Plotting a path through our iconic Crater Lakes

City of Mount Gambier creating a trails blueprint

City of Mount Gambier is seeking community input to develop a Crater Lakes Trails Plan.

Council engaged Open Trails Australia to develop a Trails Plan for the Crater Lakes peri-urban Park (the Park). The Park is a unique site that serves a diverse variety of social, cultural, environmental and economic roles for the community and contributes significantly to the lifestyle of Mount Gambier residents and visitors.

As part of the Crater Lakes Activation Plan project, a broad trails audit was undertaken in 2022 and Council plans to expand on this work to create a Trails Plan to guide the sustainable provision, management, and maintenance of the Park’s trails network.

City of Mount Gambier strategic development and recreation coordinator Hayley Rowe said council’s vision for the Parks Trails network was to provide a sustainable and high quality

Costume lending library set to help out families

United Way Glenelg is excited to announce a new initiative: a Costume Lending Library for families to access in time for book week, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the characters and stories they love.

United Way Glenelg executive officer Nicole Carr said unfortunately, many children miss out on the opportunity to participate in book week events and other events due to a lack of resources, including costumes.

“The costumes will be accessible to all families in the community, regardless of financial resources, as we aim to eliminate the embarrassment that some children may feel about not having a costume and ensure that all children have the opportunity to participate in book week events,” Ms Carr said.

In collaboration with students from Portland Bay School, United Way Glenelg has successfully acquired a collection of topnotch, long-lasting costumes and accessories, made possible through a partnership with Portland Aluminium.

“We saw this as an excellent chance for students to actively participate in the costume selection process,” Ms Carr said.

“They made thoughtful choices with a budget of $1500, ensuring the items would appeal to a wide range of individuals.”

A total of more than 50 items have been procured, including complete outfits as well as complementary accessories that add the perfect finishing touch to a costume.

The students engaged in an exciting ‘unboxing’ experience with the costumes, a trend that gained popularity on social media a few years ago.

“The students had the wonderful opportunity to witness the costumes they had chosen online and see them in person, gaining a true representation of their appearance and quality,” Ms Carr said.

The Costume Lending Library will be housed at Glenelg Libraries. The costumes will be shared at each Glenelg Library location, reaching rural remote children through the Heywood and Casterton locations. Upon the costumes return, Portland Bay School will take charge of laundering, ensuring their cleanliness and readiness for future loans.

“We will promote the library to schools through welfare coordinators and other relevant channels such as media releases, radio advertising and social media posts,” Ms Carr said. “This initiative network of trails which enhance and complement the immersive nature of the Park, while also improving access and celebrating its unique qualities.

“The trails are currently used by a variety of groups including walkers, runners and mountain bike enthusiasts and we’d like to explore how the trail network could function more efficiently to benefit all users,” Ms Rowe said.

The Trails Plan will provide council with a rationalised and detailed framework that is based on findings gained through a gap analysis, community consultation and key considerations such as culture and accessibility.

The development of the Trails Plan will also include signage, maintenance, compliance, safety/ risk and governance requirements.

A map of the current Trails Network is available to download at Have Your Say Mount Gambier.

“We are inviting our community and visitors to contribute to the development of the Trails Plan through an online survey, by adding pins and comments to the trails network map and by coming along to community engagement sessions,” Ms Rowe said.

CREATING A PLAN: Mount Gambier History Group representative Jeanette Aslin (left) and Mount Gambier Mountain Bike Community members Shane DeJong and Peter Wheeler on the Mountain Trail at the Crater Lakes.

Community engagement sessions will be held at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre on:

Sunday, July 23: 2-3pm

Monday, July 24: 10 -11am

Monday, July 24: 5.30-6.30pm Please register to attend a session via Eventbrite will bring the community together by encouraging children to participate in book week events. We believe that this project has the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of children and families in our community, especially those who may have previously felt excluded.”

Starting from early August, the Costume Lending Library will be open to all residents who are library members, providing them with the opportunity to borrow costumes.