The City of Cockburn has been named the overall winner of the Local Government Children’s Environment and Health Policy Awards for the third time since their inception in 2011.
The City was named overall winner of the 2018 award after taking out the Road and Active Transport Safety category and being highly commended in the areas of Aboriginal Child Health, Smoke Free Environments, and Shade in Public Places.
The annual awards are presented by the Public Health Advocacy Institute of WA, showcasing WA local government progress across 14 categories in creating environments that prioritise the health and wellbeing of children.
Winners were announced by Local Government Minister David Templeman at the 2018 WA Local Government Convention in Perth today, with Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett accepting the accolades with staff from the City.
The Road and Active Transport Safety award recognised the City’s measures to promote safety and active transport in its planning documents as well as partnering with the Department of Transport’s Your Move program to encourage residents to choose active modes to travel to work and school.
The Aboriginal Child Health commendation recognised the City’s third Reconciliation Action Plan and one of its strategies in improving school readiness; and the City’s involvement in other projects to promote transition from primary to high school and improve attendance rates.
The Smoke Free Environments commendation recognised the City’s joint smoke free signage strategy with the South Metropolitan Health Service. Proud to be Smoke-Free signage has been installed at six Cockburn sporting grounds with more planned.
For the third time, the City was recognised in the Shade in Public Places category for its specific shade sail policy and tree-planting program. Numerous shade sails have been erected at Botany Park and elsewhere under the Playground Shade Sail Strategy 2013-2023. The 2016 Street Tree Master Plan enables tree planting to encourage natural shade.