What’s on Sparks Ward with Cr Tina Liu

What I love about the Sparks Ward is the diversity of activities and offerings in our area.

Box Hill is a foodie oasis, with a myriad of notable cafes, restaurants, dessert and bubble tea outlets. The growth in Box Hill has also seen the expansion of mixed-use developments, and often you will find unique and delectable eateries in these buildings – somewhat off the beaten path and not found anywhere else in Melbourne. Look and you shall find – but Google is also a tap away.

The newly refurbished and expanded Box Hill Central South Precinct has also been a welcomed upgrade – with new food and retail offerings and further activation of Carrington Rd, particularly at night time. While Box Hill is often renowned for food, it is also arguably the creative arts and cultural hub in Whitehorse. The Box Hill Town Hall Artspace and Box Hill Community Art Centre host a number of exhibitions, programs and art classes throughout the year. The current exhibition at the Artspace ‘On the Street’ (pictured) features local photographers and their pieces reflecting life in multicultural Whitehorse.

Later in March an exhibition celebrating the first 25 years of Artspace will kick off.

Safely managing stormwater –what you can do to help

With the wild weather we’ve had lately, managing flash flood and stormwater is more important than ever.

Our stormwater drainage system is designed to manage frequent, moderate rain events. When rain is heavier and more intense than usual, we rely on permeable overland flow paths to slow down the flow of water. Permeability here refers to the ability of a material to allow liquids (such as water) to move quickly through it. Permeable flow paths in Whitehorse include our gardens, nature strips, parks, natural open spaces and rain gardens.

When overland flow paths are not permeable enough, water cannot flow freely through them, meaning they are unable to soak up and slow down the flow of rainwater. This means that when there is intense rain and rapid rises in water levels, flash flooding is more likely to occur.

Like many other parts of metropolitan Melbourne that continue to undergo urbanisation, we are losing permeability in overland flow paths in Whitehorse. Luckily, there are steps that you can taketo help our stormwater systems:

▪ Increase and maintain the permeable surfaces you have at home. For example, if you have a muddy or boggy section in your garden, don’t pave over it – instead, you could embrace it by turning it into a frog bog or rain garden. Visit www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/ gardens-for-wildlife to enlist the help of one of our garden guides!

Sparks Ward lives up to its name in more ways than one – it’s energetic, vibrant and at times, eclectic – there is something for everyone. So why not stop by one of our reserves for a local sporting match, follow the arts trail and drop-in for some steamed soup dumplings (xiao long bao), hotpot and bubble milk teaperfect for the warm weather!

▪ Collect and compost leaf litter, as leaving it be can result in blocked street gutters after heavy rain.

▪ Next time you’re mowing the lawn, mow over fallen leaves –this improves permeability and lawn health by increasing the organic matter in your lawn.

▪ If you’re building or renovating, make sure to ask your builder to manage silt so that it doesn’t clog drains or waterways.

▪ If you see any stormwater blockages in the municipality, report it on Snap Send Solve.

For more tips and information, read our Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) fact sheet on Stormwater Management at www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/environmental-sustainabledevelopment-fact-sheets

You’ll soon see extra street sweeping for those streets with heavy leaf falls in autumn. It’s important that our community does everything we can to keep our stormwater drainage system ready for the next big downpour.