A new roundabout garden has been unveiled in Ballarat's busy hospital precinct, honouring the healthcare workers who have helped the city get through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The roundabout at the intersection of Drummond Street North and Mair Street features a design inspired by the shape of a COVID virus molecule, along with three connecting semi-circles representing the connection between the Ballarat community, Ballarat Health Services and St John of God Ballarat Hospital.
The roundabout garden was the idea of Ballarat Health Services and St John of God colorectal surgeon Dr Carolyn Vasey while design came from the City of Ballarat parks and gardens team.
The garden features a colourful array of salvias in purple, blue and red bordered by golden pyrethrum around the outside of the design.
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Council gardeners are planning a continual flowering scenario for the COVID garden with new plantings in summer.
South ward councillor Samantha McIntosh said the garden would be a long-term signal of the community's collaboration through the pandemic.
"It's been a really important time for our two hospitals, the base and St John's, coming together with our city and our large organisations, making sure that our community stays strong and positive through these tough COVID times," she said.
"I'm proud of our Ballarat community, I was before this, and I know that as we move into the future, there'll be many other things that make us very proud of our Ballarat community. It's really important that our community comes together, that our leaders of our city come together, and this particular planting is an example of that.
"It's been wonderful to have someone like Carolyn Vasey on board that has so much to do with our gardens. She's a volunteer at the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens with the Botanikids project and obviously a wonderful surgeon here."
Grampians Public Health Unit director of operations Robyn Wilson said the city's COVID response was a whole of community effort.
"Our response to COVID couldn't have been done by one group, it's been a really whole community response from health services, but from business as well across Ballarat and across the region, it's been really strong," she said.
"It's been the most incredible response. We've had so much support from everyone wanting to help us. We've worked with every different part, from multicultural areas, from our priority communities, from business education and health services, GPs across the region, everyone has got on board and has been offered support."
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said the garden would only get better as it grows and develops into the future.
"There's a subtlety to the design that's about connecting our health services, our two hospitals, and the city and I think that's been a remarkable achievement of Ballarat's capacity to manage COVID through what's been a terrible time," he said.
"We do sit as a bit of an island in the state and we've had very low numbers by comparison, we've managed it well in this community and that's a sign of our health services and our community and our businesses working really well together.
"And for that, every Ballarat person should be congratulated and thanked and I think the roundabout, as simple as it might seem, is an indication that that's the sort of work that happens when you come together and try and solve complex problems."
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