Kids bring colour to a Belgrave lane

By Casey Neill
HILLS students have brightened up a dreary Belgrave laneway with a colourful town tribute.
Belgrave Traders Association, Telstra and Shire of Yarra Ranges teamed up to create a mural featuring the annual Belgrave Lantern Parade on the Burwood Highway Telstra exchange.
An artist worked with students from Belgrave Heights Christian School and Belgrave South, Ferny Creek, St Thomas More’s, Tecoma, Upwey and Upwey South primary schools to create different designs. He transferred them onto canvases and asked the kids to add paint.
Belgrave Traders Association’s Alene Lee instigated the project. “It’s a great example of organisations and the community working together to bring some extra colour to the beautiful town of Belgrave,” she said.
Telstra general manager Patrick O’Beirne said graffiti was an ongoing problem on the company’s exchanges.
“We’ve dealt with it in the past with an approach to paint over graffiti but the most effective way to address the issue is this collaborative approach,” he said.
Mr O’Beirne hoped the mural would deter vandals from future tagging attacks.
Victoria Police crime prevention officer Linda Hancock said people thought tags indicated other crime was prevalent. “This just shows that the local kids care,” she said. “All the graffiti, the young people don’t realise that their tagging is making the place look unsafe.”
Ms Hancock said graffiti was a problem in Belgrave’s laneways.
“Anywhere where there’s not a lot of natural surveillance,” she said.
She said involving children helped them take pride in their local area and could help deter vandalism.
“They will come and look at it, and their family and friends,” she said.