What can we do to help the local teenagers or older kids find something or somewhere worthwhile to do/go?  There is nothing in NL for them apart from meeting friends at the Night Owl or in local parks.  The teenage population is only going to increase and so, we need to set something up for them now.  They need a base outside of school hours, and somewhere safe and interesting to go.  Of course they will hang out at the Night Owl or Westfields as there is nowhere else for them to go.

Any ideas?

I thought there was a community/ sports centre planned as part of the sports oval down near Woodside. I wonder if those plans will consider the needs of our youth. Even a skate park would been good- that way they wont have to use the Night Owl car park.

A skateboard park or area would be a good start.  I just feel sorry for these kids that only have the Night Owl to hang out at and they just seem to get a bad press all the time.  My kids are not teenagers yet, but they will be.  Too many people are happy just to criticise kids for being in parks, at Westfields or the Night Owl.  But, just as when we were young, they have to have somewhere!  North Lakes is forever advertising itself as a community, a place for families.  But it seems to me, unless your family is of the toddler age group, there is nothing here for the kids.  Plenty of parks, yes.  But as soon as teenagers start to hang out in them, the local paper/magazine is full of people complaining!  What do these people suggest for the imminently growing older kids of the community?  There is much silence so far!

Helping local teenagers & older kids finding something to do. Yep a big problem these days.
 
A step in the right direction might be the LOUD@PATHWAYS LIBRARY evening on Friday 17-March-2006 at 6.00pm. 

The local paper says there will be loud Foxtel music videos, free Internet access, pizzas and soft drink and it's all FREE.

Kids only, no oldies. Gotta ring first 3480 9900

This might be the first of many if the kids like it !!

In the coming weeks.. the Mango Hill Skirmish Field will be open to the public.. that will no doubt be an interest to a large majority of teenages in Northlakes?

Both the LOUD@PATHWAYS and Mango Hill Skirmish events are a fanstatic step in the right direction. Well done and thank you to those that have organised them. Bit disturbed by a letter in the NLM froma TA of Freshwater that shouted down 10 year old Caleb's call for a skate park though. Ok, so a skate park isn't the ideal of everyone, but it serves a purpose and gets kids out and about instead of in front of a tv screen. Gives them a place to socialise and a place to meet. Sadly this respondent was absolutely against such a thing and even went so far as to state that users of skate parks are louts and attract graffiti! Such generalisation! Presumably they are not a parent! A skate park isn't the answer to everything, but it's a good start. Not all kids are trouble and certainly not all kids are louts. Let's give them a chance at least.

This is one of the most pervasive issues facing society today. The street kids of today, become the drug kids of tomorrow, and the homeless kids of the future. A concerted effort by the community, of the parents, and the council is required to support and enourage children into active participation and interaction with the community.

Well, there are quite a few things that could be done, and there are pro's and con's for all eitherway. I think in the first instance, we would need to enlist the assistance of stocklands no matter what we do. There will also need to be a committee of no more than 5, to evaluate ALL potential ideas with an open mind not hindered or affected by their own personal experiences and opinions. This effectively is the fundamental problem of community decision making, opinions are based upon experience, and if you have not had any experience, or had a bad experience, then your opinion is clouded, often to the detriment of potential decision making and opportunities.

So before we go much further, can those who are going to contribute to this, be supportive, offer encouragement, be creative, think outside the square, lets look at ways to save our children from the inevitable fate that is facing society as a whole and dont let your own personal judgements cloud the decision making process.

So.... suggestions first, not criticisms at this point, no judgements, no negatives or positives, only a pure list of brainstorming possibilities (some of these are what we used to organise as school kids at our school):

1. Skateboard park (as mentioned and restated for the sake of it)

2. Sporting fields, with supervision and coordination for different alternative sporting events

3. Pooled community funds for the purchase and utilisation of equipment such as balls, posts, boundary markers, whistles, etc, with contributions of say $2 o $5 per day to participate and to be used for the purchase of equipment

4. Coordinated events (which dont cost much money) such as:

A) Football Day
B) Cricket Day
C) Soccer Day
D) Volleyball Day
E) Bike Riding Day
F) Roller Blading
G) Walk the dog day
H) Catch 'em day (two teams, one runs, the other catches. Boundaries are Northlakes. 3 Hrs one way, 3 Hrs the other way). Whichever team catches the most wins... This can be done on foot, on skates, on bikes, on boards.
I) "British Bulldog"... a rough game, idea is to get to the otherside of the field. A smaller group is in the middle to stop them. Those that are stopped join those in the middle, lets see the last person standing.
J) Swimming day, races at the pool, have our own "Swim Meet"
K) Little Athletics for fun


