Greater Dandenong Environment Group has staged a tour of five formerly-grass nature strips which it has replanted into native gardens.
On a typically sunny and drizzly Melbourne day on 3 October, group volunteers, residents and Greater Dandenong councillor Rhonda Garad inspected the Verges for Nature project in Dandenong West.
One of the participants Shirley said she was “rapt to see there are people out there that have soul and want to beautify our old verges”.
“I am so happy with the result.”
Another participant, Stefan, was happy to match his nature strip to his plans for a native garden in his front yard.
“Grass is over-done and it doesn’t help with native bees, flora, or anything like that.
“By having native plants out the front we’re encouraging bees, we’re encouraging birds and I think that’s really important because as humans we’ve encroached on a lot of natural lands.
“I think that it’s really important that we all try a little bit harder to extend our native gardens especially, so we can get as many various insects in there and to feed our birds as well.”
GDEG president, Isabelle Nash was impressed by the participant’s commitment.
“We all enjoyed getting our hands in the dirt and turning the boring grass patches into vibrant and diverse gardens.
“Walking past the verges you can already see so many interesting plants that are flowering and attracting insects like bees and butterflies.”
As well as strengthening biodiversity, the new gardens “lifted the streetscape” and required less watering than lawns.
The Verges for Nature Project will continue next year in a different area of Greater Dandenong, Nash said.
“We hope that in a few years from now, all of our streets will have a handful of native verges and we will have corridors of native life in all of our neighbourhoods.”
