Nillumbik Community Fund grants awarded

African Party

Wayapa Wuurrk Early Years Program | $4,963
Connection with natural elements through the traditional lens of First Nations and neuro diverse/divergent knowledge and wisdom in this sensory, movement, music and arts based program. Sessions will be conducted across a variety of venues in Nillumbik to provide families with easy access, including Allwood Neighbourhood House, and Eltham and Diamond Valley libraries.

Ale Prunotto (writer and researcher)

Write to Move | $4,950
A six-week parkour and creative writing program for LGBTQIA+ youth aged 18-25. Participants will learn parkour in a supportive environment at Alistair Knox Park, before undertaking creative writing activities at Eltham Library that respond to themes explored in the movement sessions. The program will provide a space to explore place, movement, and identity.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Music for Mamas | $5,000
Music for Mamas provides expectant and new mothers a space for connection, learning and exploration of the role of music to support their transition through Matrescence. Taking place at Allwood Neighbourhood House over four sessions, spaced at every two months, participants will enjoy a performance and discussion with musician and mother Claire Tonti and education from Dr Elizabeth McLean a Registered Music Therapist.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

The Bridge | $4,950
The Bridge will be a roving community-led performance in Nillumbik, where the audience will move around to watch the story play out in different areas around Allwood House where the actual historical events took place. Performed after dusk using projected images, dramatic sound effects and lighting, it tells the story of Henry Hurst’s encounter with bushranger, Robert Burke, that defines the Hurstbridge township. The Bridge will reflect on the bridges between human beings that are formed in communities across the world.

Bushfire Resilience

Bushfire Resilience Community Bushfire Preparation | $4,940
Experts will develop web-based tools for residents to assess their risk and prepare their homes, properties, animals and loved ones for the real threat of bushfire. The online resource hub will provide webinars, excerpts, interviews, transcripts, topic specific video clips, and viewer comments providing 24 hour access to Nillumbik residents.

Carry & Connect

Purchase of Equipment for Community Usage | $5,000
Purchase of an enclosed waterproof trailer, a weight-bearing sled and additional weights, to improve the capacity of Carry & Connect who provide local participants an opportunity to exercise through walking approximately 2-4kms, in Eltham or Research, whilst carrying sandbags, hand weights, pulling sleds or whatever manner of challenges provided that week.

Christmas Hills Primary School

Christmas Hills Primary School 150th Year Celebration | $4,931
2024 marks the 150th year of Christmas Hills Primary School, and they are marking this significant occasion by hosting a celebratory, family friendly event open to the community. There will be live music, face painting, children's entertainment, a petting zoo and indoor jumping castle and a historical display.

Clean Energy Nillumbik

Expert Eco Chats | $4,000
Expert Eco Chats consists of 12-15 sustainability experts at Edendale Farm, offering 20 minute appointments to Nillumbik residents with the expert of their choice, covering topics such as how to make homes more comfortable and cheaper to run, how to electrify homes, and which projects to tackle first.

Country Fire Authority

Subsidised Listening Sets |$5,000
In an attempt to reduce risk on high fire danger days, Arthurs Creek and Strathewen residents require access to every possible form of information relevant to them and their community. A digital listening set allows residents to listen to fire-fighters radio traffic in the local fire brigade area. Listening sets will be dispersed to households geographically in these areas, who will relay information on their phone tree to inform neighbours of precautions.

The Creative Co-Operative

Eid in Eltham 2025 | $4,999
Celebrating Ramadan 2025 with diverse festivities from 49 countries worldwide, inviting local communities and visitors to join a vibrant Eid celebration at Eltham Square, marking the holy, spiritual month of Ramadan. Experience culture, food, art, henna over community spirit for an inclusive celebration at this cherished event.

Eltham and District Woodworkers

Annual Exhibition and Festivities | $5,000
Promoting the joy and skills of woodworking to diverse audience, this free exhibition at Eltham Community and Reception Centre, will feature displays, demonstrations of techniques, and host children to make toys which they can then take home.

