Page 3433 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018

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the local community and actively involved them in the decision-making process. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive. After two months of construction, Ms Orr herself opened a new recreational space in Giralang ready now for the community, and particularly the school, to enjoy. Key features of the new park are a small bike trail, a dry creek bed, balance beams, an amphitheatre terrace, trees and other plantings, climbing logs, a solar clock, a seating area and much more.

MS ORR: Minister, how was the community involved in the design and construction of the park?

MS FITZHARRIS: In effect, this is an exemplar project for community design, led by a local MLA, Ms Orr, over many months of consultation and work not only with the local Giralang community, but with the primary school and the University of Canberra students and lecturers. It really is an exemplar project. Many groups have been actively involved in the design and decision-making process, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

What makes this park so special is that not only was it envisioned by the Giralang community but it was co-designed and partially delivered by them. Students from the local schools have worked with Wellspring Environmental Arts & Design to create artwork for the timber maze poles, and over the past few weeks they were painting and stamping the colours into the poles. Giralang nature play park was not only envisioned by the Giralang community, local year 3 and 4 school students have also been working with Wellspring Environmental Arts & Design to design the artwork for those poles. University of Canberra landscape architecture students also played a role in producing design concepts for the park.

It is just wonderful to be able to include the community in this way. I particularly commend Ms Orr for her work in leading the consultation on this project in her local community in Giralang.

MS CHEYNE: Minister, how will the park connect with the Giralang shops?

MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Ms Cheyne for the supplementary. The saga of the Giralang shops has been ongoing for some time, and I know for the local community how important it was that were new investments and new connections in this suburb. That was certainly at the forefront of Ms Orr’s mind as she worked with the community on delivering this great project.

We are also excited to inject some of Canberra’s history into the new public space and connect the old with the new. Tharwa bridge is the oldest standing bridge in the ACT, first built in 1895. The ironbark timber from the bridge has been reused in the new space as bench seats, bridges across the dry creek bed and retaining walls. People who use the shops and the nearby park will no doubt appreciate the way these heritage aspects have been integrated into the Giralang park.

The new park is a joint collaboration between the ACT government and the developers of the shopping precinct. Further works that will be completed by the developer include car parking, additional seating, a shade structure and landscaping,


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