LAUNCHING earlier this week, the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and Sunshine Coast Council have teamed up to create an innovative real world student pilot project dubbed Sunshine Coast Community Co-Lab.
As GC&M News revealed last month (September 20 edition) a community engagement project for Glass House Mountains Village launched through the pilot model is set to provide an opportunity to bring together the community, staff and students of the UniSC and Council.
People can share their thoughts about their village, how it functions, its character and identity via an online survey, or in person next month when the Co-Lab team visits the area.
Division 1 Councillor Rick Baberowski said this exciting Co-Lab Pilot Project would be a genuinely cooperative process for students and the community to work together to explore and evaluate potential design and placemaking ideas that could improve, re-define or even transform the Glass House Mountains Village.
“The project seeks to dive deeply into the community’s lived experience and vision to help create places that are more sustainable and better reflect their distinctive identity moving more confidently forward into the future,” Cr Baberowski said.
Cr Baberowski said to keep an eye out for UniSC students in the village during November, who will be undertaking field work by engaging directly with the Glass House Mountains community.
“They want to understand what you love about the township and will also workshop placemaking ideas and opportunities for the village.
“We aim to utilise the range of local knowledge and skills to help problem solve and co-create solutions to make places more inclusive, sustainable and liveable.
“Everyone is encouraged to take a moment to have their say. It’s nice and early in the process so we really want everyone to have a say now.
The online survey is open now and closes on November 4 and can be found at https://haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/glass-house-mountains-village-centre-place-co-lab-pilot-project
“Your valuable experience and input will help the students identify potential urban design and placemaking opportunities for the village, as well as any placemaking processes council may undertake in the future,” said Cr Baberowski.
UniSC Program Coordinator Nicholas Stevens said they were calling on all Glass House Mountains residents, local businesses and community organisations to get involved.
“This is an opportunity to ensure the Glass House Mountains remains a special place that reflects its community’s values,” Dr Stevens said.
“This is a unique opportunity for up to 20 UniSC students from multi-disciplinary areas to engage in a process of work-integrated learning that enables professional growth and development.
“Through meaningful engagement, students will collect perceptions about the qualities of Glass House Mountains that are important to the community and identify a range of environmental, economic and social aspects of the Glass House Mountains community.
“The findings from this project will allow for greater understanding and insights to the qualities that communities identify as important to them.”
