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jane.addis@boroondara.vic.gov.auCr Jane Addiswww.boroondara.vic.gov.au

Cr Jane Addis

Councillor updateThere are many passionate people in Maling Ward working to strengthen our sense of community, or to improve the environment in which we live. In this edition, I am highlighting some of these remarkable people and the groups they are involved with. Read about Vivien Bortot’s community meals program at the Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre, Lorri Buttner’s involvement in protecting heritage, Pamela Bowen’s backyard bee keeping, and the Friends of South Surrey Park’s revegetation project. These remarkable people remind me why I love this area, and I hope you find their stories inspiring and perhaps they might motivate you to join their causes.

Council’s adopted Budget for 2019-20 includes a number of exciting projects taking place in Maling Ward. Some of these are highlighted below:

Canterbury Tennis Club redevelopment

In the 2019-20 Budget, Council has allocated $900,000 to build a new Canterbury Tennis Club (CTC) pavilion. The redevelopment will address the ageing facilities and limitations of the existing building and will ensure the pavilion is better able to service CTC members and the wider community.

Council will consult with members of the CTC and the wider community as the project evolves. The concept design is being prepared and will be displayed at CTC shortly.

Balwyn Park Centre

$1.25 million has been allocated to continue works as part of the Balwyn Park Master Plan. This will include converting the old tennis club space into useable parkland and creating an active community space. Some of the key features of the new space are a tennis rebound wall, netball and basketball half-courts, standalone cricket training nets, table tennis and foosball tables, exercise stations and parkour equipment. Council will also plant 60 new trees, and install new seating, picnic tables, shelters, a BBQ and public toilet. Works will be carried out across several financial years.

Canterbury Community Precinct

Outlined as a major project in Council’s 2019-20 Budget, the Canterbury Community Precinct will bring together important services for children and families, people of all ages, and those with a disability into one convenient location in Canterbury Gardens. The total budget allocation for the project is $11.7 million.

The new precinct will include:

§ Canterbury Maternal and Child Health Centre

§ Kindergarten

§ Play station Occasional Care

§ Canterbury Toy Library

§ Interchange Inner East

§ Canterbury Neighbourhood Centre

§ Canterbury History Group, Balwyn and Surrey Hills Historical Societies

§ Canterbury Community Gardens.

Service providers recently attended a workshop to discuss the services they will offer the local community within the new and upgraded buildings within the precinct. The concept design is being prepared and the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback in the coming months.

If you are interested to learn more or to keep up to date on these projects please visit Council’s website www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/projects-and-works.

As always, I welcome your feedback and ideas about stories that you would like me to include in future newsletters.

Regards,

JULY 2019

Maling Ward

Council’s website has resources to help you create a wildlife-friendly garden to help maintain and enhance our local fauna and flora. Visit www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/wildlife-friendly-garden to find out more.

Bees in our backyardRealising the vital and unique role of bees in our backyard, local residents and community groups are creating havens for these important pollinators.

Pamela Bowen from Camberwell set up bee hives in her front garden with the help of an apiarist, Peter Dyer of Backyard Honey.

“We decided it would be a good project to have bees in our garden,” Pamela said. “It’s a terrific way to help the environment as bees are so important to food crops. Peter inspected our garden and suggested the ideal location for the hives. He accurately predicted the flight path of the bees.”

“Peter visits regularly during the year to manage the hives and informs us about the state of the hives. It’s great to see him decked out in his beekeepers white overalls and protective gloves and head gear with the smoker which calms the bees, while he checks the hives for honey.

“It’s even better when he arrives at our door with big tubs filled with golden honey. We then sterilise jars and fill them with the sweet, sticky honey. We use our honey in our cooking and share it with family and friends. It’s amazing how each crop of honey tastes unique because the flowers the bees visit are different each season.

“Having experienced it first hand, we are now educating our grandchildren about these fascinating insects.”

The Rotary Club of Canterbury recently founded the Rotarians for Bees project, a combined effort of Rotarians and bee keepers across the country which aims to create an environment where bees can thrive.

Rotary Club of Canterbury member, John McCaskill, said bees are currently under threat and their numbers have declined at an alarming rate due to factors such as climate change, disease and loss of habitat.

“Up to two thirds of the food chain depends on bees and without them, the amount of food available to us would be significantly reduced,” John said.

Project team member, Lyndon Joss, has been a bee keeper for 10 years and has two hives in his own backyard.

“My neighbours have been very thankful. Their flowers and veggie gardens have flourished because of the increased pollination,” Lyndon said.

“I also extract my own honey and donate it to the Hawthorn Makers Market, with proceeds going towards Rotary activities.”

Rotary Club of Canterbury is working with the local community to develop a bee highway, which is created by growing specific types of plants to generate as much pollen as possible.

If you are interested in the Rotary’s bee project, please call John McCaskill on 0414 477 444.

What motivated you to form the Maling Precinct Protection Group?I am passionate about protecting the historical value of our area. In the mid to late 1970’s, there were a lot of changes in Camberwell and Canterbury, and people were becoming aware of what could be lost without a bit of input from residents.

