Previously successful ideas | Community Budget Ideas 2025/26

2022/23
New fencing at the Harold Stevenson Athletic Track $150,000
Community Access to a Commercial Kitchen $70,000
Extending the Youth Holistic Outreach Program $60,000
Hadfield sporting club scoreboard and time keepers $160,000
KW Joyce drinking fountain $10,000
Merri Creek Trail Seating $87,500
Northside Renters Rights Info Nights $10,000
2023/24
Double Councils shade structures program for playground and parks $80,000
Take the First Step Merri-bek (Domestic Violence prevention) $33,000
Installation of nesting boxes $10,000
Accessible tennis facilities and reserves $100,000
Drinking fountains in shopping strips $50,000
More bins around parklands $5,000
2024/25
Accelerate the installation of sunshades over Merri-Bek's playgrounds $150,000
Installing more seats on walking routes to the shops $40,000
Installing drinking fountains in shopping strips $60,000
Take the Next Step Merri-bek (domestic violence prevention) $59,000
A half-court basketball ring in Glenroy $60,000
Access to a free basketball court and soccer field for all of Fawkner $30,000

Find out more about some of our completed projects below

A large, rust coloured sculpture showing flora and fauna of the area where it is situated, next to a paved path and surrounded by native grasses — Sculpture by Yufang Chi depicting flora and fauna of the Merri Creek Trail

Merri Creek Trail Seating and public art

$87,500

The idea: Installation of seats (with back and armrests) along the Merri Creek Trail (Merri-bek section), at a maximum spacing of 400 metres. Seats to be placed next to the Trail, at places with sufficient space and (where possible) a scenic view and shade.

It will improve residents' access to the Merri Creek, particularly for those who need to take regular rests. As global heating accelerates, more people will need resting places more often. Our natural environment, along the waterway and amongst the greenery, are cool and beautiful places to rest. The project will help to improve residents' mental health and wellbeing, by giving more opportunities for people to connect more deeply to nature.

We propose that each seat includes a small sign about an indigenous plant, bird, animal or insect. This will also help build people's ecological literacy and knowledge, and help to improve local biodiversity.

A mural by Father Marker

A colourful mural featuring a Superb Fairy Wren, Meadow Argus butterfly and some Hop Goodenia flowers is painted on a rectangle concrete slab beneath a park bench with a metal from and wooden slatted seat.

A mural by Father Marker

A colourful mural featuring a Lesser long eared bat, a Christmas beetle and some Yellow Box gum is painted on the arched concrete slab beneath a park bench with a metal from and wooden slatted seat.

A mural by Father Marker

A colourful mural featuring a weasel shade skink under some matted flax lily, watched by a brown goshawk painted on the arched concrete slab beneath a park bench with a metal frame and wooden slatted seat.

A mural by Father Marker

The project as it was delivered: 27 seats were installed along the Merri Creek shared trail.

Art was commissioned to complement and enhance the newly installed seating areas, create areas of interest, engagement, contemplation, and rest.

The artwork was designed to respond to ideas of place, community, and ecology, and acknowledge the importance of the Merri Creek and the surrounding area as an environmental, historic and recreation corridor.

Next time you are going for a stroll along the Merri Creek keep your eyes peeled for three new sculptures by Yufang Chi and a series of murals by Father Marker dotted along the path between Fawkner and Brunswick East.

The artworks speak to the endemic plants and animals that call Merri Creek home and encourage you to consider how your own garden can contribute to the local ecosystems.

Take the First Step Merri-bek: Family Violence Intervention

$33,000

The idea: Accurate information & trusted support is the first step towards safety. This peer education project connects women from diverse cultural communities with isolated newly-arrived women at risk of experiencing severe family violence.

Northern Community Legal Centre's Take the First Step project trains groups of local women from diverse backgrounds to be family violence peer educators and leaders within their community. The women meet regularly to learn about the causes of family violence and how to respond to and support someone experiencing family violence, including where they can go for help.  They are encouraged to create networks of support using community-led engagement strategies.

15 Peer educators experienced this program. You can read more about it and watch a video at Take the First Step | NCLC.

Take the First Step Merri-bek: FV Intervention community forum

A panel of women sit in front of an audience. On the screen behind them are the words: "What do you see as the key gaps and challenges and/or opportunities to providing culturally responsive services to women experiencing DV"

FV Intervention community forum - Banksia Gardens' Women's Group sing

A group of women stand and sing in front of an audience. Behind them a slide reads: "Banksia Gardens' Women's Group Song".

Install nesting boxes

$10,000

The Idea: Install nesting boxes for possums and native birds in trees. Our homes replaced theirs.

The project as it was delivered: Images below show some of the nesting boxes being installed in trees near the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail in Gowanbrae.

Installing nesting boxes

A man is climbing in a tree with ropes and a helmet. He is holding a small grey nesting box.

Installing nesting boxes

A man is perched in a eucalyptus tree using ropes and wearing a helmet. He is attaching a small grey nesting box to the tree.

Harold Stevens Athletic Track - New fences

The idea: Replace old barbed wire fencing and improve access to the Harold Stevens Athletic Track to make it safer and more accessible to all users, while preventing unwanted uses such as motor bike access, scooters and dogs.

We want to increase the number of people participating in athletics across Merri-bek.

The delivery: Tidy up existing perimeter fencing to the north and northeast of the running track.

The internal track lower fencing demolish part of and reconstruct sections with black cyclone wire.

The existing west fence adjacent to Merri Creek to demolish and reline along west of running track at a lower height in black cyclone fencing.

Create a walking path at the rear of the north hammer cage so the public can continue to walk along the trail whilst there is an Athletics’ event being held.

New boundary fencing and track fencing