Family, Youth & Children
We care for our world
We want to help to make our city a healthy place for us to live in with no rubbish or pollution.
Kids’ Suggestions |
Grownups' Action |
| Save more water ‘We need lots of water, water from the rain. We need to catch the water in the bucket to put it on the garden like we do at our house.’ (age 5) |
Yarra Valley Water has some great tips on how you and your family can save water http://www.yvw.com.au/yvw/Home/Target155/ |
| Stop air pollution caused by people smoking, car fumes and overfull garbage bins. ‘’Have certain places (a smoking box) not near children’ (age 9) ‘And the pollution! Cars send out so much pollution. I don’t like it!’ (age 10) |
By improving public transport and encouraging walking and cycling, we are working towards the need for fewer cars on the road. We have formed partnerships with local businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We aim at a 50% reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (from 2000 levels) |
| Less noise pollution from entertainment places. ‘Noise pollution from nearby entertainment venues’ (age 11) |
We are making stricter rules for the reduction in noise from music and entertainment in venues operating after 1.00 a.m. |
| Clean water to swim in ‘We would like the City of Port Phillip bay to be cleaned up so we would like there to be a day every month when people come and clean all over the bay. We want to promote a rubbish free bay’. (age 9) ‘No pollution. We would like clean beaches to swim in. You should have signs that say do not rubbish or pay $50 if you litter. People should think before they litter instead of being lazy enough to not go and put it in the bin. Put bins on the beach in lots of places’. (age 10) |
We have a ‘Bin it or Swim in it’ campaign where during the summer, beach rangers give away portable ashtrays and other bags for rubbish. Council is also increasing its treatment of stormwater, before it gets to the drains, through better design of buildings, roads and bike paths |
| Stop the dredging of the Bay ‘I do not like the dredging of the Bay and the graffiti in the playgrounds. I think that the dredging because lots of animals will die!!!! I think once both of these are done the city of Port Phillip will be a really child friendly area to live (age 10) ‘I think people should stop the dredging of the Bay because it will kill lots of penguins, dolphins and fish and people won’t be able to swim in the toxic water for 10 years’ (age 11) |
The Port of Melbourne Corporation is overseeing the Channel Deepening Project that will deepen sections of the existing main shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay to allow vessels 14m draught access at all tides. We will be letting people know what are the effects of the dredging programme, specifically the impacts of dredging on the St Kilda penguin colony. |
| Solve the problem of overfull and smelly rubbish bins ‘I don’t like to go to the places that have too many rubbish bins ‘cause they’re smelly. There are lots of rubbish bins in our park….Maybe we could take all the rubbish bins away?’ (age 4) ‘We could put it (rubbish) in a plastic bag and take it home to put it in our rubbish bin at home. My Auntie has a really big bin we could use.’ (age 5) ‘Rubbish bins being blown up’ (age 10) |
Council is encouraging all people in the city to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle and compost’ waste so as to reduce the amount of garbage to be placed in bins. Information is provided to residents on how they should fill their bins. Approximately 650 public litter bins in public places are emptied a number of times a week to reduce public place litter. |
| Get rid of garbage in streets, parks and beaches. ‘I don’t like the dog poo (under the peppercorn tree alongside Elwood Canal), the smell of the canal and too many cars.’ (age 4) ‘You’re not allowed to touch the rubbish on the beach. You need to clean up the beach so you don’t stand on it with no shoes on.’ (age 5) ‘Remove rubbish on the beach, in the street (broken bottles), by the skate park, cigarette butts in the parks, In Bay St (Port Melbourne)’ (age 10) ‘Clean up glass under the bridge by the skate park and on the beach’ (age 9) ‘Fine people who throw rubbish’ (age 10) ‘Leaves all around – remove’ (age 11) ‘No pollution. We would like clean beaches to swim in. You should have signs that say do not rubbish or pay $50 if you litter. People should think before they litter instead of being lazy enough to not go and put it in the bin. Put bins on the beach in lots of places’. (age 9) |
Our cleaning contractor, Streetsahead Cleaning Service, implements a rigorous manual and mechanical schedule all year round, from the early morning to late at night, to keep our city looking good. Our beaches are cleaned of litter and seaweed daily over summer, starting at 4am and finishing at 10am, so the beaches are ready and waiting for you. The service is increased during warmer weather and major events. Signs will tell you when beaches have been cleaned |
| More planting of trees and flowers ‘I would like there to be more seed shops and more roses so we could plant them everywhere and make it colourful’ (age 4) ‘A greenhouse would be cool to teach children how to grow their own plants’ (aged 9) ‘Great flora, garden areas” (age 11) |
We have a ‘Greening Port Phillip’ program that aims at more the street tree planting and replacement in your streets and along your roads. We help some schools and children’s centres to make their own gardens where kids can learn how to grow plants and flowers. |
| Fine dog owners who don’t pick up their dogs poo. ‘Dog poo. It is everywhere – even in our school. I actually see dogs’ poo and their owners just keep on walking. It is really inconvenient when you step into it.’ (age 9) ‘People leaving their dog poo in public places i.e schools’ (age 10) |
Under council's law dog owners are responsible for picking up after their dogs. Free bag holders - called pooch pouches - are available from council so that dog owners can clean up after their pets. They can be fined $100 if they fail to do this. |