Eltham Redbacks Football Club

EmpowerHer | $3,120
EmpowerHer is a mental health project for female players, to promote well-being, raise awareness, and offer resources. It will include workshops, individual support, and initiatives to enhance mental resilience, empowering girls to excel in sports and life.

Em for Music Magic

Childrens Weekly Music | $3,262
Children will embark on a musical adventure at Allwood House in Hurstbridge with free weekly music sessions for local 0-6 year olds. Delight in 40 minutes of singing, instrument exploration, and dancing, fostering a love for music.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

Think Global, Play Local | $5,000
A series of four gigs in Hurstbridge that will explore the connections between local jazz artists and global perspectives. Drawing on jazz traditions from around the world, this series will celebrate a range of emerging voices in jazz music as well as feature established artists with connections to Nillumbik.

Imagine Re-evolution

Mellow Mornings at the Imaginarium | $5,000
Mellow Mornings is a transformative project designed to address the needs of young people experiencing anxiety or resistance towards school, offering a nurturing environment to recalibrate and ease into their day. Mellow Mornings at the Imaginarium in Eltham will work with items destined for landfill and reimagine them into something new. The program is aimed at Nillumbik youth who have difficulties getting to school aged 12-18 years old.

Montsalvat

Gathering and Sharing the Archives: Half a Century of Montsalvat Festivals and Events | $5,000
A project engaging with the community in researching diverse archives, to uncover, assess, conserve, catalogue, describe and provide public access to the ephemera of posters, flyers, programs and videos from half a century of festivals, events and performances, organised by or held at Montsalvat since 1970. Materials will be shared via social media and a public archive link on the Montsalvat website.

Nillumbik Literary Festival

Nillumbik Literary Festival | $4,161
Welcome to Nillumbik Literary Festival, where local stories come to life. Join us at historic Allwood House for a captivating weekend of author talks, creative writing workshops, storytelling and much more. Be inspired to discover all this vibrant community has to offer.

Northern Gujarati Association

Navratri 2024 - Indian Festival of Music & Dance | $5,000
Being performed at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre, Navaratri is one of the largest Indian festivals and aims to bring the community together and pass on this culture to the next generation. Join them in the popular Garba group dance - a folk dance where people of different backgrounds and skills join and form concentric circles wearing traditional attire.

Operation Newstart Northern

Operation Newstart Nillumbik | $5,000
Challenging outdoor adventure activities to re-engage young people in Nillumbik deemed to be at significant educational risk, aged 14-17. Outdoor activities such as surfing, hiking, mountain biking and caving promote personal growth in line with evidence-based adventure therapy practices. Local agencies such as Healthability Reconnect, Headspace, Youth Services and Eltham Leisure Centre will partner to co-deliver the program at sites across Nillumbik.

Plenty Valley Cricket Club

Pathways for Girls in Community Cricket | $3,990
A partnership between Plenty Valley Cricket Club, Diamond Valley Cricket Association and North-East Metro Cricket to grow participation of girls in cricket - engaging schools and community cricket clubs in delivering Cricket Blast programs, and delivering junior coaching academies and mentoring, aimed at increasing girl's participation and pathways in cricket.

Research Preschool

Messy Play Open Day | $237
Nillumbik families are invited to come and discover Research Preschool and enjoy a range of age-appropriate sensory activities at this weekend open day, which includes a two hour play-based session for young people (aged 1-5) and their parents/caregivers.

Rotary Club of Diamond Creek

Community Lunch | $5,000
As the cost of living increases individuals and families are finding it hard to make ends meet, and the Rotary Diamond Creek Pantry is giving out food to over 70 local families every week. Recipients and other Nillumbik community members will be invited to this free community lunch to provide an opportunity and meal to mix socially.

Rotary Club of Eltham

2024 Rotary Eltham Art Show | $5,000
This 2024 show will present 3 Dimensional artworks (sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, glass and woodwork sourced from across Victoria. Funding will contribute towards equipment hire and curator and judge fees. A gala opening and public viewing will be held at the Eltham Community & Reception Centre.

