What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

EcoCentre

We educate, connect and inspire people to care for land, water, wildlife and community wellbeing.

The Port Phillip EcoCentre works with community and government to protect and improve Port Phillip Bay and the urban ecology of Greater Melbourne in the traditional lands and waters of the Kulin Nation. Our dedicated team of scientists, educators and volunteers design and implement innovative environmental programs. We use the physical world as our classroom to connect people with their local natu

re. Since 1999 our collective impact has transformed the way Melbourne understands wildlife, waterways and wellbeing in the age of climate change. Join the EcoCentre community:
Instagram - instagram.com/ecocentrestkilda
Twitter - twitter.com/ecocentrestk
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/port-phillip-ecocentre

Subscribe to EcoCentre news:
ecocentre.com/resources

Make a donation:
givenow.com.au/ecocentre

28/05/2026

Climate challenges may be global, but their impacts show up right here on our doorstep: along our beaches, around Port Phillip Bay, in our neighbourhoods and in the places our community calls home.

At the EcoCentre, we believe action is the antidote. Through community-led, place-based climate action, we bring people together with the knowledge, skills and practical solutions needed to respond to the climate crisis in ways that are local, meaningful and hopeful.

As one EcoCentre volunteer shared: “When I leave an EcoCentre program and return to the world, I feel uplifted and hopeful in a way that I haven’t in a long time.”

This EOFY, your donation helps keep EcoCentre programs independent, inclusive, evidence-based and proactive - supporting local voices to drive climate solutions at every scale.

Donate today to help grow climate action by locals, for locals: https://www.givenow.com.au/ecocentre26

Photo courtesy Ron Jore

26/05/2026

Ever wanted to get a closer look at something? Curious about these images? Keen to see cells up close?

Join us this Saturday 30th May between 10:30am - 12:30pm. for a drop-in session where you can bring in any object you are keen to see under the microscope! You can even have a go at preparing your own plant cell sample to investigate under the microscope.

Drop in, ask questions, investigate local nature, and discover citizen science projects you can get involved in. Whether you’re a seasoned nature nerd or just a little bit curious, everyone is welcome.

Happpening at the Citizen Science Lab, EcoCentre, 55A Blessington St, St Kilda. All ages welcome. Come curious. Leave seeing your neighbourhood a little differently. Register at this link: https://www.ecocentre.com/events/event/community-science-lab-drop-in-session-may2026/

Photos courtesy Alison Orchard, Citizen Science Project Manager

26/05/2026

What would a cooler, greener Port Phillip look like? 🌿

As our city faces a hotter future, urban greening has a powerful role to play - helping lower temperatures, boost biodiversity, and improve community wellbeing.

Join PECAN and the Port Phillip EcoCentre for a free talk exploring how community advocacy and practical action can help shape stronger urban forest outcomes in Port Phillip.

Hear from Kerry Gore, an inspiring voice on urban forests and community-led change, as he shares lessons from Glen Eira and elsewhere that helped improve urban forest implementation and strengthen greening targets.

Taking place tomorrow evening, Wednesday 28 May 2026
between 5:30pm–7:00pm at the Port Phillip EcoCentre
55A Blessington Street, St Kilda

If you care about cooler streets, healthier neighbourhoods and a greener future for Port Phillip, we’d love to see you there.

26/05/2026

Right now, thousands of people in our community are denied the right to work and study. There are people seeking safety being forced to wait years for visa decisions without the right to work or study. With the current cost-of-living crisis hitting everyone hard, people are more reliant on the Foodbank just to get by.

When times are tough, the most basic things – like a tube of toothpaste, a bottle of shampoo, or a stick of deodorant – can feel like luxuries. But dignity shouldn't be a luxury. That’s why ASRC is coming together for a basic needs drive in St Kilda, and would love for you to join!

Happening Sunday 31 May, 11am – 1pm at Jacka Blvd Parking, St Kilda.
Learn more here: https://action.asrc.org.au/st_kilda_basic_needs_drive

25/05/2026

Got a curly nature question? Bring it to the lab! Curious about what’s living, growing, flying, crawling or changing in your neighbourhood?

Join us for our next Community Science Lab drop-in session and explore the natural world with EcoCentre experts this coming Saturday 30th May from 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Drop in, ask questions, investigate local nature, and discover citizen science projects you can get involved in. Whether you’re a seasoned nature nerd or just a little bit curious, everyone is welcome.

