The Anglican Parish of St Stephen and St Mary Mount Waverley

The Mount Waverley Anglican Parish of St Stephen and St Mary’s achievement of the Five Leaf Eco-Awards Basic Certificate in June 2023 made it the first Anglican Parish in Victoria to earn an award from the program.

St Stephen and St Mary’s has a long history of environmental stewardship and care. Prior to deciding to take up the challenge of participating in the Five Leaf Eco-Awards, the parish ran a sustainability themed ‘Green Fete’, hosted guest speakers on climate change and installed solar panels and LED lighting.  Climate action and care for creation are also key areas of focus for the Social Justice Group, who bring initiatives and projects to the attention of the parish.

The Social Justice Group first learned about the Five Leaf Eco-Awards at an environment awareness webinar run by the Melbourne Diocese Social Responsibilities Committee. Our first thought was that it is a great project for our group and the parish – it’s inclusive, adaptable and fun – we could do this!    The program provided a framework and direction for us to work towards and made us look beyond what we were already doing.

Together with our Vicar, Ven Dianne Sharrock, we developed actions against each of the criteria that were achievable but also challenging, and we presented this to our parish.  So many people jumped on board and got involved!

Our Wardens undertook the building energy audit. 

Our Mothers’ Union group ran a seminar on waste and the circular economy.

Our catering group revised the waste streams in the kitchen, incorporating organic waste and increasing the capacity for recycling and glass recycling.

Our clergy ran a beautiful and hopeful environmental worship service, and wrote eco-tips for the weekly parish email.

We ran an Eco Stall at the church fete and throughout the year for the parish, selling reusable and recyclable items at cost and swapping surplus produce.

One of our talented parishioners made reusable fruit and vegetable bags for the Eco Stall.

We paired with a local gardening group to help out on planting and weeding days in our local community.  

We installed a recycling station for parishioners to bring items that are tricky to recycle such as blister packs, batteries, printer cartridges and small e-waste.

We ran a Carbon Fast campaign for Lent, and created many, many more resources.

At the end of this year of achievements, with profits from our Eco Stall, we purchased three Shelterbags for the homeless.  They are made from sustainably sourced materials and are tagged so if they are no longer required or are discarded they can be recovered, refurbished and put back into use – a great example of the circular economy in action, addressing a deep human need.