The West Beacy Bunch is a “geographic” community group in south west Beaconsfield, near Fremantle Western Australia. The group is “exclusively inclusive” – exclusive in that you can only join if you live in the defined Beacy Bunch area, but inclusive in that we focus on making sure that everyone in that area is involved.
We are proud to say that 60% of residents in the area have joined our email list, and our monthly fliers are dropped in every letter box. People can identify our fliers because they are hand written with a child’s drawing – that way they don’t get thrown out with the junk mail. We also have an active facebook page.
As a group we coordinate one or two activites every month. Activities have included movies in the park, Long Table dinners, plants swaps, vision board workshops, craft afternoons, yoga classes, native seedling planting afternoons, our annual Bake Off and Soup and Slice events, clothes swaps . . . . . and more! We even have a community garden on a verge – the Moran Street Plot.
We have a very relaxed organisational structure. There is at least one coordinator in every street who sorts out the distribution of notes and makes sure that folk in their street know about events and feel welcome to come along. Events are organised by anyone who is passionate about doing something. We don’t have a formal committee– most of the communication is done via a small whatsapp group.
West Beacy Bunch is keen to support “hyper local” economies by supporting people in the area who run small businesses. We are also keen to share resources we have that we are happy to lend to others – from a whipper snipper or fridge trolley to bunting or wine glasses for a party. Our sharing extends to the sharing of skills, whether it be gardening advice or babysitting.
You can check out more at our website www.westbeacybunch.com
If you are interested in developing the geographic community where you live check out the The Neighbourhood Village Project (NVP) The NVP is a 10 week program designed to help participants bring their neighbours together to create a more connected, resilient, and caring place to live. Inspired by the idea that strong communities grow from simple acts of connection, each project encourages participants to work with their neighbours to have fun together – sharing skills and interests, supporting each other, and working collaboratively on projects.
Each weekly online or face to face session is 1.5 hours long and the course lasts for 10 weeks. But there is also lots of homework! Participants learn how to choose the boundaries of the area they want to work with, decide on a first event, make a flyer and door knock their neighbourhood inviting people along. Support is given the make sure the first event runs smoothly and a culture of shared ownership is established early on. A second event is then held, and the community is on it’s way! There is lots of support from others in the group, and mentors all over the world
The vision is simple: to transform your neighbourhood into a vibrant “village” where people know each other by name, look out for one another, share resources and interests and have fun together.
Head to https://nvp.community to find out more or enrol for the next cohort
Below is a TEDxPerth talk Shani did about the “Bunch” in April 2023, and another one she did in 2013 about Hulbert Street where she used to live.