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- Could verge gardens make increased housing density more acceptable?
This article is my contribution to the Regen Brisbane series on housing issues in our region as we grapple with housing affordability, homelessness, and a growing population. - Is it too late to do anything about climate change?
I was asked if it was too late to do anything. And my answer is no. - The Stories We Tell Ourselves and Others
How do you respond to the different types of stories? What stories do you tell? - Verge Gardens, Rain Gardens, and Bushcare. They’re all connected.
Wherever you live, the stormwater from your garden ends up in the creeks and beyond. - Podcast: Bringing Nature Back Into Cities
We know what we should do, and there are so many reasons to do it. So, what’s stopping us? What are the barriers? - Queensland: Brisbane: Bridgeman Downs
This group includes an official bush care group, street trees and verge gardens, and a general interest in sustainability. - Q&A: What if I don’t have a concrete path?
All council policies include the requirement to leave a clear pathway for pedestrians. So, what do you do when there is only grass? - Geelong & Gold Coast
Geelong is about to approve an updated verge garden policy. Still nothing on the Gold Coast but go along to Botanical Bazaar this weekend to keep in touch with progress. - How Substack Works For Networks
To create sustainable solutions, we need to connect with others to form diverse networks and collaborations. Verge gardens bring diverse people together, then we build around that to create networks. - Queensland: Regen Brisbane
We use verge gardening and the Shady Lanes group project methods to develop our network. - Are you getting stuck? Could better questions help?
Whenever you feel stuck, step back and look at the conversations and the questions that are framing the problem you are trying to address. - Public Liability Insurance for Verge Gardens
Do councils provide public liability insurance for verge gardeners who help to green our streets? Should they? - Why Substack?
I’ve been working online since 1995. This is the first time in many years that I’ve been excited about a new platform. - Conflict or Opportunity?
Perhaps, we should see this petition as an opportunity to start better conversations about what sort of streets and suburbs we want to live in, and how we might get there. - Writing Substack posts for your group
Tips on writing Substack posts for your group to get your message out and to build your network - How to help street trees thrive
Those of us who love our street trees are often surprised by residents who refuse to have a street tree planted in front of their homes, and kill any tree planted. - Updated Policy – Fremantle
Some will applaud this policy but has it gone too far? I have three major concerns. - Where Shade Hits the Pavement
Is diversity of participants a problem or a strength? And what’s it got to do with verge gardens? - What does a regenerative street look like?
Every street is different so there’s no one answer. What elements do you think are important in the streets where you live, shop, walk or drive? - The connection between Toondah Harbour and verge gardens
- Toondah Harbour – A good decision but no answers for the future
Any solutions to the mess we are in with climate change and biodiversity loss have to combine environmental, economic, social, and cultural outcomes. - Conversations: Different Views of Placemaking
Participating in this sort of conversation can add new insights and shift, widen, or fine-tune our own views. It certainly did for me… - Why doesn’t the council plant more street trees?
I hear this question often and they are always surprised by the answer. - New Verge Garden Policy: Cairns Regional Council
Perhaps, the most interesting thing about this policy is the photo gallery of non-compliant verge gardens. - Community Building
The last Sunday in March is National Neighbour Day. Do you see a role for your verge garden as a bumping place to help create stronger neighbourhoods? - Another dispute about a verge garden
We have council elections in 6 weeks. So, it’s no surprise to see a verge garden dispute this week. - Celebrate our Local Australian Plants
Let’s mark Australia Day by recognising the subtle beauty of our local native plants and the part they play in building ecosystems. Check out this video of a verge garden in Brisbane… - Events for Purpose and Impact
Events keep the momentum of your group project going. How much depends on how you plan and promote your events and leverage afterwards. Here are some tips. - How to Leverage Events – Before and After
So you’ve put in a lot of effort and created a big event. Maybe it was great. Maybe not. But now it’s over and you’re back where you started wondering what do next. - Learnings from 2023, directions for 2024
Reflections on what worked and what didn’t in 2023, what we’ve learned, what has changed, and preparation for the year ahead. This is going to be a big year. Will you join me? - Placemaking: Who Does it Belong to?
Who gets to do placemaking? Planners, councils, designers, or you and me? Is there a relationship between placemaking and verge gardening? - Verge Garden Policies and Why they Matter
You can approach a verge garden policy as a simple set of rules but that’s not always helpful. - Victoria: East Gippsland: Bairnsdale
Judy Clarke is leading the way in East Gippsland with a new verge gardening group. - Fake Grass and Urban Heat
In Queensland, we have a very hot summer looming. Increasing the number of street trees and planting gardens for shade is one way to mitigate. So why this… - Where are we going? How will we get there?
