Focus On... Community Services, Leisure, Parks & Gardens

  • Playground winning for Wollongong
    The kids know Wollongong City Council’s regional playground at Thirroul is a winner and now everyone else does too, with the playground collecting the top gong at the Parks & Leisure Australia’s Play Space Awards of Excellence.
  • Helping older people live independently*
    Calvary Silver Circle is a not for profit organisation providing care and support services to enable people to live independently in the comfort and security of their own home.
  • Future Directions - Multi-agency pilot project lifts off
    After three months of planning, the Patchwork pilot was recently launched across five councils in Victoria.
  • Off to a swimming start
    Twelve seniors have completed the Royal Life Saving Grey Medallion program at the Warringah Aquatic Centre and are now in a better position to help if someone finds themselves in difficulty in water.
  • New destination playground reflects Brisbane history*
    Named in honour of one of Australia’s tennis greats, Ken Fletcher Park is the perfect place for a family day out, with picnic facilities, barbeques, public plaza, open-air amphitheatre and a pontoon for non-motorised watercraft. The park also boasts an impressive play area, custom designed for children of all ages and abilities and featuring a unique climbing structure which pays tribute to the site’s industrial origins.
  • Grand plan for Conargo
    Conargo Shire Council has developed a bold plan to reinvent their villages and encourage visitors to stop and spend time exploring the unique landscape and history of the area.
  • School holiday sessions a laugh out loud hit
    There was lots of laughter in the Latrobe Regional Gallery during the winter school holidays with children participating in the gallery’s holiday program.
  • Playing for better health
    Moreland City Council is linking forces with Moreland’s Australian Rules football clubs to talk about mental illness.
  • Sports complex sets a new standard
    Sutherland Shire Council has celebrated a highly commended for the new Ridge Sports Complex at Barden Ridge in the Award for Open Space Development at the Parks and Leisure Australia Awards.
  • Nautical adventures for Kingston kids
    Carrum Foreshore has become home to the City of Kingston’s newest playground, a creative space where children can imagine themselves in all sorts of nautical adventures.
  • Libraries program connects prisoners
    An innovative program that supplies the Wooroloo Prison Farm with current books and DVDs is helping prisoners feel connected with loved ones.
  • Apple FunPark made accessible
    Donnybrook’s Apple FunPark has been extended to cater for children of all ages and abilities in line with the Shire of Donnybrook-Ballingup’s Disability Access Inclusion Plan.
  • Teaming up for parks and gardens
    Two Tasmanian Councils are taking a strategic approach to parks and gardens and ensuring the community is engaged in the process.
  • Gold Stars for Sustainability. Planet Footprint recognises high achievers.*
    Planet Footprint, the Energy & Environment Scorekeeper has allocated Gold, Silver or Bronze status to all Australian councils who were subscribed to Planet Footprint for the 2012–2013 Financial Year.
  • A creative spin on climate change
    Alpine Shire high school students have worked with an internationally acclaimed artist to explore a serious issue in a creative way.
  • Greening Strathfieldsaye
    Members of the community have joined the City of Greater Bendigo in planting over 4,000 native trees and shrubs along Sheepwash Creek in Strathfieldsaye to celebrate National Tree Day 2013.
  • Eco Angel clean up success
    Lake Macquarie City Council has hailed their first Eco Angel clean up as a tremendous success, with the help of more than 100 Lake Macquarie City Scouts volunteers.
  • Live music campaign comes to Parliament
    The campaign to save live music in Sydney came to New South Wales Parliament today when Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner joined Shadow Planning Minister Luke Foley and Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne to put forward a plan to end the prosecution of live music venues.
  • North West Festival gets bigger and better
    Music festivals are big business, not just in terms of ticket sales but in the cultural and economic impact it can have on the town or city the festival is held in.
  • Mentor program supports emerging artists
    The Right Back @ U Mentoring program, an initiative of Sunshine Coast Council’s Caloundra Regional Gallery, has brought together seven emerging artists with disabilities with five experienced artists as mentors through a series of workshops.
  • Project celebrates surfing’s elite
    The achievements of the best surfers ever to compete at Surfers Point in Margaret River will be immortalised with the installation of commemorative stainless steel plaques on the staircases at the world famous break.
  • AFL coach impressed by Central Reserve playing surface
    Colac’s Central Reserve has captured the attention of Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson, who visited Colac in July to inspect the new playing surface.
  • Facelift for Cunnamulla Library
    Cunnamulla has undergone a transformation, following the relocation of a museum from the back at the library to the Cunnamulla Tourist Centre.
  • Graffiti in Melville reduced by half
    Incidents of graffiti vandalism in the City of Melville have more than halved since 2007, according to the latest graffiti statistics for the 2012/2013 financial year.
  • New flying fox for All Abilities Playground  
    A new addition to the popular Kurrawa All Abilities Playground in Broadbeach will give children even more opportunity for inclusive play.