Students from Wowara Aboriginal College and Upper Yarra Secondary College presented their projects developed for the Hearing the Voices of Yarra Ranges Youth program at a showcase on Monday.
The students were asked to consider what a sustainable future could look like for Yarra Ranges. Over five sessions they designed a project and built a prototype of the final outcome. The program enabled the students to utilise the facilities of the Yarra Ranges Tech School, along with the expertise of Council officers from Economic Development and Investment, Environment & Infrastructure, Communications & Engagement, Planning Design & Development and the Youth Development Team.
The students decided to collaborate on a project to revitalise the Warburton Sanitarium factory.
The Wowara students designed a series of light projections telling the story of the Kulin Nation to be projected onto the silos of the factory. One group from Upper Yarra envisioned the grounds being home to a community garden, prioritising biodiversity and community wellbeing, while another group from Upper Yarra got creative with the interior of the building, including a community library, and even a temporary ice-skating rink.
The students had the Tech School capabilities at their disposal. The students used laser-cutting, 3D printers, green screens and Lego models to build their prototypes.
Mayor Jim Child opened the showcase and said he felt very proud of the student’s achievements.
“The projects were simply amazing, Worawa’s silo projection project of the story telling of the Kulin Nation combined with Upper Yarra’s redesigning of Warburton’s Sanitarium factory all showed potential worthy of further investigation,” he said.
The program has been green-lit for a second term, this time engaging with students from Mooroolbark College.
The program is a collaboration between Yarra Ranges Tech School and Council and provides an important avenue to engage with local young people on issues affecting their community. This program’s theme of a sustainable future was inspired by the draft Economic Development Strategy.
You can have your say on the Strategy at https://shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/economic-development-strategy
