This week I was a little sad to see that the last inspirational graffiti we posted has been painted over (PTV is just too efficient - it was at the tunnel under the train line). But then I walked by this on Clarke Street and felt okay again.

Have you seen any other good words out there in your neighbourhood travels?

I’m guessing that many of us are extremely familiar with our local streetscapes by now, with neighbourhood walks becoming a familiar part of our daily routine. We loved the rainbow pictures and teddy bears of Lockdown No.1 and now Lockdown No.2 is offering a treasure-trove of front garden creativity waiting to be discovered. The lure of these whimsical treats are proving to be an effective incentive for getting smallish children out of the house and walking or scooting for that all important daily burst of fresh air and exercise.

Here are a few of our recently discovered favourites…

Spoon family on Kellet Street, Northcote

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Forest Fairies, Kennedy Street, Fairfield

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Kindness on corner of Russell and Bank Streets, Northcote

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St Andrew’s Church, Fairfield

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Woodland Fairies, Mitchell Street, Northcote, near Hillside Avenue

We’d love to hear from you about your local neighbourhood treasures to add to the map!

This week our letter comes from a tennis playing grandma. Find out what she has been doing and how she’s been coping in her letter to you, her fellow lockdowners. 30 copies of the letter are out to collect - if your daily walk takes you past the Alphington milk bar you should grab one from the window to take home and read.

Want to read the rest … pop past the Wingrove Street milk bar opposite Alphington Station.

Progress today. Books for week one are wrapped … and labelled!

We were recently the recipient of a placemaking grant from Darebin Council and I am personally pretty excited about this because it brings together my first professional job (urban planning) with my current role (community development).

Placemaking is both a process and a philosophy of urban design that capitalises on a local community's assets and potential. Placemaking involves deliberate interventions that enhance the urban experience at the pedestrian scale - to create public spaces that promote health, happiness, and well-being.

Exactly the sorts of lofty things we’re all seeking in these unsettling times right?

To understand what placemaking means in reality you could think about some of the physical changes we’ve made around ACC in the last few years … and how those changes impact on your perception of the space, your sense of belonging to it, and by extension to the organisation itself.

This new Council funded placemaking project that we’re embarking upon is a small scale portable venture - but not a solo undertaking. It is a collaboration with Darebin Libraries and also with Fairfield Bookshop.

And this week we (read Lee) got stuck into turning our idea into reality. By the end of next week phase one should be complete, and we hope to be ready to launch ‘it’ on the street … that street being Station Street in the first instance.

So keep your eyes peeled! We’ll keep you updated on the progress and we’ll provide more details soon.

Plywood, books and sticky notes … what will it all become?