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The Burnside Community Centre has welcomed a bright new artwork created by talented Glenside resident Eksha Patidar, who is excited to call Burnside home.

The large mural piece, which can be found in the corridor of the Burnside Community Centre, took over two weeks for Eksha to complete and features dozens of elements that make up the local Council area. This includes references to the Regal Theatre, local wellbeing programs, Council activities and more.

Eksha said she was excited to have the opportunity to paint the mural and that it was a way to “give back to the community.”

“For a long time, the passageway had a blank wall and it was Darren’s (Community Centres team leader) idea to have a mural that represents community, a tree that has things related to our local community,” Eksha said.

“The idea is that whoever sees the mural can connect themselves to it, they can see something there that relates to them and something they do in their daily life. Inclusiveness was the main idea behind this mural.”

Eksha and her 12-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son moved to Adelaide from Mumbai last year, after her husband Branav arrived in 2020.

“My husband came here for a few weeks for work during 2020 just as Covid started, while me and my family were in Mumbai, and the borders closed and he was stuck here,” Eksha said.

“We were not able to meet again for 20 months, for almost two years we were separated and when we came to Adelaide it felt like home.”

Eksha said Burnside Community Centre soon became her “second home” following the move as she began to volunteer at the community desk.

“When I got here, I spent a lot of time at the Burnside Community Centre and they just opened their arms to me,” Eksha said.

Tricia (Community Centres coordinator) and Darren gave me the opportunity to host art classes here for people, which I still do, and I am so blessed to have met them.

“From there I’ve had other great opportunities including painting pieces of furniture here in the community centre.”

Eksha is now looking forward to the future with her family, with her two children loving the nearby local parks and playgrounds in the Glenside area.

“This is such a lovely community here with so many amazing people. We are very happy to live here,” Eksha said.

Eksha Patidar and Mayor Anne Monceaux with the mural.

Mayor Anne Monceaux brings you the latest news from across the City of Burnside, including:

✅ Volunteers celebrated at the Regal Theatre during National Volunteer Week
✅ Your Neighbourhood Budget voting open now (www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au/your-neighbourhood-budget-2023-vote-today)
✅ Reconciliation Week celebration morning tea to be held on Friday 2 June in the Burnside Ballroom
✅ Have your say now on your rates in the Draft Annual Business Plan and Budget (bit.ly/DABPB2023)

Did you know that planting trees on your property can help to keep your neighbourhood cool during a heatwave? Trees, plants and other green surfaces can deflect radiation from the sun, release moisture into the atmosphere and keep areas shaded throughout the day to help take the edge off the heat.

As can be seen in these images, hard asphalt surfaces can reach temperatures of over 65 degrees Celsius when exposed to prolonged sunlight on a hot day, while nearby asphalt covered by shade can be almost 30 degrees Celsius cooler – look at the difference! Artificial lawn can get even hotter, reaching temperatures of almost 80 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile natural lawn protected by shade cover can reach a far more comfortable 35 degrees Celsius.

Preserving our urban canopy throughout our streets, parks and reserves is crucial in reducing the impacts of urban heat in summer, and you can support this at home too. Caring for trees on your property and planting new ones is the best way to care for the local environment and keep your neighbourhood cool.

To encourage the planting of native trees on private land, Council holds a Native Tree Giveaway every year which allows residents, schools and community groups to apply for one or more tree vouchers valued up to $75. This year’s giveaway is open now until 30 September, giving you the chance to help support our natural environment by planting native trees on your land. Find out more at www.burnside.sa.gov.au/Environment-Sustainability/Trees/Native-Tree-Giveaway

Shaded grass on a 40 degree day, February 2023Unshaded artificial turf on a 40 degree day, February 2023Shaded asphalt on a 40 degree day, February 2023 Unshaded asphalt on a 40 degree day, February 2023

With the annual Local Native Plant Giveaway set to open for Burnside residents on 2 June, now is the perfect time to think about ways to develop biodiversity in your backyard.

St Georges resident Kay Loechel has received plants from Council’s Local Native Plant Giveaway for the past two years and has planted wildflowers, grasses and shrubs to support native bees, butterflies and birds.

Kay said she got involved as she wanted her backyard to provide a space where local wildlife could thrive.

“I was trying to recreate the habitat for native birds, bees and butterflies, so I chose a range of plants from groundcovers through to larger shrubs and a few small trees. I have a small backyard and so far it’s been a success, I’m seeing a lot of native wildlife visiting,” Kay said.

