Montrose Township Group have been crowned Yarra Ranges Council’s Community Group of the Year.
Bestowed the honour for the council’s Australia Day Civic Awards, the group have been active in supporting, campaigning and advocating for the needs of Montrose over the last year.
Montrose Township Group member Chelsey Cooper said they are absolutely delighted to receive this award.
“When I received the call from Council about our award I couldn’t wait to tell the others, it was a delightful surprise to us all,” she said.
“I’m not sure what we do is any more of a standout than others, because there are some amazing groups out there doing fabulous things for community.
“That said, the last couple of years have been quite big for our community and the Township Group played an important role in keeping the community informed and connected, inviting many different opportunities for locals to contribute and get involved.
The Montrose Township group regularly busies themselves with Clean Up Days, working bees and smaller scale ‘Weeding Wednesdays’ in town, particularly hoping to help breathe life back into the beloved People’s Garden, a special public space donated by the Kevin Heinze family.
Ms Cooper said it’s been a big year, and through it all many of their members also experienced their own personal challenges which meant some had to step away at different times throughout the year for periods of time.
“The intersection upgrade was a disruptive time for all of us in Montrose and we worked closely with the community and VicRoads to ensure concerns were addressed, both in terms of safety and in our relentless efforts to do what we can to maintain our unique village feel,” she said.
“We also play a role in strengthening community resilience so we are better able to recover from natural disasters, we produced five professional small films featuring locals to help people be prepared for weather-related events, thanks to a grant from AusNet.
We also played a role in communicating important updates to community and Council during and after the Ken Laversha Reserve bushfire to help us all begin the bumpy road back to recovery after, what was for many, a very traumatic event, we didn’t see the bushfire coming, but we had already prepared for a year of healing and reconnection after a disruptive year with the roadworks.”
While there has been plenty for the group to help coordinate in recent years, they haven’t stopped printing their regular seasonal newsletter filled with highlights of past events, historical facts, upcoming events and a list of all local groups and clubs in the community, while there was also a number of positive projects they have completed.
“Through a grant from Yarra Ranges Council, we arranged a series of sustainable workshops, historical talks, a picnic in the park concert and a flower festival with live entertainment, all with the purpose to bring us together, get informed and inspired, and provide opportunities to get involved in some way,” Ms Cooper said.
“We were also proud to be part of the Edith Yeaman Memorial Bust production and unveiling, having written the grant to receive the funding for its production and helping with the promotion and coordination of the unveiling event, led by local Max Lamb.”
Up next for the group is to continue to community to keep Montrose informed, host their historical talks, working bees and flower festival and develop the next five-year community plan, which sets out the key activity the group will aim to focus on and advocate for, and which they have already started engaging the community on.
Ms Cooper said township groups play a unique role because they tend to look at the overall picture of the community rather than one specific interest area.
“For Montrose, our focus is strengthening what already exists in our community – a place where the people here do something to care about each other, our place and our environment,” she said.
“When more of us know one another, and come together to help out in some way, our whole community is better for it, township groups also can step in to advocate for things the community cares about, and they can play an important communications role, especially during times of relief and recovery after emergencies.
“Getting involved does wonders for community and for each other, saying ‘yes’ to helping out in some way doesn’t mean you are committed to hours of committee meetings… and if the group is anything like the Montrose Township Group, you’ll find you have made friends, had interesting conversations and a good laugh, and feel proud to have done even a small part in improving and strengthening the community you live, work or play.”