St Margaret's Anglican Church Eltham

Emergency Food Relief | $2,000
Provision of emergency food relief across Nillumbik. Including food parcels distributed across Nillumbik to recipients identified by HealthAbility and local schools, stocking the St Margaret's food pantry which is open at all times for emergency food supplies, and delivering Christmas hampers to individuals, families, and Odyssey House.

The Veggie Empire

Growing Connections | $4,699
A series of free Social Seeding events at Veggie Empire's Greensborough urban farm and nursery, to bring together Nillumbik community members living with intellectual disability and a passion for gardening. The events will mark the beginning of an accessible propagation group addressing social isolation in a casual and fun farm setting co-founded by individuals with disabilities.

Victorian Skateboard Association

Promoting Nillumbik Skateable Spaces | $5,000
Promoting Nillumbik Skateable Spaces aims to significantly increased skateboarding participation and community connection in Nillumbik by engaging children, youth and families at the Eltham, Hurstbridge and Diamond Creek skate parks, as well as pop-up skate space locations with partner schools and orgs in the Green Wedge to maximise reach.

A Fitting Connection

Apollo Parkways Celebrates Community | $5,000
The Apollo Parkways Community come together to celebrate the amazing and diverse community, support local businesses, and celebrate the end of the year.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Have-a-Go Hurstbridge | $5,000
Project for members of the community to connect with others during the evening and on the weekends when community services are generally limited. Providing a minimum of 12 skill-building activities designed to be fun, enjoyable, and educational.

Banyule & Nillumbik Local Learning & Employment Network

Local Employers Forum | $5,000
Employers Forum that will expose secondary students from Nillumbik schools to various local employment opportunities by engaging with employers to inform and inspire students about the world of work, career pathways and employment prospects in their sector.

Banyule & Nillumbik Local Learning & Employment Network

Stories From My Life 2023 | $5,000
Stories From My Life is an intergenerational program that offers secondary students the opportunity to learn about the life and career background of a local older person.

Copperline News

Write Like a Journalist | $4,500
Series of workshops encouraging local residents to learn the skills to contribute to high quality journalism in our start-up community newspaper, Copperline News.

Diamond Valley Community Support

Action on Poverty Month | $5,000
Hosting a month of community events to mark Anti Poverty Week including markets and fundraising events, raising funds and awareness of the lived experiences and realities of poverty in the local area.

Eltham and District Woodworkers

Annual Exhibition | $4,688
Promoting the joy and skills of woodworking to diverse audience at Eltham Community and Reception Centre, displaying works, and demonstrating techniques. Providing approximately 400 children with the toys they have helped make.

Eltham Toy Library

Diversity and Inclusion at the Eltham Toy Library | $1,500
Eltham Toy Library Diversity and Inclusion community project targeting families with young children who are based in Nillumbik. Project includes open play-based sessions centred around toys that promote diversity and inclusion, as well as toys specifically designed for children with disabilities.

Embraced

Residence | $5,000
Intergenerational songwriting program offering six artists a residency to create new music inspired by, in collaboration with and at times performed together with aged care residents. Musicians will work individually to develop songs and co-design collaborative sessions with older adults, culminating in six in-house showings and a collective finale.

Friends of Nillumbik

Community Showcase - the Next Step | $5,000
Three gatherings of community groups and residents to showcase the voluntary work being achieved, share information and workshop collaboration between groups to generate new projects which will benefit the community including our environment.

Healthy Soils Australia

The Vital Role of Soil in Producing Healthy Food and Combating Climate Change… | $5,000
Four events focusing on key speakers and activities for the urban and rural sectors in the Nillumbik area, who are keen to understand the role of regenerative agriculture in developing land resilient to drought and floods, and building healthy soils.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

The Nillumbik Sound Series | $5,000
Spring series of four events presenting distinctive Nillumbik based jazz artists as they explore their own unique sound. Supported by emerging youth talent, this series aims to give voice to the artistic and aesthetic voices within jazz that live in our community.

