St Joseph's Nature Play Group, a 2026 finalist in Behaviour Change Campaigns and Education.

22 families. Then 50. Then 95, twice.

That's the growth of St Joseph's Nature Play Group in Crib Point since 2023, and it tells you most of what you need to know about this Tidy Towns finalist.

Every week, young kids and their families turn up rain, hail or shine (this playgroup doesn't stop for weather) to make crafts from recycled and natural materials, care for the resident chickens, explore the school wetlands, and share a snack of fruit and veg donated by the local Woolworths. Bunnings chips in with craft and garden supplies too.

While the kids get muddy and curious, parents and carers get something just as valuable: a coffee, a chat, and a support network a lot of young families are quietly short on.

Nothing here is complicated, and that's rather the point. St Joseph's set out to build a place where children could develop a real connection to nature and families could connect with each other. Not a curriculum. A habit. Three years on, they've learned that small, consistent actions (a chicken to feed, a scrap to compost, a wetland to explore) add up to something bigger: kids who default to caring for the world around them, and families who feel like they belong to a community.

The X-factor is the consistency. No cancelled sessions for bad weather, no shortcuts. Just the same welcome, every week, in every season.

Congratulations to St Joseph's Nature Play Group, a finalist in Behaviour Change Campaigns and Education.

Meet all the finalists here: https://www.kabvic.org.au/post/meet-the-2026-tidy-towns-and-cities-sustainability-awards-finalists

#TidyTowns #KeepAustraliaBeautifulVic #CribPoint #natureplay