The Northern Grampians Shire Council and Stawell Regional Health hosted a long-awaited launch of the Stawell Ppp-up Park after waiting for coronavirus restrictions to ease.
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The Northern Grampians Shire Council received $250,000 through the Victorian Government's Local Councils Outdoor Eating and Entertainment Package to fund the establishment of pop-up parks in Halls Gap and Stawell.
Stawell Regional Health donated an area of their car park for the Stawell park that is situated on Main Street of Stawell, between Pachamama Café and Stawell Town Hall.
Mayor Tony Driscoll led the proceedings and thanked all the stakeholders for their involvement in the project.
"The Victorian Government's Local Councils Outdoor Eating and Entertainment Package has injected a significant amount of capital into this project and for this we are very thankful," Cr Driscoll said.
"Thank you to Stawell Regional Health for allocating such a generous portion of their carpark for the benefit of the community and encouraging everyone to get out in the fresh air and socialise.
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"Felicity Brown has done a tremendous job to transform the carpark into a very enticing and whole-of-community friendly park such that it really feels like a permanent feature of the streetscape.
"We now have a place in town where all generations and all abilities can gather inclusive of residents with cognitive issues.
"To top it off we have the most amazing 'I Spy' interactive story on the café wall now.
"It's a mural full of bright colours, butterflies, flowers and lots of storytelling displaying the true artistic flair of the kids at the Specialist School steered by Nichola Clarke who is known throughout the Wimmera for her collaborative community art projects.
"Community collaboration and generosity shines through here and the Stawell community can really sing the praises of this project; come and enjoy."
After donating the area for the park, Stawell Regional Health lead executive officer Kate Pryde said she hoped to see residents using the facility.
"Stawell Regional Health welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this beautiful outdoor space and we encourage everyone to experience the benefits of the park and connecting and engaging with each other in our community," she said.
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In designing the area, the Council engaged the services of local landscape designer Felicity Brown and artist Nichola Clarke for the project.
They were both given a brief to incorporate dementia-friendly elements into their work.
Ms Brown has created a park with natural and sustainable features that integrate with existing surroundings and minimise waste.
She has included many traditionally familiar species in the plantings of the sensory garden design to stimulate memories for people who suffer from dementia.
The park is wheelchair and pram accessible and includes a water fountain with dog bowl to maximise the feeling of a whole of community inclusive space.
It is intended to suit many kinds of community events such as movie nights, live events and small celebrations.
Mrs Clarke collaborated with students from Skene Street Specialist School to create a mural for the park.
She painted in a nave style to ensure that the overall mural married the students' work with her own painted elements in the work.
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