Hurstbridge Men's Shed

Using Power Drills for Women - Making Habitat Boxes | $2,830
Working with local environment groups to identify habitat needs and prefabricate habitat boxes for assembly. Women will be invited to workshops where they will learn how to use power drills, make habitat boxes and learn about how to support local biodiversity and animal habitat.

Jessie Page

Lies and Deceit in the World of Orchids | $2,000
Installation of native orchids depicting the bizarre and fascinating process of pollination. Viewers will enter a world of larger-than-life-sized orchids and their insect pollinators all constructed from wood, silk and paper. This will be a full sensory experience that will transport viewers to another world.

Joanne Griggs

Easel Access | $3,780
Nillumbik artisan facilitated weekly art group to encourage young people with disabilities to develop confidence, knowledge and skills as visual artists. Genuine fun study to expand safe social connection and pride amongst peers as the group will eventually show and sell in the Montsalvat studio.

Lions Club of Eltham

Lions Gazebo for Community Use | $3,370
Purchase of a large 3x6m marquee for use at Lions Club events, and to lend to local community groups. Application elevated above several scored higher as high value and attractive community project.

Montsalvat - ClayTalk

Montsalvat - Birribi Community Youth Project | $5,000
Art therapy through using clay and ceramic workshops for disadvantaged youth in the local community. Supporting community networks where Clay Talk, Montsalvat and Birribi collaborate to deliver meaningful and positive outcomes for young people in need of purpose, direction and new opportunities.

Nillumbik Climate Action Team

Climate Awareness Month | $4,222
This project will run over three or four weekend days (Saturday or Sunday) for a calendar month (provisionally March 2024). The aim is to promote community awareness of climate and environment issues through a series of presentations by notable people in the field.

Nillumbik Historical Society

Learning to Listen | $2,200
Comprehensive oral history workshop for various volunteers from historical groups who are members of the Yarra Plenty Heritage Group Network, and training to develop skills to assist with setting up and conducting an oral history project, from technical requirements and ethics, to interview techniques and transcription.

Nillumbik Repair Café

Repair Cafe Skill-sharing Workshops | $1,620
Hands-on skill sharing workshops for local residents topics such as bike maintenance, clothing repairs, car and mower maintenance and fixing household objects.

Northern Gujarati Association of Melbourne

Navratri - Indian Festival of Music & Dance | $5,000
Navaratri is one of the Indian main festivals. The most visible is group dance called Garba - a folk dance where people of different backgrounds and skills join and form concentric circles wearing traditional attire. They aim to bring the community together and pass on this culture to the next generation.

Plenty Historical Society

Our Place in Plenty | $5,000
Living focal point display in the Plenty Historic Church with documents, photos and other items telling the story of Plenty, involving community groups, clubs and individuals.

Poetry @ Chrissy Hills

Poetry@Chrissy Hills | $720
Interactive bi-monthly series of six poetry sessions, encouraging participants to share their poetry with a supportive audience. Led by a featured reader, sessions provide participants opportunities to engage with established poets, with an emphasis on participation and having fun with poetry.

Slovenian Association Melbourne

SRRA Community First Aid Training | $4,135
Opportunity for people of all ages to participate in an informative, social and educational day obtaining a First Aid Certificate. This will help develop confidence and knowledge that will empower our community so we can successfully provide a community safety initiative opportunity.

St Andrews Primary School

St Andrews Community Twilight Games | $5,000
Community evening playing various sporty games on the oval including egg-n-spoon races, tug-o-war, boot toss, three-legged races, egg toss, sack races, BBQ and additional festival activities.

Strathewen 10th Anniversary Working Group

Strathewen Community Memorial Interpretive Signage | $5,000
Partial funding to design and install Interpretive Signage at the Strathewen Community Bushfire Memorial.

Susie Raz

On Whose Shoulders We Stand | $4,436
Project addressing gender inequality in the arts by paying homage to the courage and commitment of Australian female artists of the 20th century who persisted despite a lack of role models and support, and who still go largely unrecognised by current art history books and major art galleries.

