Take a street and build a community

This TEDx talk by Shani Graham shows what can happen when neighbours get together.

Who knows what could happen if you consciously built relations with your neighbours!

We are discovering what a difference it can make through the Kids Vegies on the Verge. While enthusiasm for the garden has dropped off a bit (there is another working bee coming up that might help re-inspire people), friendships and connections have continued to grow. We now know most of the people in our stretch of our street – before the garden we knew only a few people. We are sure that these relationships are going to lead somewhere interesting, just don’t ask us what!

As I’ve mentioned before, Hulbert Street,  was one of my inspirations for the Transition Streets Challenge. The workshop that brought the street together was Living Smart, which sound like a great program. One of the things that I like about the Transition Streets Challenge (and could happen with Living Smart) is that it is done in a street. (As I understand it, Living Smart helps people to become sustainable champions in their own communities, but the workshops are normally not for one street or neighbourhood.) I think the most important thing for these types of programs is bringing people together so they can do amazing things.

What has happened when you have got together with people in your street or neighbourhood?

If you liked this post you might want to subscribe to the blog (top right-hand corner of the blog),  and you might like to read:

1. Hulbert Street – building community in a street
2. “We didn’t just build a garden, we built a community”
3. Transition Streets Challenge – comments from coordinators
4. The Transition Streets Challenge: Potential and challenges
5. An edible town?