“I bought this property four-and-a-half years ago and I designed a look I wanted, had a landscaper conduct the heavier works and remove the lawn, and from there I was able to plant the tube stock and other plants I received from the giveaway in 2021.

“If people are looking to introduce native plants to their garden it can just be a small space rather than an entire lawn area, even that will make a difference and will be worthwhile to attract native wildlife to their yard. Once established the plants are fabulous and low maintenance.

“I think adding native plants to your backyard is really worthwhile and I encourage people to get involved in this year’s giveaway.”

Kay, who also grows a wide variety of vegetables at home, was recently a runner up in the City of Burnside’s Environment Awards in the Inspiring Garden category and said she is now looking at opportunities to beautify the verge outside her home.

Every plant in the giveaway is grown by our hard-working volunteers at the Biodiversity Nursery on Conyngham Street. We use only local seed or cutting material to ensure conservation of local genetics.

Council’s Technical Officer Conservation and Land Management Dr Mark Ellis said the Local Native Plant Giveaway was a great opportunity for residents to diversify the plant life in their garden and provide a home for various species of wildlife.

“The local native species we have on offer have grown in the Burnside area for thousands of years and having them in your garden is the best way to encourage birds and beneficial insects to come to your property,” Mark said.

“Biodiversity is so important for things such as pollination – for example, native blue-banded bees are vital in the pollination of food plants such as tomatoes, as well as other species that cannot be pollinated by European honeybees.

“The volunteers at the Biodiversity Nursery have been hard at work cultivating species for this year’s giveaway, which is always very popular. We invite the community to order their plants online and get involved.”

While the plant giveaway is free for residents, we do encourage a gold coin donation for each plant to support charity. Last year over $3,000 was raised for Koala Rescue Inc, with almost 4,000 plants collected by the community.

You can redeem your plants from 2 June at www.burnsidebiodiversity.com.au

Kay Loechel at home with native plants collected from the Local Native Plant Giveaway.

Come along to the REMAKE exhibition at Pepper Street Arts Centre. This exhibition will run from 30 July – 25 August 2023 as part of the South Australian Living Artist Festival (SALA) Festival, a statewide festival of visual art.

This is an exhibition of upcycled, recycled and re-used objects by over 45 artists working in mixed media bringing to life the phrase ‘everything old is new again’. The artwork is diverse and the ideas and concepts come from an amazing place of creativity that highlights the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability.

Local artist Henry Mancini, of Glen Osmond, makes sculptures out of abandoned metal and electrical wire and his work will be part of this exhibition.

Henry says his inspiration comes from old "bits ‘n’ pieces" from his late father’s workshop. He’s kept these materials for many years before deciding to start repurposing them. They are materials that can be found in workshops and toolboxes in everyday backyard sheds.

“For me it is a natural process that evolves. I look at an item such as a motor from an old drill and repurpose it into an artistic piece,” Henry said.

Henry is looking forward to displaying his work and gives us some insight into the process.

“It’s a journey of discovery and I become absorbed in this relaxing, imaginative and rewarding process,” Henry said. “It is a vision which involves trial and error with a lot of welding, fixing, and remodelling with a purpose.”

The community launch event is on Sunday 30 July at 2 pm featuring artist demonstrations, live music and a guest speaker. Enjoy complimentary drinks and nibbles on arrival.

Free artist demonstrations will feature on each Saturday afternoon of the exhibition. Please see bit.ly/PepStExhibits for more information.

Henry Mancini with several of his works at his Glen Osmond home.

Over 60 new pieces of stobie pole art have been installed across the City of Burnside, with the artworks provided by local schools and groups through the assistance of a community grant.

Devised by resident Natania Huff, the aim of her community grant application was to beautify local streets, involve local youth in an engaging project and provide wider education around Kaurna culture on the path to reconciliation.

Each artwork depicts images of native plants from the Burnside area, as well as the Kaurna names for them and an acknowledgement of our place on Kaurna Country.

Natania said she reached out to a variety of schools and groups to assist her in creating the artworks and bringing the project to life.

“I was really thrilled with the positive feedback I got from five our of our local schools, ranging from kindergarten through to high schools, as well as three groups – two Girl Guide groups and a local Scout group,” Natania said.

“It’s definitely been very much supported by the younger people and those that are working with younger people in our area, and I think it’s going to get conversations starting about reconciliation, about nature, about language.”

