OPINION: Parks are the beating heart of the best towns
What makes a great playground and how do we get more in the region?
Bundaberg
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NEW Farm Park in Brisbane.
Kenilworth Town Park.
Queen's Park in Maryborough.
This is a list of my favourite parks in the wider region.
What do they have in common?
Big, shady trees, laughing families, and interesting playgrounds that you can hardly drag kids off of at the end of the day.
Of parks in the North Burnett, only Bicentennial Park in Mundubbera comes close to fitting that bill, and for families like the MacDonalds, even the best parks can get stale if they're all that's on offer.
I am sympathetic to claims that young families are struggling to fill the hours in a way that stimulates and challenges their children.
When I was a little guy traipsing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, my mum used to take me on what felt like infinite adventures: to Queensland Museum, Scarborough Beach Park and Redcliffe Lagoon.
I hate the thought that other kids are not getting those treasured memories through no fault of the parents.
No one is pretending it's cheap or easy to conjure up an amazing park.
But parks truly are the beating heart of the best towns.
They inspire civic pride.
When was the best time to plant a tree?
20 years ago.
When is the next best time?
Now.
Originally published as OPINION: Parks are the beating heart of the best towns
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