Life Matters - Separate stories podcast Could the grass be greener? Reimagining the verge garden
Feb 4, 2026
Costa Georgiatis, landscape architect and Gardening Australia presenter who champions verge gardening and urban cooling. Claire Dole, research fellow studying community attitudes to urban greening. Dave Broon, community organiser behind Valley Verges focused on natives and micro-wetlands. They discuss transforming nature strips into biodiversity corridors, council incentive programs, waterwise native plantings, and balancing planting with pedestrian access.
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Community-Led Vernacular Transformation
- Dave Broon describes Valley Verges as a community group transforming large, weed-filled verges into native plantings and micro-urban wetlands.
- The project aims to support local fauna like black cockatoos and create perennial wetlands from harvested street water.
Lawns Trade Ecology For Maintenance
- Claire argues lawns are sometimes appropriate but often squander resource and ecological potential on verges.
- Replacing lawn with native cover can deliver biodiversity and resource savings.
Local Norms Drive Verge Preferences
- Claire Dole notes lawns use lots of water and fertiliser while missing biodiversity opportunities on verges.
- She also finds neighbourhood norms strongly shape what residents prefer for verge landscaping.