Page 10 - Rotary Matters - May 2021
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‘If music be the food of love, play on...’
The RC Unley has as its R100 project, a Musical and Sensory Playground which it plans to construct in a
park in the city of Unley. The project has been agreed to by the Council as its 150th anniversary project
as well, and the Council will provide the park and the infrastructure, while the Rotary club will provide
the musical instruments. The cost to RC Unley is expected to be $250,000-300,000.
There is no other musical sensory garden playground catering for people of all ages and abilities of the
scale the club envisages, in Adelaide or across Australia.
The Musical and Sensory Garden Playground would be designed to cater for people all ages and abilities.
It would be a haven for young and old to explore, for the physically and mentally challenged to be free to
engage, the aged to wander, experiment and play, to sit and relax to watch the young create and for all to
experience the beauty of seasonal changes through touch, sight and smell in a garden for all seasons.
It will become a truly intergenerational meeting place of mind, body and soul.
The space would be a learning environment where schools and community groups could also come to
participate in botanical experiences, creating music and performing concerts. It is our aim to build the
most innovative space in Australia to signify the importance we place on the integration of nature, play
and music to awaken the senses, reduce loneliness and improve the communication, health and well
being of all.
The club plans to have at least 10 instruments designed to be located and played outdoors. Most of the
instruments will be tuned to the pentatonic scale which makes playing them effortless as the notes within
the scale all harmonize with one another, meaning there are no discordant notes, compelling even the
non-musical to pick up a mallet and play, producing new and original melodies each time.
The park chosen is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
Rhonda Hoare
New Generations Team Leader
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