Secondary School City Walks & Seminars

Every year Urban Seed speaks to thousands of school students, leadinginteractive walks around the city and running creative workshops thataddress homelessness, addiction and community involvement.  Schools canbook individual sessions, and we are also able to combine severalsessions over one or more days as part of a retreat day or cityexperience program.

Urban Seed’s attractionis its hands on experience with issues of homelessness, marginalisation and street culture thatallows us to share anecdotes and stories that bring urban issues alivefor students, help breakdown stereotypes and promote consideration ofthe risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse and wider cultural issues.

See below for a list of walks & seminars on offer.

For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here. 


New! Graffiti Melbourne

Melbourne is world renowned for graffiti and street art. Graffiti, traditionally the ‘art’ of the outsider, has often been a generator of political and social change, and has become a big part of Melbourne’s urban landscape. In this walk, we will take look at some of Melbourne’s best known spots for graffiti, and discuss its social implications, reflect on the messages and ideas being portrayed, whilst exploring Urban Seed’s work amongst the poor and marginalised of Melbourne.

For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here.



The 'City is our Home' Walk

  • Stereotypes of homelessness
  • Inclusion and exclusion
  • Different spaces in the city and around our building
  • Credo Café
  • Our responses to the people of our neighbourhood
  • Personal response
  • Home
  • Dealing with reality

The 'City is our Home' Walk invites students to experience Melbourne’s CBD from a different perspective. As we make our way through a number of spaces we invite observations and tell stories to get beyond the usual stereotypes of different groups of people in our neighbourhood. We contrast the front door of our building at the Paris end of Collins Street, with the Baptist Place laneway out the back where we host community meals in Credo Café. We explore some of Urban Seed’s responses to issues of safety, homelessness and drug use through building community connectedness. We also raise important questions about how people are included and excluded, the concept of ‘home’, and how students might begin to respond personally to these issues in their own backyard.  

For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here.


Searching for Home: An introduction to Homelessness in the City

    •     Definitions, causes, cures for homelessness
    •     Interactive, extend what students know
    •     Confront stereotypes, telling stories
    •     Homelessness is not just about having a roof over your head, it’s about having a home

    The 'Searching for Home' workshop delves into many of the questions and stereotypes about homelessness in Melbourne. Using images, film, and some provocative statements, students discuss and debate the issues around definitions, causes and forms of assistance in the search for home. Through stories and activities, we invite students to extend their understandings of this complex issue, and to consider not only government or business engagement but their personal response. 

    For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here.


    Good Work: You’re More than your Score (Year 12)

    In a world where the work done is determined by the economy, we invite you to participate in good work. Everyone's got an opinion about Year 12:

    "It's the biggest year of your life!"
    "Got to get a good score for uni"
    "You can achieve your dreams"
    "Don't stress!"

    In our workshop on good work, we reflect on how voices shape choices. We invite students to identify the voices they are hearing and what they might choose to listen to that will encourage them to pursue Year 12 and life beyond as a work of love. We examine some of the concepts of success and failure in our society, and share a diversity of experiences of choices and 'failures' on the pathway to discovering work that is worth doing. Through discussion and creative reflection, students have the opportunity to consider this call - to work that uses our gifts and skills as well as contributing to the common good of others and of our world.

    For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here.


    Who's the addict? Drugs, addiction and life

    In this seminar we look at the nature of addiction, by asking and unpacking the following questions:

    What is addiction?
    Are there different kinds of addiction?
    What leads someone to become addicted to something?
    Can there ever be such a thing as a good addiction? 

    Weexplore the nature of drug and alcohol use by teenagers and generalsociety, and ask what might lead someone from experimentation toaddiction. In turn we look back at our own behavior - might we have addictive tendencies ourselves?We unpack what we find hard to deal with in our own lives, and discusswhat options and choices we have to deal with those issues.  

    Thesequestions are explored through the framework of Urban Seed’s work withhomeless and drug addicted people, where community love and friendshipis lived out.

    For enquires, costs & bookings information click here.


    Bible City Walk

    For Christian School groups, this walk uses Mark's Gospel as a'map' for the participants as they are taken on a tour of Urban Seed'sbuilding and the surrounding city. The aim of this walk is to helpparticipants link the message of Mark's Gospel to the issues we face in amodern, urban context and provide an encounter with the city thatprovokes discussion about how we should respond to issues such ashomelessness and urban poverty (11/2 hours).

    For enquiries, costs & bookings information click here.