This year, the Smart Living Expo is igniting a regional movement, 'Smarter Together' is a community campaign celebrating the people, businesses, and ideas shaping a more sustainable world.
We’re calling on local businesses, schools, organisations, and individuals to share their Smarter Together Initiatives, from eco-conscious operations and carbon reduction efforts to renewable energy projects, sustainable food production, and environmentally responsible products and services.
This is a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come as a region and to inspire others to take part. Every action, big or small, contributes to a smarter, healthier, and more connected community.
Your story could be featured as part of the Smarter Together campaign and showcased during Smart Living Expo 2026 at Royal Park, Buninyong — helping amplify local leadership and real-world solutions.
Let’s show Victoria what’s possible when we work Smarter Together.
Click the button below to register your initiative!
Which catagory do you align with?
Running a business that actually walks the talk? Show us how you do good and do well.
Sustainable Business
Refilling, repairing, reusing, or rescuing stuff from landfill? Show us your clever loops.
Waste & Circular Economy
Growing herbs, veggies, or feeding the neighbourhood? If it’s edible and local, we’re listening.
Food Growing
Planting trees, saving frogs, or loving your local creek? Nature wants a shout-out.
Nature & Biodiversity
Walking, breathing, stretching, or slowing things down? Tell us how you’re looking after people.
Health & Wellbeing
Teaching, learning, mentoring, or passing on know-how? Knowledge is meant to be shared.
Education & Skills
Bringing people together for a common cause? This one’s all about the feels.
Community Connection
Walking, riding, sharing, or plugging in instead of filling up? Let’s move smarter.
Transport
Doing something wonderfully weird or wildly effective? If it’s smarter, it belongs here.
Other
Ascot Passivhaus
Energy & Climate
I am a house designer and builder who completed a certified Passivhaus in 2025 in Ascot, near Ballarat, Victoria. Built to the rigorous international standards of the Passivhaus Institute, the home delivers exceptional comfort, energy efficiency and indoor air quality.
I have established Ascot Passivhaus as a overnight stay live-in demonstration home, inviting people to experience firsthand what high-performance design feels like. Guests can discover the health benefits of filtered fresh ai
Buninyong Sustainability
Energy & Climate, Waste & Circular Economy, Food & Growing, Nature & Biodiversity, Health & Wellbeing, Education & Skills, Community Connection
Buninyong Sustainability is delivering practical, community-led climate action at a local level.
We run the Buninyong Community Garden, creating a shared space for local food growing, composting, seed saving and intergenerational learning. We’ve supported the installation of a public EV charger in Buninyong to accelerate the transition to electric transport and reduce transport emissions in our region.
Through the Smart Living Expo, Smarts Tent talks, youth programs like Sustainable Seekers, and the Smarter Together campaign, we connect households, schools and businesses with real-world solutions — from energy-efficient homes and waste reduction to circular economy thinking and regenerative design.
Our focus is simple: make sustainability visible, practical and achievable for everyone.
CitySwitch
Energy & Climate, Waste & Circular Economy, Education & Skills, Transport
City of Ballarat has joined CitySwitch – a free national program that helps office-based businesses reduce emissions and their environmental impact. CitySwitch assists businesses to map a pathway to net zero emissions and connects them with other businesses on the journey.
Healthy Home Buninyong
Energy & Climate, Health & Wellbeing
We built a high-performance, healthy house built around Passive House principles, prioritising comfort, health, and energy efficiency. An airtight envelope, triple-glazed windows, thick insulation, reduced thermal bridges, slab edge insulation, and careful thermal decoupling work together to minimise heat loss. Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) delivers constant fresh, filtered air, while a hot water heat pump provides efficient, low-energy hot water, creating a comfortable, resilient, future home
Nature Stewards
Nature & Biodiversity, Education & Skills
The Nature Stewards program is helping build a more environmentally aware and connected community. With two new programs planned for autumn and spring 2026, Nature Stewards continues to empower everyday people to understand biodiversity, climate change, land management and Traditional Owner knowledge, strengthening our community’s capacity to protect and restore the environment.
Nature Strip Garden Guidelines
Nature & Biodiversity
The City of Ballarat has taken a significant step towards creating greener, more sustainable streetscapes with Ballarat City Council adopting the Nature Strip Garden Guidelines at its November meeting.
The guidelines provide clear advice for residents who wish to transform their nature strips into vibrant gardens using native plants. These gardens will help restore habitat, improve biodiversity, and create ecological corridors across urban Ballarat, while maintaining public safety and access.
Our New Windows
Health & Wellbeing
After 45 years in our brick veneer home with minimal ceiling insulation and thin glass windows with aluminium frames, it was time for a complete retrofit of these crucial components.
Attending the Buninyong Smart Living Expo gave us the opportunity to check out the best options for replacing every window with double glazed glass. The team from Thermosmart did a brilliant job and in just 4 days removed all 14 windows & glass sliding door, fitted new ones, sealed the frames & added new reveals.
Restoring our landscape Scotsburn and surrounds
Nature & Biodiversity, Community Connection
The Upper Williamsons Creek Group’s area incorporates the Mount Buninyong, Lal Lal, Scotsburn, Mount Doran and Durham Lead districts. We encourage landowners and community members to undertake environmental projects that will protect and enhance the natural resources within our region.
With the help and guidance of our group, landholders can learn how to implement best land management practices and techniques on their properties.
We facilitate a wide range of programs that cater for different landholders’ interests, such as:
• Revegetation for biodiversity
• Workshops, field days & short courses
• Weed and feral animal control
• Soil improvement
• Sustainable agriculture
• Pasture improvement
Which catagory do you align with?
Sustainable Business
Running a business that actually walks the talk? Show us how you do good and do well.
Waste & Circular Economy
Refilling, repairing, reusing, or rescuing stuff from landfill? Show us your clever loops.
Food Growing
Growing herbs, veggies, or feeding the neighbourhood? If it’s edible and local, we’re listening.
Nature & Biodiversity
Planting trees, saving frogs, or loving your local creek? Nature wants a shout-out.
Health & Wellbeing
Walking, breathing, stretching, or slowing things down? Tell us how you’re looking after people.
Education & Skills
Teaching, learning, mentoring, or passing on know-how? Knowledge is meant to be shared.
Community Connection
Bringing people together for a common cause? This one’s all about the feels.
Transport
Walking, riding, sharing, or plugging in instead of filling up? Let’s move smarter.
Other
Doing something wonderfully weird or wildly effective? If it’s smarter, it belongs here.