Launch of new playground for North Ringwood Community Children’s Centre

Maroondah City Council offers a variety of grants to assist community based organisations, including funding through the third/third/third grants, which can be utilised for capital works within council owned facilities.  The upgraded playground at North Ringwood Community Children’s Centre, based at Norwood Reserve on Warrandyte Road in Ringwood North is one example of this funding.

North Ringwood Community Children’s Centre is a community based, not-for-profit organisation, which is managed through a voluntary Committee of Management.  The Centre provides a range of programs for young children, including an accredited four year old kindergarten program, with an emphasis on creativity and learning.

This afternoon I was invited to officially launched the new playground at the Centre, which was funded through Council’s third/third/third program. This grants program is where Council contributes time and financial resources to assist community organisations with capital works.  The community group contributes one third of the project, Council another third and the final third can be provided as a loan or through other external sources of funding.

The playground provides an expanded range of activities and play spaces for the children in the Centre and is an example of an organisation that is meeting the long-term needs of Maroondah’s community.  For further information on the third/third/third funding program and other community grants offered by the City of Maroondah please visit www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/GrantsProgram.aspx.

The 43rd Ringwood Highland Games

The Ringwood Highland Games is one of Maroondah’s largest community based events and is held at Jubilee Park in Ringwood. The Highland Games began in 1966 through the former Ringwood Council and is managed through a voluntary Committee of Management, with assistance from the Maroondah City Council.

As the Mayor of Maroondah, I was invited to officially open the Ringwood Highland Games and it was encouraging to see strong public involvement, despite the wild and varied weather that we experienced throughout the afternoon.

Almost all of Maroondah’s Councillors attended today’s event, with Cr Tony Dib, Cr Anne Fraser, Cr Nora Lamont, Cr Michael Macdonald, Cr Paul Macdonald, Cr Rob Steane and Cr Natalie Thomas in attendance. In addition, Maroondah’s new CEO Frank Dixon also attended and joined me on a tour of the event highlights.

Mike Symon, the Federal Member for Deakin, Heidi Victoria MLA, Member for Bayswater and Ryan Smith MLA, Member for Warrandyte, were also present throughout the day.

The event contains a number of highlights, including an opportunity for Scottish Clans and Societies to gather together, as well as Pipe Band and dancing competitions. The event also includes a range of Scottish goods and foods and attracts people from across Victoria and Australia.

The Ringwood Highland Games is an annual event and will return for 2011.