Nature strips to become more wild

THE City of Greater Geelong is calling for community input on its draft Nature Strip Guideline and Specification, which aims to provide residents with more options for creating sustainable and beautiful nature strip gardens.

The guidelines are designed to promote biodiversity while ensuring public risk and safety on city-managed roads.

As part of the guidelines, the council is looking to ban the use of fake plastic grass on nature strips which has been linked to microplastic pollution and localised warming.

Mayor Trent Sullivan said residents are seeking alternatives to the traditional lawn nature strip.

“These gardens can help beautify local streets, reduce urban heat, create habitat and help increase social connections,” he said.

“We consulted with a range of stakeholders in updating the guidelines and we’re now seeking further community input to see if we’ve got the balance right.”

To avoid red tape, permits won’t be required under the proposed policy, residents would just register their intent.

Geelong Field Naturalist member Rod Lowther welcomed the announcement.

“It’s a good thing. It’s good to have flowering plants and another vegetation there on nature strips.

“Flowering smaller plants, they will bring back a variety of invertebrates and insects, which can be beneficial to the overall environment.”

While he welcomed the announcement, he said he wouldn’t celebrate the death of the English lawn.

“There’s a lot of animals now that have adapted to it. So, there’s some indigenous birds that thrived because of the type of gardens we have with so many different flowering plants that come at different times of the years.

“Same with insects, Hoover flies and other things like that, which wouldn’t necessarily be so prolific if you had only indigenous gardens.”

Information sessions will be held at Wurriki Nyal, 137-149 Mercer Street, Geelong on Thursday 16 May from 10-11am and Wednesday 22 May from 5:30-6:30pm.

Community feedback is welcomed until Sunday 9 June. For more details, visit yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au.