On a sunny Thursday afternoon in the middle of Youth Week 2021, the Firefly team, Sanctuary Point Pride, Fran Mooney, and community members brought young people and families together to increase their connection to the skate park.
The event started days before with a call-out for volunteers to come and do a clean-up in preparation. It was a good turnout on Tuesday with a good group arriving to pick up rubbish, remove some broken bikes, and create a nice, tidy space. The whole community owns this space and by participating, it proves young people appreciate the skate park.
The Council has been working closely with local residents to make improvements at the skate park. Now the plans are formalised and confirmed, the Firefly Bay & Basin team wanted to include young people in the work so they continue to be part of the journey. It is exciting to see the landscape changing and for young people to have a memorable afternoon of biking, scooting, eating hotdogs, and winning prizes.
The upgrade plans include seating, a covered area, gym equipment, bins, and a water point. These changes will create a meeting place for young people and families. Some of the parents were excited about the proposed seating which will allow them a rest spot to watch their children enjoy themselves for a few hours.
The numbers were overwhelming!
Over 60 young people rocked up and all grabbed a hotdog, asked questions, looked at the plans and got explored what is proposed for the space where they play. It was great to hear comments like, “I can’t wait to get a water bubbler”, “This looks really cool” and “It would be good to have more jumps and more lights at night”.
Events like this give young people the confidence to voice their thoughts and ideas. The current upgrades came from conversations just like this over the past few years. We held a pizza in the park in 2019 and that helped encourage Council to include the extra seating and water bubbler. The works Council have proposed will commence in May. For more detail, visit Council’s website.
The event was made possible using leftover funding from Bendigo Bank funding after the recent Come Try Me Day. The Sanctuary Point Pride group donated their time and resources again tirelessly working for a better community. We held a lucky door prize for young people who were there donated by Headspace. A year 6 girl from Sanctuary Point Public School now has a cool Vulcan backpack and cap for her journey to high school next year.
Keep a close eye on our website, Firefly Bay and Basin Facebook page and the Sanctuary Point Skate Park Facebook page as we collaborate with Council and the community to plan more activations over the next 12 months. If you have an idea for a community event or ongoing community idea around the skate park or other open space in Sanctuary Point, please get in touch on email to cardler@uniting.org.
Other projects in the area
Another upcoming project in the same public space is the Francis Ryan Reserve Works. If you want to know more the Council has info on their website .