These are the questions that shape our conversations as we plan and manage group projects. - Your Substack Account, Profile, and Handle
Your Substack account is tied to the email address that you use to subscribe and to log into Substack. Find out how to create a useful profile. - Queensland: Northern Brisbane Suburbs and Moreton Bay City
ACF Community Brisbane Northside - Queensland: Banyo, Nudgee and District Brisbane
Banyo District Verge Gardening - Queensland: Sandgate District, Brisbane
Keep Sandgate Beautiful Association Inc - Make Friends with your Council
Your first ally has to be the people working in your Council. Find out what they are trying to do and work out how that aligns with your goals. - Doughnut Economics
For World Donut Day, we asked how we might apply it to ourselves and our local region. - What land is covered by verge policies
Once we start thinking about verge gardens, we start seeing land everywhere that should be given some love. But… - Explore and Reflect
Before you start, it’s worth looking at what other people are doing, think about what you want to do and why. - The Rules for Verge Gardens
- An Apron or a Long Paddock
Whether verge gardening remains a niche activity or becomes common enough to play a part in greening our cities depends a lot on how we view the patch of land in front of our homes. - Street Trees must take Priority
Our street trees are a major part of cooling our cities and suburbs. - A natural extension is a native verge garden
Leaving the decisions about street trees to councils still leaves the opportunity for residents to decide what to plant in their verge garden. - Big Projects or Slow Gardening
Your verge garden doesn’t have to be a grand landscaping project with a finished product unless you want to make it so. - Why Plant Choice Matters
- Your Plants in the Wider Environment
- Your Plants as Advocates
- Vandalism and Theft
Many people worry about vandalism and plants being stolen. And it happens. In most Australian cities, anything on the verge is fair game. - It doesn’t have to be an award-winning or professional garden
One of the big advantages of slow iterative gardening using cheap tubestock, seedlings, and home propagation, is that mistakes don’t matter, you can experiment as you try different plants. - It doesn’t have to be immaculately maintained
- Don’t invest too much money or emotion into the plants
The more you invest in the plants, the more it will hurt if they are trampled, broken, or stolen. - Be prepared to lose it all
- Don’t pick fights or frighten the horses
Some verge gardeners like to think of what they are doing as a protest, or as guerrilla gardening. They resent council rules and don’t see why they should follow them. - Let’s Talk about the Commons
If you wanted to find an example of the Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons, it’s there in most urban streets and roads. But it doesn’t have to be that way… - Conversations on the Verge – Hope and Despair
Like my chat on the verge, better conversations can bring us together. - 10 Rules of Strategic Doing
We incorporate many of the practices of Strategic Doing in group projects and collaborations. - Sharing Examples and Stories
Reassure and inspire others by telling them about your verge gardens - Three Guiding Principles Of Verge Gardening
- Big Bold Plans
The desire for big, bold, shiny things doesn’t just apply to planting. - Can’t we do more than just one?
Once we start seeing, it’s everywhere. - Every verge is different
No, I can’t give you a standard plan to follow. Here’s why. - Viewpoints: Council v Resident v Public
There are lots of unwritten social rules that govern this space that is our urban commons. Being aware of these will save you lots of grief. But could this also be an opportunity? - Group Projects
a verge garden project offers a flexible and doable activity that connects your members as they work together to build your group and spread your message - Where might this path lead?
- This is not a Verge Garden
- Could Verge Gardens be the Leaders in Cooling our Streets?
- Understanding the Space
Disputes happen when people rush in without first understanding the special features and complexities of this shared public space. Good intentions and enthusiasm are not enough. - Why street trees and why native verge gardens
This is based on a presentation for the Banyo Verge Garden Pilot Project in March 2023 - Why Native Plants? Why So Slow?
- Verge Gardens and Active Transport
- Welcome 2023 – Will it be the year for biodiversity?
- What is a verge and why does it matter?
Many arguments and disputes develop when people use the same words but mean different things. - Verges gardens are not community gardens
Many arguments and disputes develop when people use the same words but mean different things. - Verge Gardens for Advocacy
The mix of people brings lots of potential for clashes and disputes if handled badly. On the other hand, it brings lots of opportunities for positive conversations… - Car Parking and Verge Gardens
- Council versus Resident-planted Verge Gardens
Not only do I think we can’t expect Councils to plant all the verges for us, we don’t really want them to.