Community Workshop

Peter Kenyon of Bank of I.D.E.A.S. visited Launceston from Western Australia to facilitate the Community Workshop at the Kings Meadows Bowls Club in November 2021. Fifty-five people attended the workshop including twenty Grade 7 - 10 student leaders from Kings Meadows High School with key community members. Participants identified their assets, shared what they love and would keep, change and start... and then workshopped projects. By inviting community members to have input sends an important message; that Council values what people want their future to look like. Activity in the community can then be focused on the key trends and guide organisations and business into the future. The community’s ideas were collated as a rich source of data. This information was also shared within the City of Launceston organisation as a valuable community engagement to consider for future strategies.

A key part of the Learning Site involves the community dreaming about what they would like to see happen in Kings Meadows and how they can be involved. Throughout the many conversations and workshops over the past year, people shared over 65 big ideas. The common ideas for Kings Meadows are:

• Skate ramp and park

• More parks with outdoor basketball and tennis courts

• Community markets

• Murals

• Arts Centre – events, workshops and gallery

• Recreation and community centre

• Connecting the school with the community

• Fix traffic congestion

• Connecting with neighbours and elderly residents

• Outdoor area for children and young people to hang out

The common ways people indicated they could be involved in projects were:

• Planning

• Lobbying

• Sharing ideas and skills

• Working bee

• Contacting people

• Recruiting volunteers

• Working group

• Advocating

• Organising

Thank you so much for allowing me to join in with your community workshop. It was a really enjoyable and enlightening day. The students are a real credit to the school and community, their diplomacy and reasoning was outstanding. I would also like to applaud your Council for engaging and investing in your community in this way.

Workshop Participant