Youth project teams take their first steps

June 30th, 2015
[by David Armstrong]

Three small youth-oriented projects will kick off during July as a result of the follow-up meeting last night of the Motueka Youth Summit.

More than 20 people, about half of them teenagers, attended the well organised meeting (led by Marlen O'Donnell and Jonty Comins) at the Top 10 Holiday Park conference centre, aiming to narrow down ideas for youth activities into a few that could actually begin straightaway and not rely on the money and time of adults.

The first of the three projects was to set up a fitness group, where people 17 years and under could get together from time to time and take part in recreational activities, especially in the great outdoors.

Simple activities could include mountain biking, a run around the estuary, and kicking a ball around on Goodman Park. The Recreation Centre would be able to help with some equipment.

The second project, popular among quite a few attending last night, will build around their passion for creating music.

A member of the Riverside Community invited the young musicians to take over the Riverside Music Festival this summer, as the normal organiser will not be doing it this year.

Starting the build up to this event, it was decided to host an open mic event, probably at Imagine Theatre, before the end of July.

This could also coincide with the launch of the High Street piano (pictured, right), which has been donated, has sturdy wheels attached for moving around (donated by Mitre 10), and is being painted.

The group hope to use Imagine Theatre from time to time as a venue for music sharing and learning.

The third project, which is not just for young people, is to provide mobile bookshelves in open spaces around town for people to give and take used books freely.

The initial locations chosen were at Toad Hall, where the cafe is actually building their own exchange bookcase right now, at the Recreation Centre, and hopefully outside Muses Cafe beside the Museum.

This idea is common in other towns and cities where it operates very nicely as a free, simple and informal book exchange. (Example photo, right.) If it is successful, the young people will look at providing them at a few other locations where people often pass.

During the meeting the book exchange proposal was posted on Facebook and within an hour people had already donated books and potential book shelves for the project.

The young people agreed that one thing necessary for youth activities to be developed further would be a place where notices and other event advertising could be displayed prominently, and several of them are already investigating possible places for such a noticeboard.

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