When you think about street verges or nature strips, you may think there’s not much to be inspired by. But there is a growing number of keen gardeners who see these spaces as blank canvases ready to be transformed.
While councils have different rules to manage street verges, more are starting to offer incentives, initiatives and support programs to transform these neglected spaces. CAUL-Hub researcher Dr Natasha Pauli is looking at the opportunities and challenges of native verge gardening for residents, key stakeholders and the plants and animals that use these habitats.
Early results show many residents are motivated to start a native verge garden to save water, experience visiting wildlife and by the social interaction created with neighbours passing by for a chat while out ‘on the verge’. The research, which will be available at the end of the year, can help stakeholders and residents design programs and verges to maximise community interest and environmental goals.
Image: ‘Colonised Verge’ by Michael Coghlan, available at https://bit.ly/3eH2Nsm, licenced under CC BY-SA 2.0. Full terms: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/