In Our Street

‘In Our Street’ is a framework that brings neighbours together to work on building sustainable, connected communities. Neighbours meet, set small achievable goals, and work on environmental projects that create greener, kinder, more supportive neighbourhoods.

We have created a range of resources to assist people in undertaking projects in their own communities. Are you ready to become a Street Champion?

These resources exist thanks to the generous support of our funders, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, the Suzanne Elliot Charitable Trust and Green Adelaide.

On this page

Meet our Street Champions

Street Champion Amy on verge gardens, food sharing and connecting with neighbours. 

Street Champion Julie on unconventional streets, little libraries and belonging.

Street Champion Laura on native plants, urban trees and unlocking your passions.

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Become a Street Champion

  1. Get inspired by exploring our resources and reading about other Street Champions.
  2. Tell us you’re getting ready by registering your intent using the form below.
  3. Gather your neighbours.
  4. Set a goal. What kind of eco-friendly street would you like to live in?
  5. Start making plans and take action towards your project.
  6. Celebrate the little wins along the way!
  7. Let us know how you are going.

Ready to start?

Let us know that you’re planning on reaching out to your neighbours, or have started something small in your local area.

This will help us to know how many people are using the In Our Street resources and let us check back in with you to see how you’re going!

Check out our resources

Think of our resources as an instruction manual, only a FAR less boring version than the one wedged behind your refrigerator.

In Our Street Handbook

An extensive guide for Street Champions. This will take you through the whole process, from I-don’t-know-my-neighbours and where-on-earth-do-I-begin?! all the way through to completing a fully-fledged project with your very own neighbourhood pals.

Templates to connect with your neighbours

Download this for the nitty gritty of the resources. It includes all the resources you can print and use at your gatherings, like mind-maps, project plan templates and more.

Example In Our Street Projects

Stuck for goals or project ideas? We’ve created two example goals with a bunch of project ideas to get you inspired.

In Our Street FAQs

In Our Street brings together neighbours to work on building sustainable, connected communities. Neighbours meet, set small achievable goals, and work towards environmental projects together. Since starting in 2020, 10+ wonderful ‘In Our Street’ projects have come to life, bringing positive change to our communities.

We have created a range of resources to help you along the way. These include:

  • Street Champions Handbook (Street Champions are legends who lead their streets in projects).
  • Street Champions Templates – download this for the nitty gritty of the resources.
  • Example Project Ideas– one about increasing biodiversity and native greenery and another about diverting food waste from landfill.
  • 4 helpful videos, including an introduction to In Our Street and 3 examples of Street Champions and their projects.
  • Examples of other Street Champions. Check out these inspiring folk and their projects on this page.

Street Champions are people who lead their Streets in undertaking environmental projects. The projects are usually a great team effort, but it can help to have a front person to organise the meetings, do the letterboxing, etc.

Perhaps you co-lead with someone else. Perhaps you print off some of the resources and share the load evenly between your group.

It’s totally up to you.

Also, importantly, you don’t have to create The World’s Best Community Garden to qualify as a Street Champion. Maybe you get yourself and a few neighbours set up with a kitchen caddy to cut down food waste. That’s amazing! You’re all Street Champions in our eyes.

Check out the stories of other Street Champions above.

Projects that focus on caring for, restoring, and regenerating our beautiful environment – that’s the aim of the game. These kinds of projects will almost certainly have huge community and social benefits too.

Street Champions often talk about how beneficial the projects are for their physical and mental health. They help people feel less isolated and get them active in nature.

Street Champion Kerry says, “Greening these patches opens up knowledge and skills in the community that can be shared. There may be a weed expert, someone with native plant knowledge, an avid propagator, a historian, an artist to paint stobie poles, someone with strong mosaic knowledge, a herb expert and so much more already in the community. These small groups can give opportunity for those skills to shine, share and develop.”

Absolutely. Some of the resources (like grant suggestions) are tailored to the Port Adelaide or Greater Adelaide region. However, many of the resources (like letter templates for reaching out to your neighbours) can be used by anyone, anywhere. If you live more locally, we may be able to provide a little more support, however we encourage everyone to participate and would love to hear about your project, from wherever you are in the world.

Our resources are free for anyone to use. Depending on the nature of your project, there may be some small costs involved. There are a few options for how to navigate these costs:

  • Apply for a grant (we have included a list of some of the suitable grants in Greater Adelaide in our handbook, but checking out the grants that your local council offers is a great place to start).
  • Contact your local council. They sometimes offer incentives or programs to help people do a range of things, including reduce waste. They might provide or subsidise a compost bin (if it’s food waste that tickles your fancy) or some compost and plants (if it’s greening that floats your boat).
  • If the costs are very minor, you could split them amongst yourself and your neighbours.
  • Check out your local buy-nothing page. Don’t know what a buy-nothing page is? You can read more about them here. If you’re after a worm farm, compost bin, veggie beds or the like, this can be a great place to score an epic free item.

Check out our handy resources above. You’re welcome to use our templates to get the ball rolling, or strike up a chat with your neighbours yourself. Already connected with your neighbours? Perfect. Why not plan a get-together soon to chat through a vision for your street and some goals and project ideas. Think a nice outdoor park, someone’s front or back yard, maybe even a meeting room at your local library? Perhaps a bring-and-share?

This one really depends on your project and where you are located.

The best way to find out is to get in touch with us.

Either email hello@portenvironmentcentre.org.au or pop by for a visit during our opening hours.

27 North Parade, Port Adelaide 5015. Wed-Fri from 10am – 3pm (and the second Sunday of each month, from 10am – 2pm).

The PEC is an incorporated organisation and can auspice and support local groups with projects.

You (the ‘auspicee’) will carry out the project, while we (the ‘Incorporated auspicor’) will receive the project funding and assist you with the allocation, spending & acquittal of the project funding, according to a mutual agreement.

Find out more here, get in touch and complete the Expression of Interest form.