What is Melbourne’s Future?
31.7% of Melbourne’s population is 24 years of age or younger. Creating safe, informative, and usable spaces and programs for these youth will drive the success of Melbourne for years to come. Melbourne is frequently known for its diverse culture but not necessarily for raising a family. However, there are programs and spaces designed with the youth in mind to try to create an appeal for the younger generations and families while supporting the less fortunate.
Youth Projects
With five different office locations in Melbourne, Youth Projects is an organization that provides support to disadvantaged, unemployed, homeless, alcohol and drug users, and young people looking to reengage with their community. For every 5 homeless people in Melbourne, 2 are under the age of 25 equating to about 28,000 young individuals being homeless on average every night. The mission of Youth Projects is to have High impact support. Without judgment. Fullstop. Youth Projects is a non-judgmental service that focuses on respect, client care, and harm prevention while understanding that everyone has their own complex web of struggles, difficulties, and needs.
Each year Youth Projects provides over 40,000 episodes of care helping to prevent homelessness from taking hold and to helping people to recover from homelessness and problems so they can get back on their feet again. An understanding of the importance of investing in youth is absolutely necessary. For every dollar funded for social support and employment, $10 returns to the city economy. Investing and including the youth benefits all stakeholders within the city.
Credit: youthprojects.org.au
Alma Park
Located Southeast of downtown Melbourne rests a 41-acre open space with sports fields, picnic areas, playgrounds, and open lawn. Alma Park is one of the most used park spaces in Melbourne and is very child and family-friendly. Alma Park is bordered by Alma Road, Westbury Street and Dandenong Road in St Kilda East. The park is split into East and West sections by the Sandringham train line. The park has open access from each street frontage. With multiple modes of transportation nearby including a tram, train, and free parking there are plenty of options for getting to the park.
Within the park consists of many features from attractions to facilities. Restrooms with accessible toilets, playground with junior and senior play areas, BBQ’s, picnic tables including longer tables for group gatherings, bench seats, drinking fountain, perimeter paths for walking, jogging and cycling, a large grassed reserve, wetland area, mature established shade trees and public artworks. Alma Park West is a designated dog off-leash area and Alma park East is a dog off-leash area only north of the sports oval.
In Alma Park, there are two separate play areas, the junior and senior playground. In the junior playground there is a two-story castle with slides, crawl tunnel and tubes, as well as multiple wood carved animals such as a kangaroo, wombat, and potteroo. In the senior playground, there are unique tree houses with climbing nets and play structures resembling imaginary creatures known as the ‘slug’ with climbing stairs and slides, flying fox (or zip line for us Americans) that is open every day, a sandbox with equipment like a seesaw, swings and a roundabout.
Credit: portphillip.vic.gov.au
Children’s Garden at Royal Botanic Gardens South Yarra
The Children’s Garden is a great place for kids who love getting their hands muddy to go. There is a Ruin Garden, Meeting Place with water features, a Wetland Area, Bamboo Forest, Gorge, Plant Tunnel, Kitchen Garden, and Rill (a quiet waterway running through the garden).
The Children’s Garden is an interactive educational environment in which children of all ages, backgrounds, physical abilities and cultures can play, explore and discover the natural world. It features plants, water, structures and pathways that reflect Melbourne’s changing seasons. The Children’s Garden is an interactive tool for environmental education and conservation made to intrigue teach and excite children from a young age. The garden was scaled with the very young in mind to create a sense of ownership and responsibility for the environment. The garden proudly is accessible for all.
Credit: www.rbg.vic.gov.au
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