5. How about for indoor activities:

A) an XBOX/Playstation Pro Day, pick a game for the day, see who can get the highest score. Setup 5 boxes, with 5 TV's, each has 15 minutes max to achieve the highest score
B) Trivia game days or Quiz nights
C) Disco / Dance nights in the parks. Just setup a loud stereo at a park, with some lights (perhaps from cars), and organise a community get together
D) Community based self defence

6. A Common BBQ with Sausage Sizzles and drinks on a break even basis. These can be organised for all events.

7. Buying some land from Stockland (maybe the will come to the party on this), gather all the builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, roofies, painters and associated contractors to build a massive hall. I once saw an entire building go up over 1 week when it was for a religious institution, everybody turned up, contributed their time, and donations of materials got the whole thing done for no costs. If we gather enough support, we can build an indoor entertainment arena for our children. This would provide focus based entertainment along the above lines, but in one area, supervised by contributions from community, to coordinate and manage.


I know I know I know, who, what, where, how.... But these are issues that can be addressed once we have established a focus group to evaluate this and all alternatives, build and develop a community spirit, ensure the community contribute. There will be some that will take and take and take, without giving back, but that always happens.

The people with the will can lead the way. Lets be the first, the one, that not only talks about it, but does it, save our kids, before its to late.


We must find a way to re motivate and re invigorate our children, before they realise drugs are far more fun than life.

NL resident and concerned citizen that has already grown up and confronted these issues, and with very young kids that will grow up and confront these issues but much worse than what I faced.

 

Congratulations sekaLhtroN, it’s evident you’ve given a lot of thought to the challenges confronting our young people. This end of the Shire is sadly lacking appropriate youth activities and facilities to consume their leisure time. One would hope that our community leaders, Shire Councillors, Developers, Service Clubs, PCYCs and the like, also have this foresight and are prepared to join the challenge.

 

A widely publicised Public Meeting supported by our Community Leaders to establish the Focus Group would be a good starting point.

 

Well what can I say? Thank God for people like you sekaLhtroN!!! It is so good to see someone in the community thinking about our youth in a positive and future light. Not whinging and moaning about them. I work with the teenagers of our community in their school environment and know, first hand, that they are a good, and generally decent bunch of kids that are crying out for something to do or somewhere to go in the NL environment. Of course, there will always be a rebellious element in that crowd (as there were in my day!), but I feel that we seriously need to address the issue of a burgeoning teenage population here in NL. If only Stockland had given as much thought to the teenage population as they did to the toddlers and little kids, we wouldn't be discussing this issue. Yes, there are parks and swings and open areas here. But, when you are 13, 14, 15 or more, their charm runs thin.

I think that getting the community of council, developer etc involved to build a purpose-built hall is a FANTASTIC idea. And not insurmountable either. It is possible with the right backing. A brilliant idea.

I guess what we really need; those who really want something for our teenagers, is a group that is willing and able to get the ball rolling. Where should we start? It seems an overwhleming project. But, I have to say, I am more than willing to help out in any way. At the end of the day, the plethora of babies and toddlers etc that we have in NL today, will very soon be the teenagers of the future. And there are a hell of a lot of them.

So come on North Lakes. What now? Who's willing?

*crickets chirp*

What does that mean "crickets chirp"? Is it code for something funny? Just when I thought we were getting some backing on the teenagers issue too. Let us in on the joke Pyrotix!

 

 

I am quite happy to attend the proposed Community Forum. I realise it is very early days, but I would be very happy to assist a body that is organised to the extent that we know precisely where we are going and we have the necessary resources to achieve our objectives. The proposed Community Forum must be the first step.

 

We must invite and obtain the support of our Councillor. She is a very busy lady but if she is behind the project it will succeed. She can open doors and make things happen in this community.  She will of course refer to her numerous successful community projects including Pathways and the Community Centre now under construction. The proposed “hang out” for our teenagers is a very different kettle of fish; it must also be a safe, supervised and interesting environment for our young people.

 

I’m sure our Councillor will be made aware of this column and I sincerely hope she will make the time to attend, or even arrange, the proposed Community Forum at Pathways.

