New playground open at Long Beach

A new all-ages recreation park in Long Beach opened just in time for the school holidays, and dozens of children have been visiting daily to experience the new playground, exercise equipment, basketball half court and scooter track.

Eurobodalla Council’s community, arts and recreation director Kathy Arthur said the upgrade to the park at Sandy Place was identified in Council’s Recreation and Open Space Strategy adopted in 2018.

“Long Beach is a growing community with hundreds of young people, so it is fantastic to be able to deliver this planned upgrade for everyone to enjoy,” she said.

“The new play and recreation equipment complements the existing picnic and barbecue facilities already at the popular beachside Sandy Place reserve. We’ve also put in connecting paths from the car park to the toilet block and basketball court to improve accessibility while maintaining a lovely natural feel to this open space.”

Subject to the latest Public Health guidance, up to 20 community members and Council staff will gather at Sandy Place reserve on National Tree Day, Sunday 2 August, to complete the park’s finishing touches.

They’ll plant hundreds of native grasses and shrubs in garden beds along the park’s perimeter, which will also help to keep vehicles off the child-friendly reserve.

Council’s natural resources supervisor Heidi Thomson will coordinate volunteers on the day. She said that although National Tree Day events had been officially cancelled, Long Beach community members were keen to get involved.

“We already had the planting lined up, so this is an unofficial recognition of Australia's largest community tree planting event,” she said.

“This is a great example of how the community and Council’s combined ideas have blossomed into a park that has something for everyone, and the natural gardens will just top it off.

“We’ll be limiting attendance numbers and making sure we maintain appropriate social distancing and hygiene measures. There are plenty of plants and plenty of space for everyone.”

Visit the new park at Sandy Place, Long Beach, or find another playground to visit with our interactive map of shire playgrounds.