The community grant provided to Natania covered the expenses of materials including the wooden panels, paint and paintbrushes, allowing the schools and groups involved to participate without incurring any costs.

Once the painted panels were completed they were collected by the Shed on Conyngham Street, where Shed participants applied several coats of clear varnish to protect the panels from external weather conditions. The varnished panels were then collected by the depot team who installed them across various streets in Beulah Park Kensington, Kensington Park and Leabrook.

The final step was for City of Burnside staff to travel to each artwork to photograph them, add a QR code and create an online interactive map matching their locations. By photographing these QR codes, you can find out more about the specific artwork, including who painted it and the significance of the plant depicted.

Marryatville Primary School teacher Lyn Kaeding said her students were excited to be involved in the project and contribute to a community project.

“We were really lucky to have a parent like Natania come to the school and offer us an opportunity to be more involved in the local community – to go beyond the school gates, to do something that helped link cross curricular work so students were able to have a better understanding of Kaurna culture,” Lyn said.

“All three Year 5 classes participated in putting together drafts in a design phase for the different species of plants. This meant that every student had an opportunity to share their ideas and their creativity and from that we chose one example for each of the plant species to go to the final stage of painting.”

To assist with translations from English to Kaurna language, Natania worked with Kaurna woman and Marryatville Primary School teacher Sherrell Dyer who is a member of Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi (KWK). KWK is the leading group in South Australia dedicated to Kaurna language revitalisation and maintenance and provides translations from English.

Sherrell said she was pleased to work with Natania on the project and bolster student learning around Kaurna culture.

“Natania’s opened up a whole page of wonderful learning and I’ve really enjoyed talking with her about the project because it brought back memories of me growing up and learning lots of my culture and sharing that with her,” Sherrell said.

For Natania, Kaurna representation has been paramount throughout the project.

“KWK have kindly been involved with giving permissions for both the names of plants as well as the wording of “We’re on Kaurna Country” in Kaurna language as well,” she said.

“It’s been really important to me to, at all times, put their voices into this project and to ensure that they consider it’s a respectful reflection of their culture and what’s important to them in the path to reconciliation as well.”

If you want to find the locations of these stunning new artworks, Council will upload an online interactive map to the City of Burnside website in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on our social media pages for further information.

The City of Burnside is proud to continue to support the community through the Quick Response Grants program, with two Kensington Park brothers recently receiving financial support to travel to an interstate volleyball competition where they claimed bronze medals for South Australia.

Sam and Luke Huddleston both competed in the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships in the Under 15 and Under 17 categories respectively, with the aspiring athletes reaching the podium against strong competition in Queensland.

The brothers said they were proud to represent South Australia and enjoyed their athletic experience interstate.

“Our bronze medal match against Queensland was a tough game but we knew we could get through if we worked hard,” Luke said.

“I was really proud of the boys, I think we did really well,” Sam said.

The sibling duo are now aiming to improve their game and hope to achieve even more podium finishes for South Australia.

Eligible individuals can apply for a maximum of $150 for state events/competitions, $300 for interstate events/competitions and $500 for international events/competitions. Eligible community groups can apply for a maximum of $500. Applications are now open for 2023/24 funding. Find out more at bit.ly/QuickResponseGrantsBurnside

Sam (left) and Luke (right) with their bronze medals.

Wooton Lea was build in Glen Osmond was built by Francis Hardy Faulding circa 1861. Designed by local architect James MacGeorge (1835 - 1918), the large stone house included 17 rooms, with a kitchen and laundry and an extensive garden. MacGeorge is also known for his work designing the first park of the Savings Bank of South Australia on King William Street. The third owner of Wooton Lea, Arthur Crossing (1871 - 1952), sold the mansion in 1921 to Presbyterian Girls' College, now known as Seymour College.

Since 1938, the house has been known as Barr Smith House and continues to be used by and cared for by Seymour College. In 1989 it was confirmed as a State Heritage Place.

Photo: A group of people sitting in the garden at Wooton Lea circa 1880. Courtesy of State Library of South Australia, B 61332.

Mayor Anne Monceaux brings you the latest news from across the City of Burnside, including:

✅ New Reconciliation artwork installed at the City of Burnside
✅ Draft Annual Business Plan and Budget and Long Term Financial Plan now open for consultation (bit.ly/DABPB2023)
✅ National Volunteers Week begins on Monday 15 May
✅ Consultation approved for 40km/h speed limits in Magill and part of Kensington Gardens.

Find out more about what's going on in the City of Burnside at www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au