THE Lions Club of Soldiers Point has been delivering positive community projects in the region for years.

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One of their key fundraisers is the bus shelters which the club built many years ago and maintains.

However bus shelters while providing functional shelter from blazing sun and driving rain can be somewhat boring structures.

Not so in the case of the Lions Club Shelters which are being revamped with street art to create landmark must see statements featuring local fauna and flora.

To date the club has reinvigorated four shelters with artworks by local artist Rhys Fabris.

There is a stunning lorikeet at Old Salamander Shops, a kookaburra near the netball courts, a wetlands scene at Mambo Wanda Wetlands and now a koala graces a bus shelter at One Mile Beach.

The koala artwork was funded through a Mayoral grant and the bus shelter will soon feature the contact details for Port Stephens Koalas rescue service.

The bus shelter is just a stop down the road from the soon to be opened Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary and it is a celebration of this iconic Australian animal.

Sharon Blunt President of the Lions Club of Soldiers Point told News Of The Area, “This was a Mayoral grant for $3000 which the Mayor kindly approved for us as we missed out on the cultural grant but the mayor felt that the other shelters had been such a community success that he felt that this was important for the club to continue its work.

“Advertising revenue from the shelters comes back into the community and helps the club to do their work in the community,” she said.

The shelter is not the last on the Lions clubs list to become a street art statement for the region.

Mayor Ryan Palmer said, “I think it looks magnificent here and it certainly fits in with the area, tourists from all over Australia and if we ever get back to international tourists people from all over the world will be able to hop off here and visit the Koala Sanctuary.

“Rhys does such great work with all his artwork across the community, it’s a great partnership between Council, Rhys the artist and Soldiers Point Lions Club,” he said.

By Marian SAMPSON