Logan brought all of us who are working in Stronger Places, Stronger People communities together to share how we go about our work. Of particular interest to me were all the different ways we are telling the story of the changes we are making in our communities. We are all interested in data for decision making and stories for making sense of the data and deciding on what action we will take to make a change. We are all excited to continue to share our experiences and work together on the best ways of doing this.

Attending my first annual learning event has been a highlight of my first 12 months here at Burnie Works. The event provided a rich opportunity to learn from other communities and start to fully understand the bigger picture of the Stronger Places, Stronger People initiative. It was great to connect with members of Dept. Social Services and fellow communities, and I look forward to continuing to lean on each other and learn as we plough ahead with the work.

I just loved the connection to community that this conference provided. We had yarning circles in the local park, workshops in empty school classrooms, and were led to and from our activities by the students of Eagleby South State School. Having that real immersion in community certainly helped us to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by the Logan community.

Learning about the work done in other communities helped me to understand the concept of place-based, one size does not fit all. If I had to pick one highlight it would be Eagleby South State Primary school’s JOOMUNGIE LAND. A playground designed and constructed by local children. This playground cost nothing to build and is helping to secure the health and wellbeing of local children. When I first saw it, I thought what a mess. There were pallets, tyres, crates, dirt, tools and ropes everywhere. But then I saw the children in action and I saw the brilliance and the value of this kind of play using items with no predetermined use.