Community planning involves students

The ‘Toora/Welshpool & District Community Strengthening Initiative’ is proud to be working in partnership with the Toora Primary School to get local students involved with the current development of the Toora and District Community Plan.

Through the Initiative Project, South Gippsland Shire Council presented Toora Primary School with 15 disposable cameras to use as part of the One Day on Earth project which took place on Sunday October 10.

One Day on Earth is a worldwide project that involves people across the world filming and photographing their day and presenting important messages to share with the world.

Toora Primary School’s message was about the importance of our natural environment for both the health of the world and our personal health.

“We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to work in partnership with Toora Primary to incorporate One Day on Earth with the Toora and District Community Planning process,” Council’s Community Strengthening Officer Marzia Maurilli said.

“We are fortunate to have Toora Primary School Principal Barbara Purvis on the Toora Community Planning Working Group and when the idea of young children using photos as a way to participate in the community planning process came up, Barbara was keen to help facilitate this process.”

Fifteen students and their families took the opportunity participate in the One Day on Earth project and used the disposable cameras to capture special places and activities that they value in their community.

These photos will then be used throughout the Toora and District Community Planning Process, with some selected photos being included in final Toora and District Community Plan.

Toora students have also been provided with a questionnaire asking for their ideas for Toora and district.

Questions included “What I like best about Toora & District” and “What I think is ok in Toora & District but it would be better if…”

Student responses will also be used throughout the community planning process and will be presented at the Toora Community Planning Workshop to be held on Sunday November 7 at 10.30am in Toora Hall.

“We’ve had some fantastic responses from the school children in the other communities that have recently developed community plans through South Gippsland Shire Council’s Integrated Community Planning, and for some of those communities we have included a cross section of the responses on a special page in that community’s plan” Marzia said. “We hope to do a similar thing with the responses we receive from Toora’s school children.”

Lunch and free childcare will be provided at the Toora Community Planning Workshop and all Toora and district residents – past and present – most welcome to participate.

For more information or to discuss the Toora and District Community Plan, please contact Marzia Maurilli on 5688 1202 or [email protected].

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