Community Plant Give Away 2015-2020
Profile, community engagement and lots of plants
Community Participation - LP018-002
The issue
Large regional centres like Albury have populations greater than 54,000, strong annual population growth, and rapid housing developments. By 2036, the population is forecast to reach over 67,400. The impact of more humans is less native plants and animals. Since European colonisation, 75% of the Albury local government area has been cleared of native vegetation. How do we promote the benefits of native vegetation in urban gardens, especially in the new estates? It can be hard to ‘be heard or seen’ in amongst a myriad of other groups. Woolshed Thurgoona Landcare is one peri-urban group that has built a strong local following with their annual native plant giveaway and delivered a clear message of supporting biodiversity.
The solution
Woolshed Thurgoona Landcare began their ‘Native Plants for Urban Yards’ project funded by Murray Local Land Services in 2015. They developed a plant database on their website featuring 292 species and an on-line ordering system. It encourages people to make informed decisions on plant suitability and why to choose them – from ground covers to over-storey species, with information on their uses, structure, seed collection and propagation, and which animals the plant would support, plus more. As an additional incentive to join the group, members received 20 free plants and non-members 10. Membership is only $15 per household per year, so it's a bargain. The 2018-20 giveaways have been funded through AlburyCity and usually include community planting days as well. There was a plant giveaway in 2020 but no events due to COVID19.
The impact
The project has been a fantastic success. It raises the profile of the group, supports collaborations, increases understanding of the importance of flowers, habitat, pollinators, birds and other native species, drives membership and adds more plants into the environment. It also has the added bonus of giving members a chance to help sort the orders, improve their species ID and knowledge, and/or host the distribution stall and work as a team. The collection days are good fun and an opportunity to chat with new and existing members.
Cumulative data for the project 2015-2020 - 18,504 total plants sourced from local nurseries, 13,546 given to 1,000 households and 4,994 donated to local schools, project sites, community planting events and public green spaces. The most popular plants have been:- River bottlebrush, Purple coral pea, Common correa, Prickly tea-tree and Kangaroo grass.
The 2021 orders open in May with collection in July. Join Woolshed Thurgoona Landcare now to get advanced notice.
Go to https://wtlandcare.org or their Facebook page @wtlandcare
Key facts
- 18,504 total plants sourced from local nurseries
- 13,546 given to 1,000 households
- 4,994 donated to local schools and parks
- Spin-off events & information distribution