Tag: verge treatments

Waterwise Verge Garden Competition – 2023 Winners Announced

Waterwise Verge Garden Competition

We are proud to announce and celebrate the successes of residents involved in our Waterwise Verge Garden Competition for 2023/24.

Residents are playing a vital role in saving valuable water, greening and cooling our neighbourhoods, supporting and enhancing local biodiversity and creating a waterwise community. We think this is worth celebrating and hope it will inspire others to take action in this space.

The awards recognise residents who have created and maintained beautiful, waterwise and biodiverse verge gardens.

This initiative was proudly co-funded by Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme and forms part of our ambition for the City to be a leading waterwise community.

Thank you to everyone who entered the 2023 Waterwise Verge Garden Competition

Waterwise Verge Garden of the Year

Melanie Davies

Waterwise Verge Garden Winner

Alix Oakes

Waterwise Verge Garden Highly Commended

Jacqui Thake

Biodiverse Verge Garden Winner

Joy Mack-haven

Biodiverse Verge Garden Highly Commended

Michael Frazier

Meet the overall winner of our Waterwise Verge Garden Competition, Melanie Davies

Inspired to create your own waterwise verge garden? 

Our waterwise verge gardens webpage shares a range of tips and resources to help you get started. Water Corporation’s handy guide to waterwise verges can also help you convert your verge into a beautiful, biodiverse and waterwise garden.

To keep up to date with future waterwise initiatives, sign up to the City of Joondalup’s Sustainability eNewsletter.

Waterwise Verge Rebate Program Launch

The City has launched its Waterwise Verge Rebate Program to encourage residents to replace their grass, synthetic lawn and hardstand materials, such as paving, on their verge with waterwise native plants and mulch. Waterwise verge gardens provide many benefits to neighbourhoods including creating a cooling effect, reducing water consumption and maintenance, improving streetscape amenity and potentially increasing property prices, providing habitat for local wildlife and promoting biodiversity.

This initiative is proudly co-funded by Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme and forms part of our ambition for the City of Joondalup to be a leading waterwise community.

Through the Program, successful applicants will receive:

  • A $250 voucher for a selected nursery or garden centre
  • 20 native plants during a plant giveaway event in May 2023
  • A pack of everlasting seeds.

The program is open to the first 100 eligible applicants and is on a first come, first served basis. Applications close on Friday 31 March 2023 or when the allocation is exhausted. Renters can also apply to participate in the Program and will need to get written permission from their landlord.

Installation of the waterwise verge gardens is expected to be completed by Monday 12 June 2023 and participants will provide the City with ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of the verge.

To participate in the Program, applicants must comply with the Terms and Conditions and submit an Expression of Interest form. Places are limited so get in quick.

Further information about the Waterwise Verge Rebate Program and application process will be available on the City’s website.

Platinum-Waterwise Council logo

 

Waterwise Verge Gardens

Verges play an important role in creating cool, green spaces for our communities, providing habitat for our local wildlife, and improving streetscape amenities in the City. Verges are often covered in lawn or hardstand surfaces such as paving that use significant amounts of water and radiate heat in summer.

A street verge is the road reserve area between a road and the adjacent property boundary but does not include any footpath. The verge is owned by the Crown and managed by the City.  

Residents are encouraged to install low water use plants, ground covers, edible plants (vegetables and herbs), lawns and landscape treatments on their verge. Verge treatments are regulated by the City’s Local Government and Public Property Local Law 2014. 

Residents are able to undertake improvements to the verge that are in line with the permissible verge treatments described in the Street Verge Guidelines. 

Duncraig Library Waterwise Verge Garden (Created by the Duncraig Edible Garden group)
Duncraig Library Waterwise Verge Garden (Created by the Duncraig Edible Garden group)

Why install a Waterwise verge garden? 

The City encourages soft landscape verge treatments, including waterwise native plants and mulch. Waterwise verge gardens can: 

  • Save water in the garden  
  • Require little maintenance, with occasional weeding, pruning, mulching and hand watering 
  • Creates green liveable communities and streetscapes 
  • Contributes to healthy drainage 
  • Create a cooling effect and counteract the urban heat island effect. Below, further information about urban heat island effect.
  • Provide a habitat for local wildlife and promote biodiversity. 

What is urban heat island effect?

Urban heat island effect is the build-up of heat in urban areas. This build up is exacerbated by an increase to urban densities and building heights that trap heat overnight, particularly during periods of extended dry and heat. Greening initiatives, like adding a street tree to your verge or creating a waterwise verge garden will assist to offset the build-up of urban heat. Through understorey and canopy planting initiatives cooling is maximised.

The City is creating greener, cooler, and more comfortable neighbourhoods for everyone, through its Leafy City and Street Tree Planting programs.

By creating waterwise gardens and requesting a street tree, you can help create cool, green and biodiverse neighbourhoods.

Tips and Resources 

Want to see a Waterwise verge garden?  

You can view a demonstration waterwise verge garden at the following locations:  

  • Carina Loop, Ocean Reef
  • Currambine Community Centre, Currambine
  • Duncraig Library, Duncraig. 

Platinum-Waterwise Council logo

Verge treatments

Verge treatments are regulated by the City’s Local Government and Public Property Local Law 2014.

Residents are able to undertake improvements to the verge that are in line with the permissible verge treatments described in the Street Verge Guidelines.

Verge maintenance

A street verge is the portion of a thoroughfare which lies between the boundary of a carriageway and the adjacent property line. The verge provides a safe pedestrian space and vehicle access to properties. The verge also accommodates public service utilities such as street lighting, bus stops, power supply, water, sewerage and telecommunications cables.

The City appreciates the visual amenity afforded by verges that are maintained and improved by residents. While the City is responsible for street trees and enforcing verge requirements, it is the householder’s responsibility to maintain the verge (including corner verges) so that footpaths, roadways and sightlines remain free from obstructions at all times to allow pedestrian access along the verge area, in preference to walking on the roadway, regardless of whether a footpath has been constructed or not.

 

Obstructions on the verge

Obstructions on a verge, footpath or thoroughfare may cause a hazard to pedestrians and road users. There are two types of obstruction.

Physical

Some examples of verge obstructions include:

  • Bollards
  • Bricks
  • Rocks
  • Stakes
  • Roped off areas.

Vegetation

Plants and shrubs on verges can become overgrown and create a sight obstruction to traffic and a hazard to pedestrians. Overgrown sharp or thorny plants can also create a hazard to pedestrians.

Plants along a verge need to be trimmed back and maintained to prevent them from encroaching over onto the footpath or from creating a barrier that prevents drivers having a clear view to oncoming traffic.