By Dominique Hes
Since moving to South Kingsville, I’ve always been drawn to this one house around the corner — the one bursting with flowers, fruit trees, and a sense of life. It seemed to quietly radiate care.
Then, a couple of years ago, the house was pulled down, and a hoarding went up that read ‘Carbon Zero Series by Positive Footprints.’ Having worked for 30 years in sustainable buildings, carbon footprinting and regenerative design, the idea of creating something that left a positive legacy, or handprint, immediately caught my attention.
I started taking photos and watching the build, impressed by the detail — the careful insulation around the slab and pipes, the sealing of the walls, the high-performance windows. It was best practice. I wanted to know more.
Just a month ago, I got that chance. I ran into Catherine as she was leaving the house. I introduced myself and asked if she’d be open to talking about it for The Westsider. Little did I know, the story would turn out to be about far more than an energy-positive, cosy, healthy home.
Catherine explained that she and her husband Bernie live downstairs, and the second storey is designed as an apartment for refugees. Suddenly, this went from a story about sustainable design to a story about care — a home that allows its owners to age in place while also offering safety and belonging to people seeking refuge.
So today, I found myself sitting in their lovely living room, sunlight pouring in as we looked out over a vibrant veggie garden, and I asked them to share their story.
When Bernie and Catherine first moved to South Kingsville in 1983, they were newly married and simply looking for a place close to work. Catherine had just started as a young doctor at Williamstown Hospital, and together they joined the Westgate Baptist Community — a church deeply involved in social justice and local life. Before long, Catherine was helping to set up Westgate Health Services, the first bulk-billing clinic in the area, offering care to those who needed it most.
Over the years, their quiet commitment to community and sustainability has shaped both their lives and their home. After twenty years working overseas in community and faith-based roles, the couple returned to South Kingsville and decided to rebuild — not for luxury, but for purpose.
“We realised this was where we wanted to stay for the rest of our lives,” says Catherine. “So we thought, let’s make it a home that’s warm, efficient, and useful to others.”
Working with local sustainable builders Positive Footprints, they designed an energy-efficient, solar-powered home that reflects their values of environmental care and social inclusion. The design includes an upstairs flat — a space deliberately created to provide safe, affordable accommodation for people in need.
That vision has since come to life. Bernie and Catherine now host a Syrian refugee family — a mother and her four teenage children — through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program. With the help of local volunteers and neighbours, the family has found safety and community.
“It’s been beautiful to watch,” says Bernie. “People donated furniture, bikes, even helped with school enrolments. The whole neighbourhood has rallied.”
From their solar panels to their open hearts, Bernie and Catherine embody what it means to leave a positive handprint — proof that regeneration begins at home, and that kindness can ripple far beyond our own four walls.
From footprint to handprint
We all leave a mark on the world — our footprint — often measured in things like carbon emissions or environmental impact. But there’s another side to the story: our handprint.
A handprint is the positive change we create — the actions that help build a more regenerative, healthy and flourishing future.
While we can’t live without making an impact, we can choose to make that impact count — to invest our energy, skills and care in ways that give back more than they take.
