THE best innovative, problem-solving concepts of the third annual Ballarat\u2019s Best Ideas competition have been announced.<\/p>\n
Crowdsourced from community members via the digital suggestion box platform Suggest it, this year\u2019s successful ideas responded to the theme of \u2018people and planet.\u2019<\/p>\n
Nurse Anne Watson was awarded for her playful idea which would benefit St John of God Hospital\u2019s temporary dementia patients in ward two west.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to increase our stock of little dementia-friendly toys and activities we can bring out, to make their stay more enjoyable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese patients aren\u2019t necessarily sick, but their carer may be stressed and they can\u2019t cope anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other winning concepts included a community garden project for Sebastopol led by Phoenix Community College students, and a nesting box initiative for schools and Federation University that would be led by not-for-profit group Ballarat Gardens for Wildlife.<\/p>\n
Successful suggestions were identified by a judging panel made up of people from the City, Federation University, Crazy Ideas College, and industry representatives, and the people who submitted them won either an Apple Watch, Trek bike, or Eco Escape voucher.<\/p>\n
Alongside support from project partners, the organisations set to benefit from these ideas have been awarded $500 to bring the visions to life.<\/p>\n
Suggest it co-founder Nick Clare said most of the ideas submitted to the competition this year were about creating a better Ballarat community and world, and focused on topics including sustainability, sport and recreation, health, circular economics, and diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout one third of all ideas were submitted by people under the age of 18, and we had some great support from a number of schools in our community including Phoenix College and Loreto,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE best innovative, problem-solving concepts of the third annual Ballarat\u2019s Best Ideas competition have been announced. Crowdsourced from community members via the digital suggestion box platform Suggest it, this year\u2019s successful ideas responded to the theme of \u2018people and planet.\u2019 Nurse Anne Watson was awarded for her playful idea which would benefit St John of […]<\/p>\n