Residents Jade Coster and Elaine Slater have been leading the Livingstonia Park Beautification Project for the past year, aiming to enhance the park as a ‘‘vibrant, welcoming community hub for all ages’’.
Mrs Coster said the project began by sourcing funding to buy the shed in the park outright for the community.
The group then bought a generator to install power and lighting, and the most recent stage involved commissioning Dunedin street artist Koryu Aoshima, known as Koryu, to enhance the shed’s exterior.
‘‘We wanted to make it a creative space for the community to enjoy, where they could attend workshops to create their own art.
‘‘The initial workshop, hosted in the shed last March, was to inform Koryu’s initial design using concepts developed by our local youth.
‘‘The end result is a mural inspired by our natural landscape: a story beginning in the ocean with our seal catching fish, round to a child fishing at the river mouth and finally we move up into the native bush of the river track.’’
‘‘We have a great wee following of local people who kept turning up each time.
‘‘There are further plans for the park’s continued development and we’re excited about what it will look like in another year’s time.’’
The shed was also used as headquarters for the community’s largest fundraiser each November, the Taieri Mouth Coastal Classic multisport event.
Coastal Classic committee member Dave Oshry said the event had been delighted to be among several contributors to the project.
‘‘Koryu has been amazingly generous with his time.
‘‘It’s a big deal to secure his talents for this project.’’
Mrs Coster thanked all those who had contributed to the project — costing about $13,000 to date — and said fundraising would continue towards further phases of improvements.