I think it may be a little bit premature to commence a focus group as we have not had sufficient buy in from the rest of the community.

I think in the first instance, a letter needs to be placed in the N.L.M. as it appears to be a widely read community advertising mechanism which would allow some of these issues to be addressed.

So if a letter could be written, indicating that the first initial meeting of the community focus group will be held on say Saturday 22nd April at the real estate office, for attendance by those that might be interested in having input into the process.

We could then invite Stockland to attend, but must be conscious of their active participation in the focus group as they would have their own vested interest in the process.

I think the support of the councillor may also be a good idea, however, we must also be conscious of their own political objectives in this, and not necessarily to achieve the best outcome.


In summary, I would like to see some people that are autonomous, with management, financial, legal, and humanitarian backgrounds with a personal interest and not a political or financial interest in the outcome of the decision making.

It is important that all interest parties are contacted and request their attendance and input, but the governing body must be objective, independent, and working towards the best interest of the children.

So, if I could firstly suggest whether this is a good enough date, it isnt to far away, and not to close that we cant get organised in time. However, I know that easter is somewhere around this date, along with other long weekends approaching, so picking the first date, with an agenda, and objective is going to be important in getting this off to the right start with right footing.

Secondly, we need a letter to the NLM notifying of the event, time, purpose, objectives, and the need to appoint the initial committee members and commence the process. This committee will then need to create a constitution, outlining its objectives and methods of operating.

Thirdly, we need several, well drafted letters, one to the councillor, one to Peter, one to the local police, and of course, one to Stocklands. Each to explain what we are trying to achieve, how they might be able to assist, and how we hope to progress.

I think to make decisions prematurely, before we have had time to allow sufficient input from the community, with the ability to recruit those members of the community who might best be able to service the focus group would lead to its demise before it is started.

We will also need to allow for a common email address and facilitation process to correspand and commence the communication process. This forum may prove to be inadequate for this, and perhaps the Administrator migt be able to establish in what way this site can be utilised to improve communications, forum, advertisting, and creating a secure area where documentation such as copies of letters, correspondance and other communications can be stored allowing for review and updating by all parties.

Perhaps and FTP site could be hosted here that is secure to allow the uploading and downloading of correpondance.

Let the crickets Chirp, and the Cicadas hum, may they never be quiet again....

Awaiting feedback.

I'm glad to see my motive behind my last post worked

Something to add, I went for my walk the other evening near the offleash area (middle of northlakes) I forget the name of the area.. but has anyone else seen the uprooting of all the trees along the esplenade? sp.

I think the sooner we can get something happening the quickly we can tackle this problem head-on.

I think I must have missed the humour and cryptic message in Pyrotix's post. Indeed there are more posts and protestations about the cats and dogs of North Lakes than there are about the teenage population. It seems that people are more concerned about their pets than they are about the future generation! Where are the parents of teenagers? You could be forgiven for thinking that most of the community of North Lakes aren't interested in teenage issues. Is that because most have babies or toddlers? Where are the advocates for the teenage populus?

I agree that we need to ask the community what they think before we approach council etc. What about a questionnaire in the NLM? See what support and comments that brings forth and then decide where to go from there. Failing that, what about a community meeting to discuss initial concerns and ideas? And invite the teens.

I work with the teenagers of North Lakes at the school on a day to day basis. I know there is a problem, that the kids want something more, but don't know how to vocalise it. We need to help them out and provide a forum. If we were talking about little kids not having enough swings and slides, lack of playgroups and safe places, this discussion forum would be overflowing. Where is everyone?

I have been watching and hoping that someone else would initiate new action on the teen facilities issue. If noone acts on these ideas soon, apathy will once again prevail.

If anyone has planned or commenced any action, please let us know asap.

In the meantime, I feel compelled to take the first step myself:

1. I intend to place a notice in the next issue of the NLM ‘Whats Happening’ section to confirm wider community support, as suggested by some of you. In conjunction with the forum admin, I will ask skate park supporters to post to this forum or email their support to the forum admin. With the admins assistance, we can quantify this support for use in future negotiations with relevant authorities.

2. If sufficient community support is confirmed from the NLM notice and/or elsewhere, I intend to ask each of you (i.e. harrypotter, Catrina, Patchy, PyrotiX, sekaLhtroN, admin and any other interested parties to collectively form a Focus Group. This Focus Group will then develop a suitable action strategy.


