What Does it Mean to Have a Voice?

(Note: This piece was written by me - Josh Lynagh - a Councillor at the City of Mount Gambier.
Given this matter relates to Council, I'll clarify now that the following is my personal opinion and not the opinion of Council)

In March of this year, strong winds forced an 80-year-old Claret Ash tree in the Cave Gardens to fall. City Council were then left with the decision of what to do with the remains of the tree. While initial community conversation supported the idea of a sculpture, community consultation in the form of an online poll on this page, as well as conversation within the Council Chamber lead to the decision to replace the tree, and keep the wood aside. 

At the May Council Meeting, I presented a summary of the hundreds of comments and more than a thousand votes on the poll - as well as comments I'd received from kids at the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre about what they'd like to see happen. I suggested that in line with the general views of the community, we should not continue with the sculpture, and instead replace the tree. An amendment to this was put forward relating to the leftover wood and its potential use following the completion of the Public Arts Strategy.

Councillor Steve Perryman suggested a public ceremony be held to commemorate the planting, and to invite the current caretaker of the Cave Gardens Jamie Pearson, former caretaker Fred Robinson, and children from the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre.


This morning I had the honour of attending the ceremony alongside Mayor Andrew Lee, and Councillors Ian Von Stanke and Sonya Mezinec, and as you can tell from the photos - the kids had an absolute ball!

Jess Mills, the Assistant Director of the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre, said that this was an important event for the children, as they'd recently been talking about "What it means to have a voice."

"Being able to share the children's thoughts and ideas particularly about our community to its representatives, shows them the power of their voices."

The team at the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre wanted to learn more about not only how the children see the world around them, but also how the world sees them.

"I wondered how the children were seen and heard by the community, about how the children could feel a sense of belonging in our community and most importantly I, alongside the children, wanted to shout from every roof top how competent and capable children are."

While many may see the simple planting of a tree to be somewhat insignificant, there's more to it than that. Not only have these children learned that their voices are being heard and valued, but they've been given the opportunity to be involved in the process. Decades from now, these children can look at that tree and tell their children or grandchildren that they played a part in its planting. 

Traditionally, educators were there to teach children to read and write, to add and subtract, but the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre's approach of empowering children is just as important. If the next generation can feel valued, included, heard - then we've succeeded as a society.

(Harrison and Harlow from the Mount Gambier Childcare Centre, Mayor Andrew Lee, former caretaker Fred Robinson and current caretaker Jamie Pearson at today's ceremony)