The Ballarat City Council is prepared to pay for truckloads of sand to be brought in, but not put any money into the outdoor pools that are left for learn to swim campaigns or recreational activities.

The first thing children especially will want to do is go in the water at the lake, but they are not allowed. How do you explain that to them?

The Tourist Information Center is a fiasco where it is regards parking etc. The Civic Hall is at a standstill .. it should have been tidied up and used there's a lot of events that are falling by the wayside because of this waste of time. Vic Park needs to be left alone as it the only place where people can go and relax. The old saying in that situation if it's not broken why fix it.

As for the sand idea, the tourist bureau and Civic Hall, we are going to be made a laughing stock.

I’ve been a Ballarat citizen for number of years and there as been many successful things happen along the way, but they've closed them down. Ballarat has fallen way behind the times … all they’re interested in that illusive dollar. If people want to go down to a real beach I can’t say I blame them, at least they can go down there and go in the water to cool off which is more I can say in this instance.

Lola Campbell, Sebastopol

LIKE the writer of the letter in The Courier November 9, I share my concern at the Ballarat City Council’s reticence to list the magnificent Cypress Avenue in Victoria Park.

Together with the Avenue of Honour, there are numerous magnificent Avenues in and around Ballarat that should be similarly recognised.

It may not be known that during the time of the late Tom Beaumont as curator of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and his work with begonias that an effort was made to introduce squirrels to the avenue. The story goes that Tom rode his bicycle to the Ballarat Railway Station to collect a box with two squirrels from the Melbourne train. Apparently, when opening the box, one bit his finger. The exercise was not successful, due to the number of cats and foxes in Victoria Park.

Some 70 years ago, as a young man working for a local stock and station agent, we would drive at daybreak through the avenue to work on a Tuesday sheep market and often had to carefully dodge delightful little squirrels scampering across the road through the avenue.

Winston Loveland, Ballarat

THE Victorian National Parks Association welcomes the government announcement that it will move towards a more strategic and well-informed bushfire management policy.

The 5 per cent annual fuel reduction burn target, recommended by the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in 2009, led to many management burns being conducted in remote areas like the Mallee, where they made little contribution to public safety but had considerable environmental impact.

The great emphasis placed on planned burning has drawn attention away from many other important contributors to fire safety, such as fire-wise rural planning regulations, encouraging well-designed private bushfire shelters and increasing Victoria's rapid attack capability.

Many lessons have been learnt since Black Saturday. It's time to have a good hard look at how best to apply that knowledge so we can offer the best protection to Victorians and protect our remarkable natural areas.

Phil Ingamells, Victorian National Parks Association