Happpening at the Citizen Science Lab, EcoCentre, 55A Blessington St, St Kilda. All ages welcome. Come curious. Leave seeing your neighbourhood a little differently. Register at this link: https://www.ecocentre.com/events/event/community-science-lab-drop-in-session-may2026/

21/05/2026

When we think of volunteering at the EcoCentre, we often picture hands in the soil, citizen scientists by the Bay or community members out in the field caring for local nature. But some of the EcoCentre’s most important volunteer work also happens quietly behind the scenes. Good governance, financial stewardship and thoughtful decision making help keep our organisation steady, sustainable and able to grow its impact.

That is why this National Volunteer Week, we’re recognising that diverse forms of volunteering matter. In this spirit we’re proud to spotlight EcoCentre Treasurer, Siti Rabiah Mohd Jaafar. Read more about what inspired Siti to get involved and what she's learnt at our latest blog post here: https://www.ecocentre.com/reflections-from-the-treasurer-for-national-volunteer-week/

21/05/2026

As National Volunteer Week continues, today we’re celebrating Eve Kelly, one of the wonderful volunteers who helps bring life, care and connection to the EcoCentre garden group. Eve’s connection with the EcoCentre goes back many years, having volunteered with the old EcoCentre gardening group before returning after the rebuild - especially with her dad Peter now helping lead the new group and sharing his deep knowledge along the way.
For Eve, volunteering has become a way to reconnect with both nature and community. “It gets my hands dirty, allows me to meet people and grow things with them, and includes me in projects that make an impact on the local community and environment.”

One moment that has stayed with Eve was heading out to the end of St Kilda Pier, where the Little Penguins live, to plant trays of Rounded Noon Flower that the group had been propagating for the penguins to use as nesting material.

Seeing that project come full circle from growing the plants to placing them where they could support the Bay’s iconic penguin colony, was a heart warming reminder of what local environmental care can look like in action.

Eve says volunteering has reminded her how rewarding it can be, both in what we give and what we receive. Through communal gardening, caring for local land and supporting the Bay, her contribution is part of something much bigger.

Thank you Eve, for your warmth, generosity and care. Thank you for helping grow a healthier, more connected local environment and community. We have a busy and exciting season of volunteering opportunities planned over winter, from Beachkeepers to Community Plantings. Check them out here: https://ecocentre.com/events

19/05/2026

Do you notice climate change creeping into your life?

Rising insurance prices. Endangered turtles dying in dry wetlands. Jellyfish blooms turning summer swims in Port Phillip Bay into something that stings.

Amidst the dreadful headlines, the EcoCentre is working every day to turn concern into practical, local climate action for the beaches, rivers, parks, wildlife and neighbourhoods we love.

Your donation helps us:
🌱 give children unforgettable nature memories and healthier childhoods
🌊 protect and restore local waterways, coastlines and wildlife
🌿 green our city for cleaner, cooler air
🏡 connect renters and homeowners with home electrification support
🔎 use citizen science to notice, report and repair changes in nature
🤝 support everyday people to lead projects that care for their communities

At the EcoCentre, measurable change is at the heart of what we do.
We plant, map, monitor, teach, repair, advocate and care - together.

This End of Financial Year, please consider making a generous gift to support meaningful, uplifting, locally led climate work. Action is the antidote.

Donate today and help us keep building a climate-resilient future, from the ground up. Please donate here: https://ecocentre.com/donate

18/05/2026

Happy National Volunteer Week 🎉 🌎 💚

This week, we’re sharing stories from across the EcoCentre ecosystem and celebrating the people who give their time, skills and care to support a healthier, more connected community.

First up: our most recent contingent of WPI students; Maddie, Lucas, Ethan and Matthew, who have just wrapped up their project with the EcoCentre, working alongside Monash University to help prevent harmful algal blooms through community education.

Their work has focused on creating accessible educational media and resources about marine algae, helping translate environmental science into practical knowledge for our local community. In this reel, they reflect on what inspired them to volunteer, what they learned, and the impact they hope their work will leave behind.
A big thank you to Maddie, Lucas, Ethan and Matthew for bringing such curiosity, energy and care to their time with us.

14/05/2026

To celebrate the start of the planting season, join us for a community planting event in the beautiful Point Ormond in partnership with . This exciting initiative fosters ongoing protection and preservation of our coastal woodland environments which provide essential habitats for a variety of plant and animal species.

By taking part in this community planting event, you’ll be making a meaningful difference in preserving and improving these valuable ecosystems. Happening Sunday 31st May at 10am - 12pm. Register at this link https://www.ecocentre.com/events/event/point-ormond-community-planting-may-2026/

Address

EcoCentre, 55A Blessington Street
Melbourne, VIC
3182

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.ecocentre.com/

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