What was once an unsightly shipping container is now a work of art in the centre of the city, thanks to the help of the community and the skill of local artists Eggpicnic.
The Canberra design studio, devoted to wildlife conservation and established by Camila De Gregorio and Christopher Macaluso, recently won its first Placemaking Grant from the City Renewal Authority.
They invited the public to help pick the designs for the artwork for Haig Park by participating in a survey and leaving a mark on the park.
More than 350 community members voted for the reptiles, insects, marsupials and birds they wanted to see adorn an existing storage container in the park.
The gang-gang cockatoo, superb fairy-wren and magpie were voted the most popular, but many other birds, animals and insects also feature.
Many of the people who participated in the survey, allowed their stories to be shared.
"I had a very traumatic childhood. One of only a few happy memories of that time is of trying to make the kookaburras high up in the old gum trees laugh, whilst playing alone outside in the back yard (not too far from Haig Park in Canberra)," one person wrote.
Another remembered: "I grew up with blue tongue lizards in my garden in Mawson. We built a new house in O'Connor 13 years ago and planted a native garden in the backyard. Regular visits from magpies, currawongs, eastern spinebills, silver eyes, superb fairy wrens and wattle birds have made us feel connected and settled".
Another person who answered the survey wrote: "Christmas beetles are such a strong memory of childhood summers in Canberra. they were everywhere, and unlike the relentless pestering from flies or painful attack of mosquitoes, they were just a shiny and peaceful symbol of longer days, warm weather and the freedom of school holidays".
An augmented reality element will also be unveiled soon, allowing people to use their smartphones to engage with the artwork in a different medium.
You can see it all when Haig Park celebrates its 101st birthday with a big community party on Saturday, February 3 from 11am to 4pm.
Highlights on the say will include a multicultural stage with music and dance, activities, Haig Park markets, the Suitcase Rummage and the launch of a new seating area for Braddon.
The City Renewal Authority on Wednesday also gave away 1000 plants to 500 people at the Salthouse Community Centre in Haig Park as part of the regular renewal of the plants which help to beautify the city centre.
