Sisters Celeste, six, and Edith, four Photo: Supplied.
Two young cyclists, who just want to ride their bikes and scooters on a safe, local pump track, have turned to people power for help.
Sisters Celeste, six, and Edith, four, both regularly travel around their home suburb of Melba with their bikes and scooters.
Unfortunately for the duo, the local bike park is too advanced for young riders to traverse safely.
So the girls took matters into their own hands and created a petition that has already gathered hundreds of signatures and captured the attention of MLA Chiaka Barry.
Their mother, Kate, said she was proud to see her kids take initiative and push for something they wanted, while also building community connection with other young riders in the Melba area.
“I’ve always taught my girls not to get angry about something they don’t have, but to get active about it, and so it’s really great to see them getting involved in this,” she said.
“They’ve been walking around the suburb, dropping flyers in letterboxes and really trying to get support.
“They’ve started taking it to school this week as well. Now that school’s back, we’ve really seen the numbers actually jump up in signatures of the petition.”
Eager cyclists Celeste and Edith are calling on Melba residents to support their push for a pump track in Melba. Photo: Supplied.
The petition, which is now active on the ACT Legislative Assembly website, needs 500 signatures to automatically trigger committee referral. As of writing, it is currently sitting just below 300.
“I first emailed Ms Barry about this opportunity; she was straight on the phone and supportive of it. So it did give us a really good momentum, just to know that there are people in Parliament who will support it,” Kate said.
“It actually puts a real smile on my face knowing that the kids really helped push this and possibly in the future, the kids would be using a park that they helped create.
“I think it’s so important for kids to understand that you can have the power to shape how things are and I think this is a really good lesson, not just for my kids, but for the whole community out here in Melba.”
The girls have been handing out posters they designed to help gain signatures for the track. The posters were hand-drawn and feature a QR code that links to the online petition.
“They’re coming home every day at the moment from school and asking how many signatures we’re up to,” Kate said.
“It’s just fantastic to see them so excited about it.
“They’re going to keep working to try and get more signatures and try and get the community involved.
“So many others have already joined in, which is just so great to see. We’re really hoping that we can get the signatures and show poor old West Belconnen some love.”
To sign Celeste and Edith’s petition for a new pump track in Melba, visit the ACT Legislative Assembly before 13 August.
