Council plan community engagement

From the beach to the bush, Victoria provides wonderful spaces and opportunities to enjoy being outdoors, get active and share time with others. But being outdoors means exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the leading cause of skin cancer.

The good news is that most skin cancer can be prevented by using personal sun protection, and through good quality shade. Well-designed and positioned shade can reduce UV exposure by as much as 90%.

Local councils are currently making decisions about the future of your local area, through their new Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing and Council Plans. Now is a critical time to reach out to council to request cool, UV protective shade.

Here's how you can help!

As part of this process, local councils are inviting community members to provide feedback on what you would like to see in new plans. These plans set the priorities for the next four years, so it's crucial that good quality, UV protective shade is included.

To help you do this, we've drafted some suggested wording to include when completing the feedback survey.

Suggested responses

• As a family, we really enjoy spending time outdoors in <LGA’s> parks and playgrounds. To help us get the most use of these spaces we are calling on council to prioritise cool, UV protective shade and document this in council’s new four-year plan as an action.
• Providing natural and built shade not only helps us keep cool but it also reduces UV exposure, the leading cause of skin cancer. As council finalises our new Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, please remember to include shade for UV protection.
• We often use the <walking track / cycle path> at <location> but at certain times it is too uncomfortable due to the heat and intense sun. Can council ensure the new four-year health and wellbeing plan includes increasing UV protective shade and low UV reflective surfaces along these paths to make them more safe and comfortable?
• Australia has such high rates of skin cancer yet it is highly preventable. All shade should not only help keep us cool but help protect us from UV exposure. Please add this into our new council plan.

You can find the link to your council's community feedback and engagement survey here:*