Belgrave’s green scene makes for a healthier life

When Belgrave Heights resident Wendy Cross’s house was severely damaged in a brutal storm in February 2024, her friends asked her why she wouldn’t take the insurance money and relocate to avoid a rebuild.

There was only one answer she would entertain; no.

“I have no intention of doing that,” Cross told the Eastern Melburnian. “I love this area. I don't want to move. I won't move.”

The air that we breathe

As convenor of volunteer group Friends of Belgrave Lake Park, Cross helps to manage weed growth at the local reserve and lists air quality and greenery as key reasons she moved to the area more than four decades ago.

Now, new research led by Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine has revealed Belgrave is one of the healthiest suburbs in Australia.

“I’m probably a good testament to that, because for my age group I have very little in the way of health problems,” Cross said.

The index

The study, published in the Environmental International, took 12 factors, including green spaces, air quality and socioeconomic status, into consideration and measured them against mortality data in areas across the country.

Results formed an Environmental Quality Health Index (EQHI), in which Belgrave scored 100 out of 100, alongside nearby suburbs Mount Dandenong, Olinda, Emerald and Cockatoo.

The study’s authors believe the index to be the first tool of its kind to communicate environmental health risks using environmental and socioeconomic factors and three types of mortality data.

The Basin’s index rating was 93.85, with Box Hill North scoring 90.40 according to the data from Monash University. All of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs received an EQHI of above 80.

President of the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group, Rob Pergl, said the Dandenongs had a plethora of green spaces that contribute to people’s health and wellbeing.

Nature in the Dandenongs

“We're extremely fortunate to live in a place like the Dandenongs, it has something to offer for everyone,” he told the Eastern Melburnian. “Up in the mountain, you'll find the mountain ash [trees], down into the foothills you'll find silver leaf stringy bark.”

Melbourne’s population weighted EQHIs from 2016 to 2019 remained stable, according to the study, with Hobart receiving the highest EQHI and Darwin the lowest, reflecting environmental conditions and socioeconomic factors.

“Regions with lower EQHIs were located in inland regions and northwest coastal regions, while regions with higher EQHIs were in south, east and southwest coastal regions,” the study found.

“This EQHI provides a robust framework to assess environmental health risks and guide targeted interventions.

Pergl said the Dandenongs offered more access to open green space than many other places in Melbourne: “We protect our remnant vegetation and we also have areas where there are still tree landscapes.”

Do a bit of weeding

Pergl said the major threat to Belgrave and surrounds was invasive species and that “everyone here has a responsibility to look after and provide a refuge on their property for the plants and animals, and control some of the weeds that don't escape into the neighboring bushland reserves”.

Limitations flagged by the study’s authors include a lack of walkability and noise levels.

“Our study focused on mortality outcomes, but future research could consider a broader range of health outcomes to provide a more comprehensive understanding of environmental health impacts,” the study read.