The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) members consist of thousands of growers of flowers and ornamental plants around the world who are together united by one essential goal – promoting the place of plants in people’s lives.
AIPH hosts several conferences, webinars and events such as the International Grower of the Year award throughout the year. Read about these along with the latest news about the association’s activities.
AIPH’s key aim is to stimulate demand for ornamental trees, plants and flowers worldwide. We are committed to supporting growers in achieving this by protecting and promoting the interests of the industry.
Sustainability is fundamental to the mission of AIPH: to build a balanced and prosperous future for all, sustaining the planet for this generation and the next.
How does the initiative show evidence of feasibility, including on-going financial and logistical support?
Sunvale Community Park is classified as a Flagship Park in Council’s Creating Better Parks Policy and Plan and therefore receives the highest levels of maintenance. Operational staff from Parks Services and Building Maintenance attend the site weekly to ensure that it is clean, safe and well maintained.
In what ways is the initiative innovative?
Council’s Creating Better Parks Policy and Plan recommended that the disused school be purchased for open space. When the State government announced, they were going to sell the vacant land, Council and the community advocated together with Council succeeded in buying two thirds of the disused site.
From this Council created a visionary master plan that incorporated all community ideas and were able to use this masterplan to advocate for funding from the State government. This was successful and resulted in around $3.6M funding from the State to implement the whole masterplan.
The design of Sunvale sought to ensure that the park caters for multiple and diverse users and the expected increase in housing density for the Sunshine Priority Precinct. As a Flagship Park and Oasis Park, Sunvale has functions that cater for:
Heatwave mitigation
Sustainable water supply
Biodiverse urban forest supporting people, flora and fauna
First Nation People art
Walking and cycling
Skating
Formal and natural play
Day and night time events
Picnics and BBQ
Outdoor gym
Basketball
Cricket, AFL and soccer
Toilets
Community orchard and herb garden
Sunvale has been restructured to ensure that the connection to the local community that started with the primary school now continues as a key public realm destination for the local community to meet, be active and to assist in the liveability of Sunshine.
How is the initiative supported by collaborative working across disciplines and sectors?
Brimbank City Councils Urban Design Department lead the development of the masterplan (co-funded by the State of Victoria), design and construction for this park. This project required the involvement of many other professionals to ensure quality outcomes were achieved. Within Council the following professionals were involved:
Civil and Traffic Engineers assisted in pavement and traffic issues
Arts & Culture Coordinator assisted in the delivery of Five Elements sculptors by local First Nation People
Parks Services staff were engaged around plant selection and assessment of existing trees
Playground and Street Furniture Coordinator for feedback of proposed play facilities, shelters and toilets
Media and Communications Coordinator to support community engagement and social media messaging
The following external professionals were engaged:
E2Design were engaged to design the stormwater harvesting system
An architect was engaged to assist in sketch design of the central shelter
CONVIC were engaged to design the skate facility and to engage with local youth/skaters in designing the skate space
Mandi Barton and Lee-Anne Clarke (local First Nation People artists) developed the concept for The Five Elements and partnered with Djprojects to construct and install the five pieces
Make It Wet were engaged to prepared irrigation plans
Play DMC were engaged to conduct a safety audit of all play equipment
How does the initiative demonstrate evidence of community support?
Sunvale Community Park has been recognised as a great exemplar of a contemporary park winning two state and one national industry awards for Park of The Year in 2020 from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and from Parks and Leisure Australia.
Sunvale Community Park was chosen as a site to conduct an interview with Adrian Gray, Chair of Greening The West and Manager of Urban Design at Brimbank City Council to discuss the role that nature play has for children. Sunvale has natural play elements that include plants, logs, water, rocks, sand and musical objects.
The Sunshine Library conducts reading events in the park with the local community and during National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week, events and discussions have taken place at Sunvale linked to the indigenous sculptural pieces designed by local First Nations People title, The Five Elements.
