Cleanest and Friendliest Beach

Frankston received two awards at the third Annual Victorian Sustainable Cities and Clean Beach Challenge Awards.

Frankston City Council was nominated as a finalist in numerous categories including:

• Clean Beach Challenge Natural Heritage Award.
• Sustainable Cities Environmental Innovation Award.
• Sustainable Cities Zero waste Award.
• Clean Beach Challenge Resource Conservation and Waste Management Award.
  

Council is pleased to announce it was the winner of the following two categories:

• Clean Beach Challenge Friendly Beach Award
  
  Recognising the importance of visitor hospitality and safety, instructive and easily understood local information facilities and evidence of commitment to, and active promotion of, visitor friendliness.
  
• Victoria's Overall Cleanest Beach Award (Major Award)
  
  The Cleanest Beach Award takes into account a beach's geographic, environmental and economic circumstances, and assesses how efficiently and effectively the community uses the resources available to it against a range of criteria, including tidiness and litter abatement, visitor friendliness and hospitality, fauna and flora management activities, community interaction, youth activities, resource conservation and waste management, and local government partnership with a community.
  

To win these awards it highlights the efforts of numerous individuals and teams within Frankston City Council, including the Visitor Information Centre team, Ambassadors, Foreshore Reserve Rangers, Infrastructure and Urban Strategy, InfraServ and, of course the Frankston Beach Association. Congratulations!

Following the win, Frankston City Council will represent Victoria in the National Competition which will be held in Hobart early next year.  Last year Balnarring won the Victorian award for the second time and followed it up by taking out the Australian Beach Clean Challenge for 2006.  Given the continual high standard of Victorian beaches, Council views Frankston as a great chance to take the big award for 2007.

SunSmart Playground Wins Awards

Frankston City Council's Waterfront Regional Playground has won the SunSmart Metropolitan Shade Award for 2007, presented by Mike Larken, Channel 10 weather forecaster.

Council's Joanne Elvish, Owen Pietsch and Sally Prideaux (pictured above) were on hand to collect the award.

The Cancer Council of Victoria was extremely impressed by the shade provided and the family friendly design of the Waterfront Regional Playground.

"Frankston City Council's Waterfront Regional Playground project demonstrated a creative, inclusive process from design through to development. There was extensive public consultation during the planning and design process.

"The materials used in the shade structures were 95 per cent UV protective and there is incorporation of natural shade. This area has become a focal point for families to play and relax and the evaluation of the project has proven very successful with a range of shaded play opportunities."

Frankston City Mayor, Councillor Glenn Aitken, said the award is a great honour for the City, as helping children to be sun smart has a lifelong impact on their health.

"Much skin damage in Australia is caused by excessive sun exposure during childhood. Parents, as the main guardians of children's health, need to exercise common sense where outdoors activities are concerned, but it is also important for Council to provide facilities that allow children to enjoy the outdoors in a safe and sun smart environment."