Rosny Community Action is … a Walk in the Park!

In early May, the Save Rosny’s Parks (SRP) group decided to meet in Rosny Park to walk around, note the features of the park and to discuss why the AFL High-Performance Centre (HPC) isn’t a suitable development for Rosny’s parks.

The Clarence City Council currently proposes Charles Hand Memorial Park and Rosny Park to house two MCG sized ovals along with administration and player facilities.

The SRP group chooses to advocate for the protection of the parklands for future generations because of the historic significance of the parks, the health and social benefits of having central parklands, and because of the more than 180 mature trees and flora that provides habitat for so many animals and bird fauna, which may include the critically endangered swift parrot.

We decided to advertise the first walk to the wider community and invited everyone along so we could speak directly with residents to gauge their views, to provide information, and to help demonstrate the dimensions of the proposed buildings and playing fields.

The planned walks were also an opportunity to convey key messages to local residents – such as the importance of working together as a community for better outcomes, fostering community cohesion and to clarify that the group is certainly not opposed to the HPC but think it should be situated in a more suitable location.

It was also a great chance to answer questions from people who then and now, are getting so many mixed messages on the issue. There is confusion and disinformation on social media and an ongoing media blitz which adds to the melee of half-truths, half-facts and unknowns causing community division.

That first walk we discussed the heights and depths of the landscape and what cutting and filling to achieve level playing fields out might look like. We shared our appreciation of the stately trees, the creek and waterhole, and the sounds of teeming birdlife all about us in the tree canopies.

That day ninety people come along and it was so successful that we decided to do another one the following weekend, and then another.

This week marks our fourth walk. Attendees young and old, two legged or four continue to be a source of positive engagement, interesting fact sharing, and awareness building with some community members unaware that they could access the public Rosny Park because its presence and uses has not been widely advertised.

Those who regularly use the park speak of its serenity and openness while those who are newcomers find an appreciation for the beauty, bird song, majestic gums, wattles, pines, and other flora, right in the heart of Rosny and open for all to use.

We’ve come to understand that the ‘walk in the park’ activity unites people from all corners of our community in their love of green spaces. We discovered people who had grown up around the Rosny Parks and enjoyed hearing a story or two. We thought it would be a wonderful idea to weave those stories into the fabric of the City Heart Plan with interpretive signage and artwork.

All Clarence City councillors have been invited to join us on our Sunday walks, but as yet none have attended. We continue to extend a warm invitation to all Clarence councillors.

Through our ‘walk in the park’ activities, residents have discovered that we hold the same values and vision for the area. And of course, that is the definition of community.

A petition has been lodged with the Clarence City Council requesting an Elector Poll. In less than 12 days the petition obtained 1,332 signatures, despite the attempt of an unknown hacker who tried to manipulate the data and deem the petition invalid. They failed!