Effort to carry on connection

A GROUP in Sebastopol is seeking to become a more tight-knit suburb thanks to an initiative led by staff at the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre.

The effort is part of the Connecting Sebastopol endeavour which is being undertaken with the help of the State Government’s $5 million Spotlight on Sebastopol program.

The initiative saw the creation of the Sebastopol Community Newsletter in October last year, and recently led to a meeting early last month between community members, groups, and business representatives.

Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre community engagement officer Emily Macdonald is heading the project and said there’s a need for a more tight-knit Sebastopol.

“There are so many different businesses, organisations, and schools here and we don’t all necessarily know about each other and what we’re doing,” she said.

“There’s no central site or group that helps connect all the groups in Sebastopol so this is a great way to connect each other and create that community spirit.

“We had 25 people in the first meeting. Everyone got a chance to talk about the different work we’re doing and looked at ways we could connect for projects.”

The initial meeting included representatives from Ballarat Community Health, Sebastopol’s Men’s Shed, Fire Brigade, and Historical Society, as well as the Little Wonders Early Learning Centre, and Kazan Central Asian Kitchen.

With funding for Connecting Sebastopol to cease from December, Ms Macdonald said the follow-up meeting will be aimed at establishing a community association to carry the program into next year and beyond.

“We’re hoping to get a group of people together who are passionate about the area and want to continue on this,” she said.

“That means organising these meetings and gathering the Sebastopol community. It’ll be up to them on when the meetings take place.

“The aim is to set up an incorporated association and we need at least five people. They can then apply for funding and grants and to continue the great work in Sebastopol.”

The Connecting Sebastopol initiative was a State Government election pledge in 2018 and other projects have included a website and a video series highlighting the suburb’s history, tree planting and restoration of a walking trail.

The next Sebastopol community meeting is being held at the Ballarat South Uniting Church on Tuesday 31 October.