If anyone would prefer to discuss these issues outside of this forum, call me on 3886 4848.

I believe there is widespread and growing community support for improved teen facilities in NL, particularly a skate park. It first became evident at NL teen public meetings 2 years ago (which culminated in several discos). It was recognised in the PRSC Community Capacity Building Plan in 2004. More recently, I know that several teen petitions for a skate park were circulated and I now see teens building their own skate ramp in at least one local park. I understand that a proposal for a skate park is being developed by some teens (with adult supervision) at the NL State College and I know that our local Police Officer supports a skate park from a crime prevention perspective. I (and possibly others) have personally emailed Councillor Barlow and my wife has approached Stocklands on this issue.

With your support and assistance, the Focus Group will draw these independent forces together into a cohesive action plan.

Let the action begin!

I was recently leaving work and noticed a group of about 6 teenage boys practicing their skateboard tricks in our work carpark. I felt really bad having to tell them that they couldn't use our carpark for skateboarding (insurance reasons). The boy I spoke to was so polite and passed the message on to his friends who left with no fuss. As I got into my car I was trying to think of a safe & legal place these boys could skateboard in the estate- then realised there really wasn't one. Being a non-skateboarder myself (a pregnant skateboarder wouldn't look right!), and not having teenage children, I have never really thought about this before.

I'm fully supportive of any initiative to get a skatepark happening ASAP for these teenagers and I'm sure there will even be some younger (or even senior ) skateboarders joining in. I don't really have any expert knowledge about teenagers (apart from having been one) but would love to help where possible. I think its great to hear that there have been some students from the college already becoming proactive in planning a submission. I just hope they get the audience and support they deserve.

Ok

It looks like we are gathering a bit more momentum here now. Welcome henrycrun.

My apologies for my lack of contribution, I had some serious hiccups at work that have consumed my time and this has taken a backdoor.

henrycrun may I suggest, using internet protocols, that you dont post your phone number. It your privacy, but most would indicate that you post an innoculous public email address and use that medium to distribute your phone number to the world at large.


eitherway, again, its your choice.

I am willing to help, and contribute in a public forum and as a fellow poster has indicted, we need the councillor, we need stocklands, and we need the police on side, but not necessarily on board.


Lastly, I know we are focused on the skateboard park, but really, people, there are a lot of people that dont use it, and you would be loosing sight of the need to assist a greater share of the population. A skateboard park is a good start, but please, these activities only service about 1% of the population, and can potentially ostracsize ?? the other children from participating as they dont "fit" in, are physically unable, are psychologically unwilling, or there are other emotional reasons why they would not participate with the "skater kids".

So please, do not become obsessed with this, there are many many alternatives or additional items that can be undertaken.

Personally, I would like to think that we can persuade stockland to contribute the "community sports" ground to take into consideration facilities for our kids.

In the end, it is going to take our time, our resources, our skills to communicate and motivate our children into a multitude of physical emotional and psychological events to ensure stimulation motivatation and excitement amongst our young.

my email is simon_darley@hotmail.com for anybody that wouold like to email directly, or perhaps arrange a pre-meeting prior to the entire community meeting. it is better if a group of people proactive in this area can assist to facilitate and direct the community meeting rather than everybody turn up and with an unstructured group with little direction or focus.

There are some fantastic ideas floating around here. Good on every one of you who are willing to help, facilitate and make progress! When I was a teenager, no one ever asked me what I wanted in the community. As a result, we had the usual netball/basketball courts, the odd disco, and nowhere to meet friends and socialise. I thought to myself then, that when I had teenagers of my own, I would ask them what they wanted and try to do something about it. And now, here I am, with kids verging on the teen years living in a community that really has nothing for them. And so, I truly believe that before we do anything, we have to ask the teenage community of North Lakes what they want. If we, as parents, a group, a forum etc, approach the school (North Lakes State College) and provide a questionnaire for all the high school kids to respond to, I know they would be very approachable and cooperative. The school is very keen to maintain a good bond with the wider community and I have no doubt they would be more than willing to help. All we need to do is maybe meet up, put together a basic questionnaire on what the kids would like to see happening in their area, and then ask the school to distribute it. I am more than willing to co-ordinate this part as I work in the high school. What do you think guys?

Once we have done this ground work, we can concentrate on things that are really wanted rather than flounder around with something that will perhaps not be used or patronised. Just a thought.

