Author Archives: Lianda

Fairy door project a great success

Posted on July 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

Transition Town Guildford’s recent fairy door making workshops in the Guildford Library were a great success. Places were in demand, with both sessions booking out within days. Local children at Guildford Library storytime and Guildford Family Playgroup also participated in the activity during the week.
In total, over sixty local children enthusiastically created magical fairy, elf and goblin doors that are now placed throughout Guildford and surrounding suburbs.

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Adorning the fairy doors with as much bling as possible (glitter, glue and baubles) was extremely popular with the younger age group, whilst older kids chose their items more carefully and made some truly stunning creations. Even a few parents got in on the action, making a door just for themselves!

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Feedback from the workshops was extremely positive – the kids had a great time and lots of fairy doors on verges and in front gardens have sprung up throughout Guildford. One family embraced a sustainability theme and created a recycled fairy palace.

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Parents also reported that the event fostered a fabulous sense of connection with their community – exactly what the playbourhood initiative is all about. The local press covered the event, with very excited little girl getting her picture in the Echo.

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Delighted little girl shows off her fairy door creation

We will be planning more playbourhood initatives in the coming months and would love you to get involved. To find out more info, contact Lianda on lianda19@hotmail.com or 0411 066 595.

A photo display of the fairy doors will be up in Guildford Library for another couple of weeks – totally worth a visit to check out!

If you missed out making a fairy door here in Guildford and/or live Gosnells way, then Transition Town Gosnells are running a Fairy Gate Making session at Wilby Place Reserve in Thornlie on 9th July at 10am – looks fantastic!!!

Click here to join the playbourhood community on facebook.

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Photo display of children’s fairy doors in Guildford Library

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Posted in Playbourhood

Fairy doors bring a bit of magic to Guildford

Posted on May 6, 2015 | Leave a comment

Do your children love the magical world of fairies, elves and pixies? Would they like to create their very own fairy door for your front yard?

Transition Town Guildford (TTG) has won a grant to run fairy door making workshops for local children in Guildford and surrounds. The workshops will be held to celebrate National Families Week (15 to 21 May).

The 45 minute workshops will be hosted at Guildford Library. The workshops are aimed at children aged 3 to 8, but younger and older children are very welcome to participate.

In the workshop, children will be shown how to create a basic fairy door from balsa wood and pop sticks*. Once the fairy door has been put together, children can then build their own magical creations using selection of buttons, beads, glitter, paint, ribbons, string and many other items.

Once children have completed their fairy door, a photo will be taken of their creation and added to a display in the library. We then encourage you to take your door home and attach it to a tree on your verge or front yard, or your fence or that of a neighbour (with permission of course).

Then you and your children can hunt for fairy doors all around Guildford. Fairy door game sheets will be available from the library and we challenge you to see how many you can find!

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When: Saturday 16 May, 11am – 11.45am OR Monday 18 May, 3.30pm – 4.15pm
Where: Guildford Library, 97 James Street, Guildford

Click here to book a place for your child at one of the above workshop.  Please book a place for each child who will be attending and advise of their name and age.

Children attending Storytime on Monday at the library will also have an opportunity to decorate a fairy door, however no bookings are required for this session.

If your children are not able to attend the workshop but would like to participate, please email lianda19@hotmail.com and we will send you an instruction sheet on how to create a fairy door; alternatively these will be available in the library during National Families Week.

* Please note that a low heat hot glue gun will be available to use at the workshop only under parental supervision. A parent or carer will need to remain in the library during the workshop.

Kindly supported by the Department of Local Government and Communities

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10 things YOU can do to create a PLAYbourhood

Posted on February 26, 2015 | Leave a comment

1. Just ‘hang out’ at the front of your house, have breakfast or a cuppa out on the veranda, or a picnic lunch/dinner on the front lawn. The kids will find things to play with and you’ll likely meet plenty of passers by; some will probably stop for a chat.

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2. Put a cubby, trampoline or other fun items for children out the front of your house. Invite the neighbourhood kids to come and play. You may find your street really only needs one or two of these big ticket items.

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3. Have you got the perfect driveway for bikes and scooters? Then how about inviting kids to use your driveway to practice their skills. You could put some chalk elements on the driveway as an invitation.

4. Super simple, cheap and as easy as can be, tie a large rope to your letter box or a tree in your front yard and invite kids to skip. This could also be a great chance for local residents to stop for a bit incidental exercise on their morning or evening walk.

5. Have you got a great tree in your front yard that you could put a tree swing in? They are irresistible to kids and you are guaranteed to get passers by having a go.

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6. Buy a big bucket of chalk and add chalk games to your driveway, pavement or street. If you make a different one each week, kids will be intrigued to find out what’s coming next. Hopscotch is a big favourite here, but we’ve also done target practice with a chalk bullseye and bean bags. Leave plenty of chalk out the front as an invitation for kids to draw.

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7. Plant fruit trees and/or build veggie patches out the front or your house. If you are happy to share produce; put up a sign saying kids are welcome to help themselves. Cherry tomatoes and beans are a winner with small hands. Front yard gardening is a GREAT way to meet your neighbours.

8. Place a geocache in your front yard. Geocaching is a world wide treasure hunt where small treasures are hidden and GPS coordinates recorded on an app. Hunters download the app and search for any treasures near them. You could quickly become the most popular house in the neighbourhood.

9. What about organising a street party, either for a special occasion like Easter or Christmas, or just because you feel like it? Pick a date and put some flyers in your neighbours letter boxes. You can either hold it on a suitable verge, your front yard or even apply to the council to close of your street. Some councils have programs to support street parties, or you may be able to apply for a grant.

10. Tear down your fence! Okay, this might seem a bit radical (especially if you’ve just built one) and sometimes it’s just not practical (if you live on a main road), but let’s face it, high front yard fences are a barrier to creating community. If you don’t really need that fence, then maybe you could consider removing it, or replacing it with a low picket or wire fence. If you were considering putting one up, perhaps reconsider.

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And of course if you don’t have a front yard, or yours is just not suitable for kids to play in, you can still build the playbourhood by playing out the front at family, friends and neighbours. See you in the playbourhood!

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Posted in Community, Playbourhood

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