Children with a disability will benefit from a new Liberty Swing to be unveiled at Raby Bay Foreshore Park in August.

The swing, which is specially designed to accommodate children with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs, was made possible thanks to the joint fundraising efforts of Council, Variety Queensland, Variety Bash Car ‘Aussie Rock’ and Ormiston College.

A special event to officially open the new swing will be held from 2pm on Thursday 7 August and will include a procession of Variety Bash cars taking part in this year’s XXXX Gold Variety Bash.

All welcome, see Council’s website for more information.

Keep your eye out for our koalas, because they are on the move!

This time of year heralds the beginning of key movement activity for our koalas from now until December.

Last year’s youngsters are packing up and leaving home to find a place of their own and during their travels they are often reported turning up in unexpected places.  As well as this, August is the beginning of breeding season for the adults.

One young male on the move fascinated passersby in Doig Street, Cleveland recently when he was spotted relaxing in a tree in the Council car park. The trees in Doig Street are part of a traditional route often travelled by koala youngsters.

Many people are unaware that the Cleveland area is home to a surprising number of koalas, some of which are often seen in the CBD area at this time of year. Residents are urged to leave them be and let them continue on their way of their own accord. It is when we step in and try and ‘help’ that the koalas can become confused leading to unexpected dangers.

To help them travel safely, residents are encouraged to keep their dogs confined or inside at night and motorists are urged to slow down and be alert for koala movement.

If people are concerned about the safety of a koala, they are asked to contact the Redlands Wildlife Rescue Service on 38334031.

Redland IndigiScapes Centre has a number of ‘trees for weeds’ events happening soon to help make Redlands home to more native trees.

A mainland event will be held Saturday 2 August, where for every bag of weeds you bring to IndigiScapes between 10am – 4pm, you will receive a free native seedling (up to five plants per person).

This year’s target weed species are Madeira Vine, Purple Succulent, Indian Hawthorn and Mexican Petunia, but all declared and environmental weeds are accepted.

Island Trees for Weeds swaps will also be happening at the following locations on Saturday 16 August from 8.30am – 10.30am; Coochiemudlo Jetty, Macleay Island Progress Hall, Point Lookout Bushcare Nursery, Karragarra Island Foreshore Park and Russell Island Public Pool car park.

For details on all these events and more visit www.indigiscapes.com.au

It’s now a given that kids need to be tech-savvy, and in an exciting pilot project at Cleveland Library they can go one step further and get code-savvy too.

Thanks to a partnership between Redland Libraries, the State Library of Queensland and Cleveland State School, a project allowing school children to gain experience writing computer codes begins this school term.

This project will see about 20 Cleveland State students work with teachers, a State Library facilitator and Redland librarians to put pieces of code together like a jigsaw puzzle to create their own programs. The students, aged 9 – 11 years, will use Scratch software to program animations, games and interactive stories.

The project is thanks to an Online Public Access in Libraries (OPAL) Technology Trendsetters grant. If the pilot is successful it may be expanded to other libraries and include other coding such as websites and electronics.

To find out more about other great activities Redland Libraries has to offer visit Redland Libraries.

The latest edition of Council’s free Our Redlands magazine is loaded with stories about philanthropic and talented Redlanders, community news and events, and what’s happening in our City’s arts world.

You will be inspired by one local’s work to help the “poorest of the poor”, find out why international stars such as Mirusia Louwerse still call the Redlands home and how you can help trace lost heroes.

There’s also the annual budget report as well as news about significant local projects and Council works.

You will find it in the Redland City Bulletin on Wednesday 30 July, as well as at Council Service Centres, libraries and major shopping centres.

Do you have a great community event or project that needs some extra help? You may be able to access funding through one of three programs that help support exciting local initiatives.

Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grants support arts projects with eight categories of funding available. They are now open, accepting applications until Friday 15 August.

Council’s Sponsorship Program supports events and projects that provide measurable benefits to Council and the community. Applications for round one funding are open now until Friday 29 August 2014.

Council’s Community Grants Program offers organisations support, project support, conservation and capital infrastructure funding. Applications for round one are open from Monday 11 August until Friday 12 September.

For all the details on grant categories and how to apply, visit Council’s website

• What is needed to make the Redlands prosper?
• What sort of housing would you like to see in the Redlands and where?
• How easy or hard is it to make changes to your property?
• What is already working well and what can we do better to assist our local economy?

Council wants to get you involved in our future through a number of community engagement activities taking place around the city throughout July and early August. This engagement will focus on three key strategies designed to help guide the future of the city. These strategies are: City Plan 2015, Economic Development Plan and Land Supply Availability Study (link to info on each strategy).

The engagements will focus on:

• topics to assist development of City Plan 2015,
• getting feedback on the draft Economic Development Plan; and
• looking at housing possibilities as part of an upcoming Land Supply Availability Study.

How to get involved:

It’s a hub of information designed to educate, inform and engage with our community.

1. Visit the Capalaba, Cleveland or Victoria Point library until Saturday 9 August to learn more about how and when the City Plan project will happen.

2. Register for a community forum and have your say on the draft Economic Development Strategy or learn more about the City Plan and upcoming Land Supply Availability Study. Bookings are essential and can be made on the City Plan website.

3. Come along to a community pop-up information booth in a suburb near you to talk to a Councillor and learn more about the future planning for the city.

4. Host a Kitchen Table Talk with a Council planner. Learn more about how Council Planning works in a one hour session for up to ten people. Submit your expression of interest form.

Redland City Plan 2015

The Redland City Plan 2015 will provide a blueprint to guide the future of the city as it grows.  It will help guide planning decisions from where development can occur, right down to how easy or hard it is for residents to do something on their property.

Draft Economic Development Strategy

The draft Economic Development Strategy charts a course for the city over the next 25 years driven by an increase in local employment, increased productivity and value-adding, along with tourism growth.

The draft strategy identifies key local sectors for future growth as construction; education and training; financial and insurance services and professional services; healthcare and social assistance; niche manufacturing; retail; and tourism.

Land Availability Study  

Council’s upcoming land availability study, due for release shortly, will look at the Redlands’ expected population growth and the availability of land to meet that growth.  This includes meeting the needs of our future community and the different types of housing needed to accommodate future residents, both young and old.

Along with the findings of many other studies and reports already completed in the Redlands and available on Council’s City Plan website, the Land Availability Study and Economic Development Strategy will help in the development of City Plan 2015.

More information:www.redland.qld.gov.au/cityplan