Good onya HarryPotter

Questionnaires can be a work of art in itself, and should consist of at least two sections:

1. Closed questions, where the range of possible answers are pre-determined such as Do you want.... what level of importance would you apply....

2. Open questions, what do you currently in your spare time, what would you like to do in your spare time, what sort of budgetary constraints do you have, what sort of indoor activities would you participate in, what sort of outdoor... do you enjoy physical activities, team based activities, and so on.

The important part will be to gather as much feedback as possible from them in as short a period as possible. The form should be focused to what we want to achieve, and short enough to provide a clear focus on what we hope to achieve for them.


The focus group, when formed should have perhaps a 50/50 representation of older adults and younger adults with a chairman casting a vote in the event of deadlock.

Anyway, I think the following should be undertaken:

1. Initial older adults to be retired and reappointed when a more formal group of representatives are able to vote. Initial meeting to be held soon.
2. A questionnaire to be prepared and given to the school for feedback
3. An invitation to the same school for representatives (teachers and students alike)
4. Notice placed in the NLM requesting attendance of the wider community. Accept nominations for representatives to actively participate in the running and management of the group
5. Hold meeting, and accept nominations for the appiontment representatives from the community
6. Send letters to Stocklands, Mayor, and Councillors,
7. Establish the none profit community based organisation
8. Apply for state and federal government to request funding
9. Register as a tax dedutible gift recipient to assist inthe process of gaining funding from thelocal business community. Children and families with young children are not well endowed with cashflow and we need to implement a sstem of gaining cashflow quite early on.


Anyway, enough, as my wife says, I tend to go on and on about stuff....

Chat soon.

I have an update on the teen facilities issue. It now appears that there is an action plan already in place for teen activities within NL. I have been told that full details will be revealed within the next few weeks. Because I understand that this plan includes the confirmation of wider community support for various teen facilities and activities, I have decided to postpone my public notice intended for the next edition of the North Lakes Messenger until I know more.

Before I became aware of the developments above, I discovered the ‘North Lakes Stakeholders Group’ while investigating potential ‘mechanisms for change’ within NL’. The Stakeholders Group consists of representatives from PRSC/Pathways, Stocklands, Westfield, Local Police, NL State College (I think), NL Retirement Village and other (I think) community stakeholders. The Stakeholders have already held 2 meetings. I don’t know what their exact charter is, but I understand from reliable sources, that identifying and implementing NL community requirements is high on their agenda. Influencing this Stakeholders Group may be the most effective way for us to promote teen facilities in NL.

Regarding recent forum discussion about which teen facilities and activities are most appropriate, it seems to me that a skate park facility should be our first priority because of the safety issue. A skate park not only provides an activity for teens, it also enhances the safety of teens, road users, shoppers and younger children by separating the skaters from the rest of the community. I am confident that wider community support will confirm the existing evidence referred to in my previous post, in discussion on this forum and the local press, and observation of the Night Owl and Westfield Shopping Centre car parks, local streets and parks etc. When our teens are safely congregating in a skate park, away from our streets, playgrounds and shopping centre car parks, then we can survey the community for other less urgent preferences.

At the risk of labouring the skate park option, I think it would be a mistake to assume that the attraction of a skate park is limited just to skate boarders. Teens need a place to ‘hang out’ together – both boys and girls. If you observe skate park attendance in other places, you will see BMX riders, roller bladders, and socialising teens as well as skate boarders. This is why they are currently hanging out at the Night Owl.

Also, in terms of achievability and sustainability, skate parks are relatively cheaper to establish, maintain and vandal proof compared to other facilities. They also require minimal adult supervision apart from existing security and Police patrols. Another advantage of skate parks is their constant availability. I.e. they are available whenever teens want to meet somewhere. Constant availability is attractive to teens because they don’t need to ‘book in’ for an activity, or wait until ‘opening hours’ for access to a building. Skate park security can be enhanced with careful choice of location eg on a main road, with the use of good lighting and 24 hour video surveillance and appropriate signage.

North Lakes State College teens want a skatepark! I hear that a recent survey of teens at the local State College showed overwhelming support for a skate park. Watch this space!

Parent Survey in the recent NL Messenger. The action plan to provide NL teens with activities will require community support from parents of current teens and parents of future teens. I trust that all those of us who have indicated their support for teens on this forum have completed and submitted the Parent survey form in this weeks NL Messenger....... ?? If not, please do so. Our local Police Officer is working hard to get something going for our kids, so dont let him down.