People as the original custodians of the land on which our school stands.

Congratulations to Maichi and all the winners, we can't wait to see the murals as they go up around the country, with special thanks to Haymes Paint for their support.

You can learn more about the designs and winning schools here.

Tidy Towns Alumni - Yarra Valley ECOSS

The KABV Team with Chelsea McNab from Yarra Valley ECOSS

As we encourage entries into the 2025 Tidy Towns and Sustainable Cities Awards, we reflect and shine the spotlight on some of our amazing entrants from years past!

Yarra Valley ECOSS (Ecological and Social Sustainability) is a not-for-profit community organisation based on a 7.4 hectare permaculture designed farm at Wesburn, on Wurundjeri Country. On this beautiful property ECOSS demonstrates sustainable living solutions for the community of the Yarra Valley and beyond.

The KABV team took a trip out to Wesburn to check it out, and were blown away by the wonderful set up they have. An incredibly beautiful space, full of culturally diverse and creative projects that represent their diverse community. Local groups they partner and co-locate with include Permaculture Yarra Valley, Yarra Valley Bee Group, Warburton Environment, Upper Yarra Landcare, The Pottery Studio, Bushwood Creations, Silvertine Biodynamic Farm, Tonantzin chocolates and Sweat Lodge and Tipi Ceremonies, Beans and Bananas Food Co-op, The Dreaming Space Circus, The Pottery Studio, and numerous other local groups and businesses.

There are activities and events throughout the year, and new projects popping up all the time. It truly is a magical corner of Victoria. The team enjoyed eating freshly picked apples off the tree, talking with growers and tinkerers and enjoying the positive atmosphere that permeates the space.

Get along for the ECOSS Valley Market every Friday, supporting local growers and the community to access locally grown organic and biodynamic produce, or Ecotopia Earth Festival, Rhythms of the World, Children’s Week, Ngulu Indigenous Festival, Earth Kids Play Day, and the Twilight Market when they are on.

We are consistenly blown away and inspired by our amazing Tidy Towns network, individuals, organisations and places that are contributing to the sustainability of people and place across Victoria.

If you are looking for a great day out, check out what is going on at https://ecoss.org.au/ grab some friends and head down for a fantastic experience.

If you know anyone who is doing great work in the community themselves, we encourage you to direct them to this years Tidy Towns and Sustainable Cities Awards to enter their project and be a part of our 43rd year, celebrating the best that Victoria has to offer. With 10 categories, there is sure to be one that fits!

Special thanks to Chelsea and the team for having us, showing us around and doing such great work.

Yarra Valley ECOSS

711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, Victoria, 3799