Linking with our community
CITYLINK COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Introduction
As a Transurban asset, CityLink embraces its ongoing responsibility to operate in a safe and sustainable manner, minimise its environmental impact and give back to the communities in which it operates.
One of the ways CityLink invests in its local communities is by supporting projects that deliver social or environmental benefits to its neighbouring municipalities.
Such projects include:
CityLink School Support Program
CityLink Creek Connections
CityLink Crossings
Napier Street Studios
Kildonan Community Garden
Kicking On
Drains For Our Creek
CityLink both seeks and invites sponsorship proposals in two major categories:
• Environment – projects that enhance or protect the environment in areas within which Transurban operates.
• Community – projects that support the amenity, economic development or well-being of communities in areas within which Transurban operate
For further information on any of CityLink’s community programs – or if you have a program you’d like to discuss, contact Craig Little at clittle@transurban.com
CityLink School Support Program
Now in its sixth year, the CityLink School Support Program provides the 10 schools within 600 metres of the CityLink corridor with financial support for the well-being of young people.
Since 2002, the annual grants have allowed students to participate in activities that build resilience, self-esteem and well-being. Some of the initiatives enabled by the support have included a breakfast program for those who miss breakfast at home, an arts program and the expansion of a science club to include a gardening club.
The individual schools have discretion on how the money is spent, meaning they can assist families that may not otherwise be able to afford school camps, excursions or medical fees.
CityLink Creek Connections
CityLink Creek Connections is a partnership between the Moonee Ponds Creek Coordination Committee (MPCCC) and CityLink.
Launched in 2006, the education program aims to reach out to those in the Moreland, Moonee Valley and Melbourne areas that don’t traditionally become involved in environmental education. Such groups may include the elderly, those from non-English speaking backgrounds, the disabled or those from low-socio economic backgrounds.
It is hoped that through teaching such groups about their local environment and getting them involved, they will gain a greater appreciation of their surroundings and form stronger links with the community.
CityLink funding has allowed the MPCCC to employ an education officer, who will identify the relevant target groups within the community and develop an appropriate strategy and activities for engaging them.
It is hoped that through teaching such groups about their local environment and getting them involved, they will gain a greater appreciation of their surroundings
CityLink Crossings
This partnership between CityLink and Moonee Valley City Council developed after the success of a Community Arts Project carried out in 2005, where a mentor artist worked with local school children to create a mural on a CityLink wall prone to grafitti, alongside a bike path.
In 2007, CityLink has partnered with the Moonee Valley City Council and relevant community groups to create Indigenous Arts Projects at sites where the Link crosses the Moonee Ponds Creek.
Indigenous artists Annette Sax, Mandy Nicholson and Treahna Hamm were commissioned to do the artwork and undertook significant community input through a number of school workshops throughout the municipality.
During these workshops, members of the community were encouraged to get involved, share stories and experiences of Moonee Ponds Creek and work alongside them in painting the mural.
The end result was an artwork that was culturally significant and sympathetic to the environment. But perhaps more importantly, it had an enduring educational impact that increased public awareness and knowledge of local indigenous culture.
Napier Street Studios
This partnership between CityLink and Yarra City Council developed after the success of a Community Arts Project carried out in 2005, where a Youth Services Program run by the council gave young artists the opportunity to create a mural on a prominent CityLink noise wall. The wall was prone to graffiti attacks – which almost completely fell away once the mural was created.
But more importantly – CityLink recognised the contribution the project had made to the young artists, who worked with mentors and got some real life experience in all elements of creating a public piece. When it heard the Napier Studios program had lost its major sponsor and was in danger of being cancelled, it was quick to act. Recognising the importance of the program to one of CityLink’s neighbouring communities, we began talks with the City of Yarra and became the program’s major sponsor for 06-07.
Among its four project works in 2007, Napier Street Studios painted a mural near the climbing walls in Burnley. The artwork reflected the nearby Herring Island and enhanced what is quickly becoming a valuable community space.
Napier Studios aims to create opportunities for emerging artists, promote health and well-being while enhancing social connectedness and youth participation, as well as proving training opportunities to increase the skill levels of young people in order to enhance their future employment opportunities. Working with public spaces, the program also helps to enhance the local community through improving the visual amenities.
Kildonan Community Garden
CityLink supports the Kildonan Community Garden through K:Link: A Kildonan CityLink After Care Program for Coburg Primary students.
Kildonan’s Cooking Garden aims to encourage the students of all ages and backgrounds to grow and prepare food, share their knowledge and celebrate the diverse food cultures within the community.
A shared ‘edible landscape’ has been set up and a kitchen for cooking workshops, demonstrations and group activities is in the process of being established.
CityLink support of Kildonan’s Cooking Garden helps develop a sustainable asset for the continuing use of the community. The garden not only teaches the students about nutrition and how food grows, but also teaches them about self-sufficiency and the environment.
Kicking On
In 2006, the Flemington Junior’s Football Club with the help of CityLink, held its first Community Day, aimed at helping the burgeoning local African community strengthen its links to both the club and in doing so, the wider community.
In recent years, the community-based club has been inundated with young African men, many of whom live alongside CityLink’s Western Link in the community housing precincts. The club saw a real benefit in not just developing their sporting skills, but in focusing on the role sport can play in helping with the players’ overall development, assimilation and social interaction.
Yet whilst the young men were taking a shine to Aussie Rules, the Club found their parents were still a bit baffled by the code and were a little reticent to get involved. ‘Kicking On’, proudly supported by CityLink, will become an annual event aimed at both celebrating the achievements of the young players, but also to draw in the support and participation of their families, with the hope of building a stronger community all round.
The second Kicking On event will be held in March 2008.
Drains For Our Creek
In 2006, CityLink will partner with the City of Stonnington, the Environment Protection Authority and Melbourne Water to tackle the issue of storm-water pollution in Gardiner’s Creek and the Yarra River.
Funding will allow for signage to be installed on all significant drain outlets along the section of CityLink within the municipality’s boundaries. The signs will feature the EPA’s pollution hotline number and a code to identify the drain’s exact location.
This information will assist EPA officers to promptly find the correct outfall, maximizing their chances of following the spill back to its source. Time wasted trying to determine the affected drain catchment’s area can often mean the opportunity to identify the polluter and treat the pollutant is lost.
It’s hoped the signage and campaign launch will also lead to a raised awareness within the community about the impact of storm-water on river health and the ways in which community members can report incidents of pollution.