Bulli mum calls for playground shade

Bulli mum Yvette Farmer has been campaigning for shade at Illawarra playgrounds. She’s contacted Health Minister Ryan Park, MP for Keira, called Wollongong City Council and started a Change.org petition that had almost 400 signatures in June.

Yet action may not come in time for the current generation of children.

“Mr Park says it’s a council matter. However, council say they don’t have the funds and need state or external funding,” Yvette told the Flame.

“I’ve spoken to numerous people [at council], who have been helpful. They are pro shade and pro trees, but they’re very reluctant to spend any money. They basically told me they only upgrade parks every few years, so maybe next time.

“I was joking with the guy from council. I said, so by the time my kids are 25, there’ll be some excellent playground for them to walk past.”

Bulli Beach playground was upgraded in 2022 but it has no trees and putting in shade cloths is prohibitively expensive. “Shade cloths cost more than a entire park upgrade,” Yvette says.

“[Ward 1 councillor] Mithra Cox has been awesome. She’s pro shade and park. But she said vandalism is a big problem. I know at Nicholson Park [in Woonona] there’s some banksia trees that just keep getting chopped down when they get to a certain height.”

A former teacher, Yvette has a health science degree and has worked on a project with Western Sydney University and Greening Australia about the impact of trees in schools. She has two children, a three-year-old and a baby. “In summer basically from 10 o’clock till 4pm I don’t think those parks are a safe place to take my family.”

Yvette says the concern about hot playgrounds is universal among parents she meets. “Every person I talk to says, oh my gosh, yes … It’s not just about going to a playground and hopping on a swing. It’s where mums and dads meet each other – we’ve made some of our best friends at playgrounds.”

Hot playgrounds take a toll on mental health too, she says. “You’ve got the parents with little kids who are isolated at home in a really vulnerable time of life when you need social connection and support. And also for kids, you want them to bump into each other, and run around and get dirty, and learn all those skills in a safe outdoor setting.”

Council – which looks after more than 150 playgrounds across the city – responded to Yvette’s petition, with a spokesperson saying, “In recent years we have planted hundreds of shade trees around high-need playgrounds, such as Woonona’s Nicholson Park Playground, under our Urban Greening Program.

“It will take time for trees to establish to point where they provide adequate shade, so as these trees grow we encourage our residents to continue to be sun smart when they head outdoors.

“The Urban Greening Program will be supported by a new Tree Management Policy which comes into effect on 1 July 2023 … Once this new policy is in use, we will soon start local consultation on proposed shade tree planting along the new shared pathway along Ursula Rd, Bulli. We will also investigate options for additional tree planting for shade at the Bulli Beach playground.”

Yvette said: “Council are doing  a fantastic job with Urban Greening. However, Bulli Beach Park and Nicholson Park, which are both extremely high-use playgrounds, have almost zero shade. It’s not good enough to build a new playground and not plant a single tree.

“We need playgrounds with numerous (substantial) trees within the play space, as well as around the edges, and investment in shade cloths, as the trees will take years to grow. Without this, our kids will end up with serious burns from hot equipment.

“Community consultation is happening, 400 people and counting want shade for our community.”

Neighbourhood Forum 3 will add the issue to the agenda for its next meeting, to be held on August 2 at Bulli Community Centre.

To sign the petition, click here

Yvette has also consulted Dr Sebastian Pfautsch at the University of Western Sydney about best practice at public playgrounds – click here to read his Guide to Climate-Smart Playgrounds