The Village Green is looking fabulous and so much to do. You can bring a rug and a picnic, bask in the sun, read a book, kick a ball, let the dog have a run, play with the kids, fly a kite….so many activities on this fantastic new space!

Three beautiful Kelly’s Gold Maples are looking glorious with their bright yellow colour, and more importantly lovely summer shade. Along the internal fence line, the nine Diamonds In The Dark Crepe Myrtles are still young but might flower this season.

We have planted a new Pin Oak as a dedication to all the volunteers that have worked so hard to create the community centre over many decades. We hope this tree will provide shelter and beauty for all those community members well into the future.

Thanks to our site landscapers (Joey and Peter) there is now a pathway from the BBQ area to the Tennis Kiosk for easier all-ability access.

At some point in the future, depending on funding, we hope to build a rotunda for gatherings and celebrations, as well as a new toilet facility.

Tree Dedication Speech 2025

President Peter Stanbury

On behalf of the Charleston Community Centre I would like to welcome everyone to our annual Charlie-Q. This event is a great way for us to meet up, share a sausage or two and find out what’s been happening in the Centre over the last year.

 We are only a small group of volunteers who make up the management committee, and I would like to thank them all for their fantastic work and dedication. We have done so much, some of which you can see around you, but there’s an awful lot that you don’t.  From hall working bees, creating policies, managing the hall hires, the meetings, grant writing, planning and discussions, it takes a lot of time and effort. As those of you who belong to other committees, sports clubs and groups will know there’s so much work goes into running it. We couldn’t do it without volunteers.

This Centre belongs to the community of Charleston and it has been run by volunteers since its beginnings, over a hundred years ago. From the building of the hall, the fencing, planting of trees, building the tennis kiosk and courts, toilet block, BBQs, shelters, community garden…the list is enormous. Today we have such a fantastic place for our families and friends to gather, to enjoy a picnic on the grass, to play tennis with friends, or to watch our children have fun on the swings, celebrate birthdays and Christmas!

 The saying, Blessed Are Those Who Plant Trees Under Whose Shade They Will Never Sit is very true for our commemoration today. Our beautiful 80-year-old pin-oak shades us in summer, gives us piles of autumn leaves to kick around, marks the winter with bare branches, and gives us hope in spring with it new green shoots.

 The committee decided to plant another pin-oak to continue this legacy long into the future. We plant this tree for our future generations as a reminder of the beauty of nature and the everlasting hope it brings to all of us.

 We dedicate this tree to all the volunteers, past, present and future, who have, and will, offer their time and effort to care for our community centre.

 We would sincerely like to thank Jayne and Ben Freeman from Freshford Nurseries for the donation of this tree.