A Fitting Connection

Upskill and Upcycle Textiles Your Way  |  $5,000
A series of workshops encouraging and inspiring participants to extend the life of their clothing and keep household textiles in circulation longer, teaching a range of skills from visible mending to covering stains with printing techniques.

Angharad Neal-Williams

Community Grow Guide  |  $5,000
The Community Grow Guide will be an accessible illustrated guide to gardening in Nillumbik taking readers through what vegetables to plant and when, as well as how to the save seeds.

Bushfire Resilience

Bushfire Webinar Series  |  $2,800 
Delivery of five stimulating and informative live webinars with subject matter experts presenting unique and helpful information to empower attendees to make better decisions when preparing and responding to bushfire threats.

Diamond Valley Community Support

Diamond Valley Gift Appeal  |  $5,000
Bringing the Nillumbik community together via participation in the spirit of collaboration to help those less fortunate at Christmas time, through volunteering, fundraising and donation drives.

Different Journeys

Autism Friendly Bowls - The Next Step  |  $4,500
Hosted in partnership with Diamond Creek Bowling Club, a series of autism friendly lawn bowls events co-designed and delivered by, and for, autistic people and their families to facilitate exercise and reduce isolation in a largely hidden and socially and economically disadvantaged cohort.

Edible Hub Community Garden

Explanatory Garden signage  |  $3,014
Creation of fun, vibrant, accessible signage for areas and elements of the community garden, with signs labelling the garden to both explain different plant purposes and promote a warm, welcoming feel and improve engagement with visitors.

Eltham Chamber of Commerce

Eltham Cultural Diversity Pop Ups  |  $5,000
A series of events to be held in Eltham Town Square to connect local community and cultural groups, and enable the people of Nillumbik to gather and share experiences.

Eltham High School

LGBTIQA+ Celebration Mural  |  $700
Creation and launch of a mural at Eltham High School, expressing the joys, diversity and strength involved in being in the LGBTIQA+ community to uplift LGBTIQA+ people of all ages by showing how they are welcome to express themselves as they are in Nillumbik.

Eltham Rotary

Eltham Art Show for Nillumbik Shire and Friends  |  $5,000
An inaugural Nillumbik and Friends Art Exhibition showcasing the talents of local artists and stimulating creativity with over 200 artists presenting unique works of art inspired by the local environs. The rich heritage of the local art community will be on display with story boards throughout the exhibition.

Friends of Grove Street Reserve

Transform Grove Street Reserve Habitat and Community Connections  |  $3,095
Transformation of this local reserve into a vibrant community space for all to enjoy by engaging the local community through a series of workshops and events to build community connection and care for the reserve.

Green Karma

Heal with Food Program  |  $5,000
Teaching techniques in prevention, management and reversal of chronic diseases using food as medicine to reduce dependency on pain medication.

Hang Together

Come Together Music & Arts Festival  |  $5,000
A safe, community globally focused arts festival accessible to all in the community to promote tolerance of diversity in all its forms.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

Winter & Spring Community Concert Series  |  $5,000
Presented by nationally-recognised jazz musicians from Nillumbik and featuring an array of emerging artists, this engaging series of jazz music will foster belonging and connection for local musicians whilst providing local audiences an affordable, world-class, live music experience.

In the Park Productions

Live Outdoor Performance Summer 2023 (Eltham and Diamond Creek)  |  $5,000
A professional, accessible and affordable family-friendly outdoor performance over two weekends in Eltham and Diamond Creek in summer 2023.

Lana De Jager

Baldessin Press Community Artwork  |  $3,588
Memorialising 21 years of The Baldessin Press Studio as a nurturing workplace for the printmaking community, this artwork will express the joy of making art with the people and in the specific ‘world’ that Baldessin Press inhabits. Nillumbik residents will be invited into the full artistic process, and the image will include diverse iconography from the bushland surrounding the studio as well as some of the people, known by many of the St Andrews community.

Monsalvat

Creating Cultural Connection with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Community Members  |  $4,060
An initiative to re-connect Montsalvat's artistic community to today's Wurundjeri Elders and First Nation residents from all parts of Australia. By empowering current generations to embrace Indigenous cultural activity in the open grounds of Montsalvat a new beginning will be fostered.

