Linking with our community
CITYLINK COMMUNITY PROGRAM
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Introduction
As a Transurban asset, CityLink takes its ongoing responsibility to operate in a safe and sustainable manner seriously. We work to minimise our environmental impact and give back to the communities in which we operates.
One of the ways CityLink invests in its local communities is by supporting projects that deliver social or environmental benefits to its neighbouring municipalities.
CityLink seeks and invites sponsorship proposals across two broad categories:
• Environment – projects that enhance or protect the environment in areas within which Transurban operates and in which Transurban and CityLink staff can take an active role.
• Community – projects that support the amenity, economic development or well-being of communities in areas within which Transurban operates and that our people can take an active role and interest in.
For further information on any of CityLink’s community programs – or if you have a program or in kind support you’d like to discuss, contact Liz McGrath at liz.mcgrath@transurban.com
Some of our recent community projects include:
CityLink School Support Program
Since 2002, the CityLink School Support Program has provided the 10 schools within 600 metres of the CityLink corridor with financial support for the well-being of young people.
The annual grants have allowed students to participate in activities that build resilience, self-esteem and well-being. Some of the initiatives include a breakfast program for those who miss this meal at home, an arts program and the expansion of a science group to include a gardening club.
Individual schools have discretion on how the money is spent, meaning they can assist families that may not otherwise be able to afford school camps, excursions or medical fees.
Energy Breakthrough
CityLink is also a major sponsor of the RACV’s Energy Breakthrough Program, which gives school groups the opportunity to design and construct a vehicle, a machine or an innovation that could represent an energy breakthrough.
The program encourages primary and secondary school students to examine and use the latest technology while considering its impact on the environment.
As part of CityLink’s involvement, a ‘Vehicle Efficiency Day’ was held at RMIT University’s Bundoora Campus in September 2008 with some seriously advanced vehicles on display! For students it’s been a big leap forward from the billy carts of the past.
Students were able to test their machines in RMIT’s wind tunnel, find out ways to make their cars more efficient and meet with other participating students to compare vehicles.
The program requires students, parents, teachers and industry representatives to work throughout the year, attending two testing days – the CityLink Vehicle Efficiency Day being one of them, before heading to Maryborough in November for the program’s massive closing celebration, where students are able to show off their work and trial the machines in action.
This partnership between CityLink and Moonee Valley City Council developed after the success of a Community Arts Project carried out in 2005. In this program a mentor artist worked with local school children to create a mural on a CityLink wall prone to graffiti, alongside a bike path.
In 2007/08, CityLink partnered with the Moonee Valley City Council and relevant community groups to create Indigenous Arts Projects at sites where the Link crosses the Moonee Ponds Creek.
Indigenous artists Annette Sax, Mandy Nicholson and Treahna Hamm were commissioned to do the artwork and sought community input by holding school workshops within the municipality.
During the workshops, members of the community were encouraged to get involved, share stories and experiences of Moonee Ponds Creek and work alongside the artists in painting the mural.
The end result was an artwork that was culturally significant and sympathetic to the environment. Perhaps more importantly, it had an enduring educational impact that increased public awareness and knowledge of local indigenous culture.
CityLink partnered with Yarra City Council after the success of a Community Arts Project carried out in 2005, where a Youth Services Program run by the council gave young artists the opportunity to create a mural on a prominent CityLink noise wall. The wall was prone to graffiti attacks – which almost completely fell away once the mural was created.
More importantly – CityLink recognised the contribution the project had made to the young artists, who worked with mentors and got some real life experience in all elements of creating a public piece. When it heard the Napier Studios program had lost its major sponsor and was in danger of being cancelled, it was quick to act. Recognising the importance of the program to one of CityLink’s neighbouring communities, we began talks with the City of Yarra and became the program’s major sponsor for 2006, 2007 and in to 2008.
Among its four project works in 2007, Napier Street Studios painted a mural near the climbing walls in Burnley. The artwork reflected the nearby Herring Island and enhanced what is quickly becoming a valuable community space.
Napier Studios aims to create opportunities for emerging artists, promote health and well-being while enhancing social connectedness and youth participation, as well as proving training opportunities to increase the skill levels of young people in order to enhance their future employment opportunities. Working with public spaces, the program also helps to enhance the local community through improving the visual amenities.
PAST PROJECTS