The proposal to renew the Maling Road shopping centre was the catalyst for the formation of the group that was later named the Maling Precinct Protection Group (MPPG). The group was concerned that the proposed urban renewal scheme could have led to a loss of heritage buildings and profoundly altered the ambience of Maling Road. Several people were prepared to fight it and after the then City of Camberwell called a meeting, which was full of protesters, this group of people became the foundation of the MPPG. I have been a member since the beginning and was president of the MPPG.

How did the MPPG work with Council to protect heritage properties in Maling Ward?Eventually, the urban renewal scheme was dropped. MPPG worked with the City of Camberwell to achieve a heritage overlay to protect the Maling precinct. This was one of the early heritage overlays in Boroondara. Although the group and Council did not always agree about planning applications, I believe that together we succeeded in protecting many areas in Maling Ward that we all so value now. Without it, places like Maling Road would be very different today.

Work went on and other battles were fought, changes in planning legislation acquired, historical properties protected. Attitudes changed between Council and residents, a lot of knowledge was acquired and an understanding of how to properly approach potential threats to the historical value of our area.

Can you tell us about some of the activities that MPPG was involved in?One of the group’s greatest achievements was the production of the Housing Histories for the heritage area. The MPPG letterboxed every house and asked owners to provide information and photos they held about their properties. We collated valuable information about the histories of the houses and produced a two volume book summarising all the properties in the area. This continues to be a useful local resource for those interested in our heritage.

Is the MPPG still active?In recent years the MPPG has reformed into the Canterbury Community Action Group (CCAG), and with the area now protected, the group’s activities are less focused on saving the heritage properties and more focused on improving the amenity of the area. The CCAG now works with Council to improve the amenity of public spaces in Canterbury.

Q&A with Lorri Buttner about community involvement in protecting heritage in Maling Ward

For more information about Balwyn Evergreen Centre’s services, including more than 600 health and wellbeing and service listings in Boroondara, visit www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/add-life.

“Volunteers form an integral part of what we do. More than 110 dedicated volunteers work alongside staff to enhance the quality of the services we deliver. We have a comprehensive and active team, but we are always happy to welcome new faces.”

Located in Talbot Avenue, Balwyn Evergreen Centre is committed to providing older people in our community with programs and services that keep them healthy and independent.

Services offered include social support, exercise programs, transport, in-home assistance and even dog-walking.

Ken McQualter, CEO of Balwyn Evergreen Centre, said social occasions are always popular, with three-course lunches on offer from Wednesday to Friday and entertainers singing classic songs from yesteryear every Wednesday afternoon.

“We also offer a range of wonderful outings, with groups travelling to visit nurseries, homesteads and art exhibitions,” Ken said.

Balwyn Evergreen Centre

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Postal address: Private Bag 1 Camberwell VIC 3124Call:

9278 4444

Web: boroondara.vic.gov.au

For more information visit www.southsurreypark.org or follow the Friends on Facebook www.facebook.com/southsurreypark.

The Friends of South Surrey Park began in 1995 with a vision to transform the area by planting native species to preserve local biodiversity and beautify the space.

Dedicated volunteers regularly work in this precious green corridor which links Surrey Hills to Lynden Park, Camberwell.

During the 12-month period of September 2017 to August 2018 over 3,000 plants were planted, as well as the spreading of mulch, weed removal and litter collection. And at a recent Sunday working bee, 540 tubes of four locally rare and threatened species were planted.

The work has been made possible by 650 donated hours from the dedicated ‘Tuesday Toilers’ and Sunday working bee volunteers as well as ongoing support from the City of Boorondara, Melbourne Water and the Victorian Indigenous Nursery Cooperative.

Join in the National Tree Day event: 10am to 12noon, Sunday 28 July 2019. Register at www.treeday.planetark.org/site/10021543 or join a working bee every Tuesday or the last Sunday of the month from 10am to 12noon (as a guest or regular volunteer).

Volunteers are always welcome.

The Friends of South Surrey Park

For more information about Viv’s Kitchen and other activities at the Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre visit www.surreyhillsnc.org.au or call 9890 2467.

Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre runs an innovative program called Viv’s Kitchen, which provides meals for people who would like to share a meal with others in the local community.

The program is an initiative of a socially minded community member, Vivien Bortot, who noticed the demand for nourishing meals and need for socialisation among some community members.

Vivien worked with Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre to put a call out for expressions of interest. They received an overwhelming response, with more than 90 people wanting to volunteer and help run the program. Viv’s Kitchen was launched last November and now runs at full capacity each week, with 20 to 25 people attending the community meal every Thursday from 5pm to 7pm to enjoy a three-course meal.

Shima Ibuki, Manager of Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre said the program would not be possible without their wonderful community volunteers and the support from local businesses including Coles Local in Surrey Hills, who kindly donate produce to use.

“It shows how caring our community is and we’re proud to provide them with an opportunity that empowers them to help others,” Shima said.

Community meals at Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre