‘Parklets’ program extended
MICHAEL Harrison, Christine Chambers, Andrea Bowles and John Van Beek demonstrating petanque at Mornington Rose Garden while waiting for opening of their club’s “terrains” at Mount Martha. Picture: Yanni
Taking to the petanque terrain MOUNT Martha Bowls and Petanque Club is offering people of all ages and abilities the chance to get involved in the fast-growing sport of petanque, Friday 12 March. The 24-lane terrain next to the bowling greens in Watson Road,
Mount Martha will cater for players of all ages playing socially or competitively. It is said to be of “national standard”. A group of community-minded members paid for the petanque court, or terrain, which organiser Andrea
Bowles says has maximised the use of the area. New players are welcome to learn the game. Coaching is available. Contact: Andrea Bowles 0409 413 416 or email andreabowles@bigpond. com or mtmartha.bowls.com.au
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has extended all parklet permits until 30 April. It says the move follows consultation with traders and “positive feedback” from residents and visitors. The extended outdoor dining program allowed traders to temporarily use car parking spaces for outdoor dining in towns and shopping areas from Mount Eliza to Sorrento. The outdoor dining areas were separated from rods with fences, planter boxes and decking. The shire says most of 400 people asked in a January survey in Rosebud, Mount Eliza and Mornington gave the parklets a score of either nine or 10 (out of 10) and wanted them to be kept in place longer. It found that cafes and restaurants lost about 40 per cent of capacity due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, with the parklets able to return 90 per cent of that lost seating capacity. “Parklets have been a fantastic feature of our summer and can now be enjoyed until after Easter at no additional cost to traders,” the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor said. “While we have been fortunate to have had relatively few restrictions, there is still a need to social distance and remain COVID safe. Extending the parklets program will support our traders and allow us to continue to dine outdoors through autumn.” Traders wanting to return to normal trading conditions can pack the parklets up earlier by notifying the shire so that signs or infrastructure can be removed.
Eating habits THE Community Plate in conjunction with Peninsula Health and Monash University would like to hear from the public about their experiences of accessing and eating healthy food, including fruit and vegetables Associate Professor Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Claire Palermo said the survey responses would help gather insights into healthy eating habits. “It will ultimately help our team to develop a promotional campaign focused on improving healthy eating outcomes in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula regions,” Ms Palermo said. The survey asks questions like: How many serves of fruit do you usually eat each day? And how often do you eat vegetables with your lunch? “We want to get an understanding about what is important to our community and what barriers may exist in regards to choosing healthy options,” Ms Palermo said. By completing the survey respondents can go into the draw to win a hamper of local products to the value of $100. “We will also be running community workshops in the near future, and we would like for people to register to attend those so they can contribute their ideas about this very topical issue.” To take part in the survey, or to register our interest in the community workshops visit: research.net/r/ TheCommunityPlate2021
Mornington News
9 March 2021
PAGE 17