Ness Reserve Preschool

Sharing our Growth: Community Food Share Program  |  $1,585
To promote community connections, reduce food waste and enhance children's opportunities to try new foods and promote healthy eating, the kindergarten will grow their own produce in a wicking bed and share the produce via a community food share box.

Nillumbik Reconciliation Group

Reconciliation Gayip - 25 Years On  |  $5,000
This Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Wurundjeri Elder will be a celebration of the historic Gayip of 2008 and a platform for Council to demonstrate to First Nations people, and to the community, their commitment to reconciliation in Nillumbik. Indigenous entertainers will celebrate cultural heritage. It is an event that will advance truth telling, contribute to healing and build trust with First Nations people.

North of the Yarra Quilters Guild

Quilt Show  |  $5,000
A presentation of members’ quilts targeting quilters in the Diamond Valley region and beyond, introducing people of every age and background to explore the art of quilt making.

Open House Christian Involvement Centre

Edendale Youth Mentoring Pilot Program  |  $5,000
Open House Youth Mentoring Program (Edendale Farm) to re-engage youth in Nillumbik by providing opportunities to connect and engage with youth workers with a focus on developing a range of life skills, increasing community connectedness, offering structured/unstructured mentoring and opportunities to participate in fun activities.

Paradoxa Collective

Under the Canopy: Costume Making Collaboration  |  $5,000
This collaboration will directly support community awareness of the fragile environment of Nillumbik. The costumes will include/evoke/portray orchids, wasps, fungi, ants and grasses to act out their symbiotic relationships, and be filmed within Panton Hill Bushland Reserve as part of an activity to identify these flora and fauna with community members and experts. Community sewing circles will be held in collaboration with students from Melbourne Polytechnic.

SHIFT: Sustainable Hurstbridge: Ideas for Transition

Dying to Know: A Greener Way To Go  |  $1,971
A series of four creative events to promote community conversations around sustainability, death and dying. From discussions of green funerals to mediums of film, meditation, and guided writing, we'll explore how to have a greener death, a more meaningful life, and foster resilience in the face of our shared mortality.

St Andrews Film Society

Family Focused Monthly Movie Sessions  |   $2,200
Monthly film showings providing an opportunity for families to get together and connect with one another in the heart of our community, featuring a diverse and culturally aware program of monthly family focused movies.

The Dancing Bee Institute

Thriving Families - Community Pilot Program  |  $5,000
The Dancing Bee in partnership with Green Karma and Carer's Collective, will deliver Thriving Families, a holistic and family-centred program targeting neurodivergent families in Nillumbik, via four workshops to educate, foster understanding and acceptance, and empower resilient and interconnected families thriving and living to their potential.

Unihill Church

Hope Centre - Free Lunch Program  |  $3,588
Free weekly lunch for families in need that are isolated, marginalised and may suffer from mental health issues, helping to build a sense of community amongst guests each week, providing monthly speakers on a range of relevant empowerment topics.

United Minds Community Services

Neuro Diverse Teen Pilot Program  |  $5,000
Pilot of a Neuro Diverse Teen Program to encourage and foster social connection with peers in a fun yet mindful environment, facilitated by accredited psychologists with proven experience working with in the field of neuro diversity.

Wadambuk Community Centre

St Andrews Children's and Youth Activities  |  $3,900
Free local activities during the school holidays including art workshops for parents and children under 12, stilt-walking workshops for ages 10-16, and puppet creation and show catering for all ages. This opportunity will be used to ascertain future community needs to enhance the future sustainability of the Centre.

Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service

Diamond Valley Library - Indigenous Art Installation  |  $5,000
Local indigenous artists will be invited to create pieces of art that tell the stories of the lands that we live work and play on. The artworks will take pride of place in the children's area, above the storytime stage, and will form the centrepiece of that section of the library. This celebration of culture will strengthen community connection and be a visual reminder of the heritage of country and create an inclusive feel while paying respects to the land.