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Submission on Halswell Skate and Recreation Park - Site Selection See the consultation document on the CCC website here: Prepared by Brittany Kremers,Christchurch Youth Council Executive Member Research obtained via a survey on the Christchurch Youth Council website. (http://www.chchyouthcouncil.org.nz) Our comments and suggestions on the proposed locations are based around research obtained via a survey on the Christchurch Youth Council website (http://www.chchyouthcouncil.org.nz): From the participants surveyed which were in the average age group of 17-20 year olds, 80 percent stated that The Halswell Domain would be best suited for the Skate and Recreation Park. The other 20 percent stated Scott Park would be suitable, due to its proximity to the centre of Halswell. The reasons given were mainly that it was close to the centre of Halswell and especially as there were already other useful facilities around. These facilities include public toilets, public pool, club rooms and a playground. There was comment made that the area was suitable as there would be no need to demolish buildings to allow for the Skate and Recreation Park. It would be an exciting new development for the Halswell Domain area and would pull together the fact that there are ‘other key things’ nearby that would compliment the Skate and Recreation Park. As the park would be well utilised by all age groups, there is definitely a need for public toilets nearby, and this idea provides for that. So in conclusion, based on the data collected, our survey participants primarily believe the community would benefit by having a skate park situated in the Halswell Domain, as it is a self-contained, safe space close to many other amenities. It would allow users to access a skate park right on their doorsteps, as opposed to needing to travel so far. EDIT: UPDATE! 
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 On Saturday 13th February, 2016, Christchurch Youth Council ran a retreat day for our members at Halswell Quarry Park. Our team had to build up a CYC ‘camp’ for the day, including getting a marquee set up (some people were learning this for the first time!), arranging food and prepping for the activities we had planned.
Kotte, from Yoga By Kotte arrived at 10am to teach our team yoga relaxation and meditation techniques for an hour, and it was clear by the smiles on everyone’s faces that they enjoyed this part of the day immensely! A favourite memory was Kotte encouraging everyone to relax their backs by being carried around like a backpack by someone else. This part of the day encouraged team spirit, oneness and broke down any awkwardness - and also flushed out the sleep! Next, Rochelle Faimalo from Hurunui District Council came to facilitate a session based around ‘Using your Strengths in the Christchurch Context’. For the first hour, we worked through activities which allowed us to unpack the experience of being young people in the earthquakes. It was really refreshing to see members who don’t ordinarily speak up having a say and the group processed their feelings together, which lent a real air of support to proceedings. Rochelle moved us from this activity to an analysis of our individual strengths as found through using Strengths Finder. The group got a lot out of talking about what their strengths might mean and how they might be useful to their lives and to our work with CYC. We then looked at how different people’s strengths intertwined - some potentially productive connections we made in this part of the day and we went into this topic in a great deal of depth and continued this work through lunch, which was delicious and involved a Youth Council favourite: pizza! Finally Rochelle moved to a physical activity where she used continuums to allow CYC to see where we fit amongst our peers on a number of topics and scenarios. This was illuminating as it allowed us to understand why our members think the way they do. After a short break, Emma Trott, of Flamme Rouge Personal Fitness, arrived to take us to the end of our day with some running around and team games to encourage a bit of bonding and friendly competition. It was very hot by this point in the late afternoon, so some members had to tap out from the physical activity but it was good to finish on a high. We really enjoyed the day. It was something we had all been looking forward to and by involving Strengths Finder to unlock ways to deal with the Christchurch context they all live in, we have been left with a lasting tool and set of strategies which will help us professionally and personally. The team spirit that grew through the day meant that new members felt welcome and the longer-serving members had a chance to really play great hosts to them. Being in the quarry was a great decision (had we hosted our event one day later, we would have been very scared thanks to the aftershock!), and we were undisturbed for the whole time we were there. We used the lack of venue costs to put more into the important thing - making change for our young people at CYC. In a strange way, talking about the earthquakes, processing how to deal with them and only focussing on strengths might well have meant that our team were in a stronger frame of mind to deal with the next day’s aftershock. It is, however, a reminder that we’re not out of the woods yet, and that grants for retreats like this are absolutely necessary to allow teams like ours to unload, process and repack their thoughts about this unique time we are living in. We are very grateful to CEAT and CYS for approving our grant.  TEDxYouth@AvonRiver was everything. Somehow CYC managed to go from taking a Passion Project with some potential to hosting the first TEDxYouth event on the South Island! We didn't get there alone, with many many people helping us along the way. This is the first time we've done anything like this. WESPEAK has been in many ways our conference-style practice ground for such a big leap as the world of TED. We certainly have never had a 6 camera outside broadcast, livestreamed over the internet...crazy! With many rules and regulations that come with working with a major global brand, we navigated a choppy course through 2015 to make it happen in the very nick of time. This was a huge undertaking for our small organisation and every part of our 3x3m office space was utilised to hold goodie bag stuff, t-shirts, equipment, catering stuff, furniture, props and it became an exciting hub for all the young people on the team. Working in such an energising way, all together, is THE dream of an organisation like ours and really fulfils what CYC is all about. This is young people, an employee and a hell of a lot of passion. There's not much that can't be achieved when you don't see the ceiling, you just see the stars. We would like to thank everyone on our organising team for helping out with TEDxYouth@AvonRiver. The volunteers, the young technical crew, the MCs, speakers and performers....and the audience - you all made this awesome! To our sponsors Christchurch City Council, Wayne Francis Charitable Trust and McAra, we are forever grateful for your support - it couldn't have happened without it. Let's do this again! We've applied for a licence renewal so we'll keep you posted! Here are the finished TED talks in all their glory (one more to come!): ...turned out rather nicely didn't it? Thanks to Youth Councillor Charmaine, Sonia Bongain (graphic designer) and the Winter Chill Fund for supporting Charmaine's project of a F2F events kit for CYC. We'll be using it this weekend at the LYFE Festival!
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