23 July 2026

Healthy Venues Open Day brings Bidyadanga community together

Royal Life Saving WA and Healthway are helping Remote Pools like Bidyadanga put healthier choices back on the menu!

More than 140 children, families, community elders, police officers and youth workers came together earlier this year for Bidyadanga’s Healthy Venue Open Day, enjoying an afternoon of healthy food, games, swimming and local art.

Children made the most of the occasion with poolside basketball, giant snakes and ladders, fruit floaties and AFLEX inflatables, while local creativity took centre stage with entries from last year’s Bidyadanga Swim for Fruit art competition displayed around the pool. The winning design was even featured on a new Swim for Fruit t-shirt, bringing the artwork to life for the whole community to see.

Families also shared a community barbecue to show that healthy food can still be tasty, featuring chicken wings, kangaroo steaks, pasta bake, bread rolls, fruit and vegetable platters, healthy fruit juice and coconut water slushies.

The event celebrated the success of Bidyadanga becoming the first Remote Pool to pilot the Healthy Venues Initiative, introducing a wider range of healthy food and drink options. Supported by Healthway, the Healthy Venues initiative promotes the Fuel to Go & Play message and encourages healthier choices in community sport and recreation settings.

Bidyadanga Remote Pool Managers Scott and Linda Kendall said the initiative has helped start important conversations around the community.

“The Healthy Venues initiative has had a positive impact on the community, particularly by increasing awareness of healthier food and drink options at the pool,” Linda shared.

“Community members, especially children, are gradually becoming more familiar with these options. While change takes time, the initiative has helped shift expectations around what is available. It has also created opportunities to speak about the link between sugar and diabetes. This is a story that is not well told or well known in our community despite its prevalence.”

Bidyadanga is also one of 33 Swim for Fruit locations across regional Western Australia, where children are rewarded for swimming and staying active with fresh fruit, along with occasional healthy treats such as smoothies or community barbecues. Across the 2025-26 season, more than 3,000 young people and over 1,000 adults took part in healthy lifestyle programs around the state.

The Open Day was just a taste of what’s to come, with the Healthy Venues initiative expanding to Remote Pool locations in Fitzroy Crossing, Warmun and Yandeyarra ahead of the upcoming summer season.

Royal Life Saving WA Manager of Inclusion Programs and Capacity, Achol Madong, said the Bidyadanga open day showed what could be achieved when healthy choices become part of everyday life at the pool.

“Building on the Swim for Fruit program, the launch of the Healthy Venues Open Day was a welcome event in Bidyadanga. Now a ‘Healthy Venue’, the transformation we’ve seen in Bidyadanga community is something we look forward to replicating across three more facilities in the coming year.”

Royal Life Saving WA thanks Healthway for supporting the Remote Pools Healthy Venues initiative and Swim for Fruit program, helping plant the seeds for healthier habits in our regional communities.

Photos credit: Healthway

Learn more about Swim for Fruit and Royal Life Saving WA’s work with Aboriginal communities across Western Australia.