My Mainway Children's Event
On the 11th of October 2020, we ran the children’s event at the My Mainway Hub, in Captain’s Row, Lancaster. The event brought together 22 participants, 9 children and 13 adults. he event gave the children of Mainway an opportunity to have their say about what sort of social issues they experienced by living in Mainway; a community whose voice is being heard throughout the six-month consultation project.
It was a warm sunny day, so instead of drawing indoors, a scroll of paper was fixed to the outside shop window. This was the first activity for the children. On the large scroll of paper, the children mapped out their experiences with the outdoor and indoor spaces of Mainway. They drew places that made them feel happy, sad, excited and frightened. The outside window proved not to be enough space, so the imaginative ideas spilled onto the pavement through chalk drawings, which were popular with people from toddlers to adults.
In cut-out balloons and prototypes the children expressed what they would like to have in Mainway. They selected the locations where they would like to see their dreams by placing balloons and prototypes on the model of Mainway that we had made to support the interactions. Some children wanted to express their ideas by writing instead of drawing they chose to communicate using our third activity by making a card and hanging it on our wishing line in the window of the base.
The children and the adults that they brought with them generated lots of ideas during the day discussing where new skate parks should go, how beneficial organised games would be like football, where a nature reserve would go, what new play equipment could be used and what diverse activities could happen in a community centre.
Two of the parents enquired about the day’s activities and said ‘will the children be able to come and do this every day?’
Overall, parents, residents and children want more activities and safe spaces for the children of the area. Some of the activities they would like to include sports (basketball, cycling, football, karate, running), festivals (fashion, arts), and music. Also, they would like to have dedicated spaces for children, such as a children hub, playgrounds, trampolines. Safety was one of the issues that they mentioned the most. They would like safer places where children can play with others and not being exposed to anti-social behaviours.
