ourballarat Autumn 2021 Mayor's Message

Welcome to the autumn edition of ourballarat magazine.

The stories in this edition are all about our great community. Standing together, working together, enjoying shared moments, supporting each other – each of us playing our part and doing our bit to help make our community even stronger and better.

New Koorie Engagement Action Group (KEAG) Co-Chair Jon Kanoa hopes that sharing his story will help us to walk together as a community and celebrate Ballarat’s diverse and rich culture. Jon is excited about the opportunity to work closely with Council to help build understanding and bring the whole community along for the journey.

Our story about the Ballarat Begonia Festival is about the new-look event in 2021 and much more. In partnership with local tourism businesses, the City of Ballarat is working hard to entice visitors to Ballarat. Visitors spend $553 million in Ballarat per year which flows into our community. Ballarat residents have a vital role to play in this effort.

The new Pennyweight Dog Park is a story as much about strong communities as it is about dogs. Community members Laura Gati and German Spitz ‘Willow’ describe their outings to the park as ‘catching up with family’. Did you know the City of Ballarat has 10 off lead dog areas for our fur community to enjoy?

Our story about Ballarat Ambassadors features Ballarat resident Leanne Neville whose passion for our city has led her to a role that she loves, working for the community.

The Ballarat Information Centre is seeking more volunteers and there is a wide range of other rewarding volunteering opportunities at the City of Ballarat. I encourage you to take a look.

Any action against climate change is a story worth sharing. The City of Ballarat is replacing 6,750 streetlights with energy efficient LEDs, which means lower energy costs and safer lighting in our residential streets. It’s a win for our community and a win for the environment.

We all love autumn in Ballarat. Our story on composting autumn leaves encourages all of us to do our bit when it comes time for the big annual leaf clean-up.

We can play our part in getting a great outcome, not just for our gardens but also for our community. I hope these stories inspire all of us to support each other and do what we can to create the best possible Ballarat community.

Mayor

Cr Daniel Moloney