Skate park murals bring sense of belonging for Lake Mac students

Published on 13 September 2023

A ‘Lake Ness Monster’ has emerged from the deep in Bolton Point as school students inject some colour into local skate parks as part of a citywide mural project.

Lake Macquarie City Council Manager Community Partnerships Andrew Bryant said the fire-breathing denizen of the deep at Bolton Point Skate Park was dreamt up as part of a collaboration with Year 6 students from Fennell Bay Public School and creative community engagement providers Up&Up.

“We wanted to brighten skate parks throughout Lake Mac, but we also wanted to engage local kids and foster a sense of ownership that has shown time and again to be hugely beneficial in the long term,” Mr Bryant said.

Work is set to begin on Thursday 14 September on the skate park at Pasterfield Sports Complex at Cameron Park, while students spent a day last week putting the finishing touches to the Bolton Point mural, and another one recently at Bonnells Bay.

Mr Bryant said students came up with the design ideas, attended spray-paint workshops and then helped bring their artistic creations to life.

“It’s a much more involved process than simply picking up a spray can and painting between the lines,” he said.

“It gets young people involved and makes them feel like a valued member of a team.”

Up&Up Director Faith Curtis said there were myriad benefits of such hands-on projects, from building self-confidence to showing youth that their opinions and input mattered.

“It’s really important to allow young people to understand that they have a voice in their community,” she said.

“You see their self-confidence grow throughout the program, where they feel they can actually achieve something collectively that’s not just for them – it’s for the wider community.”

The project is funded by the NSW Government’s Graffiti Management Program.