Several community groups based in Eden have joined forces to deal with the challenges facing the town after a horror start to 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Eden Chamber of Commerce (Our Eden) began informal discussions with the Eden Community Access Centre (ECAC) and Eden Visitor Information Centre (EVIC) before the end of 2019 in a bid to help progress several long-term collaborative initiatives.
Joanne Korner, chairwoman of Imagine Eden, said, after the devastating bushfires over summer, a group of passionate locals formed with a view to achieving a number of projects, initially in the short term, including a food festival over Easter, which sadly had to be cancelled.
At its meeting in early February, the chamber voted to form a Recovery and Resilience Committee with the purpose of focusing on all aspects of the challenges Eden was facing as a result of the fires.
"Members of the ECAC and the newly formed Imagine Eden group were in attendance and agreed that whilst each group had a different approach, all had the wellbeing and livelihood of the community at heart," Ms Korner said.
ECAC has added Imagine Eden to its auspiced project groups, having already taken the Eden Fitness Trail project under its umbrella.
Simultaneously, the EVIC has engaged the local tourism industry to develop a wishlist of short, medium and long term projects.
It is also progressing its eventual move to the new Cruise Welcome Centre at Snug Cove and developing both five and 10 year strategic plans.
Each group is meeting regularly, now via Zoom or social media, to initiate and support several projects including:
- Progressing the all-abilities playground and the skate park (already funded, awaiting commencement)
- New clubrooms at the Barclay Street sports complex and the Eden Fitness Trail near the RSL Hall (already funded, awaiting commencement)
- Upgrade lighting in the main street, including feature lighting
- Large town map as once existed near a former retail shopfront
- Signage update, particularly to the south near the Eden RFS shed
- Mountain bike trails: early research suggests Eden is well placed to become a world-class destination for this increasingly popular activity
"Eden is a community that has weathered many a storm - its relative remoteness as the last town before the Victorian border has left it sometimes feeling forgotten by government agencies," Eden Chamber of Commerce vice-president Jenny Robb said.
"This has always resulted in a bunch of locals just knuckling down and getting things done themselves.
"Sometimes the most challenging times draw people together. It seems this is definitely the case in Eden in 2020," Ms Robb said.
Anyone wanting to be part of any of these groups is urged to follow Imagine Eden and Our Eden on Facebook, or call ECAC chair Julian Webb on 0418 964 991.
