The verge garden at Ross Street, Belmont is a project of the Valentine Sustainable Neighbourhood Group. Photo: Stuart Carter.
Dispense with the grass – landscape the verge
The very notion of calling the kerb side area of land a nature strip ought to send the message that it be more than a single species lawn strip.
There’s nothing much natural about an introduced species of grass alongside the footpath.
Verge garden makeovers as substitutes for lawns have multiple benefits:
- Encourages neighbours to engage and learn from each other.
- Promotes human health and wellbeing.
- Filters the air, reduces stormwater runoff and absorbs carbon emissions.
- Creates shade, providing pleasant spaces and reduces the urban heat island effect.
- Provides habitat and food for insects, birds and lizards.
- Improves the appearance, economic value and liveability of our cities.
The Valentine Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (SNG) has made a feature out of what was wasteland in Ross Street, Belmont. On the way to Belmont, just before the Belmont 16s Sailing Club, on the corner of The Parade.
“The locals love it,” says Gayle Russell, Chairperson of the Valentine SNG. “They love it not just because of how it has beautified the verge next the a retaining wall, but because what was a ‘hotspot’ for rubbish and litter, is now clean and tidy – it’s been a win-win for everyone.”
If a verge make-over is something you’d like to have a go at, then The Transform your Lawn workshop, aims to open the door to kerbside planting. Sunday April 28, 10.00 to 11.30am – see the Valentine SNG Facebook page for details.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Creative education made easy at Munibung Hill
Turn a walk at Munibung Hill into an explore the landscape. Observation is a teachable skill. Teaching children to pay attention, to take a closer look, has spin off benefits in that children are encouraged to notice what is often overlooked or taken for granted – not only children, but by adults as well.
That’s why this creative activity is so good for all of us. We spend a lot of time teaching hands-on activities, and not so much time teaching eyes-on activities. This little crafty exercise does both.
With a little imagination and a helping hand from mother nature, anyone can make something beautiful - just like this amazing nature colour wheel.
A great way to get the kids outdoors and to sneak in some fun teachable moments too, a nature colour wheel is not only a fun DIY hands-on craft, but also a tool that can be used again and again for unlimited learning.
Once constructed, let the children collect an array of flora to match the corresponding colours on the wheel and watch as they learn the many colours of nature.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
There’s more to diversity than standing trees
Even though sometimes it feels like it’s in the way or looks untidy, what’s on and under the ground is equally important.
Nature is not a manicured arrange-ment following a neatly laid out suburban design – thank goodness.
Plant it right and they will come, is what the Land for Wildlife Scheme promotes.
MMM Issue 43, April-May 2024
