Wollongong verge gardens receive council funding

Each project will receive a $250 voucher for Wollongong Botanic Garden's Greenplan Nursery under a Wollongong City Council pilot to build gardens on verges and improve neighbourhood connections.

The people behind the selected projects have a variety of visions for their gardens: some hope to grow fruit and vegetables to share with their neighbours, while others want to plant trees to provide more shade.

Planting native plants that attract birdlife is the focus of one green thumb, and another wants to grow colourful flowers.

For many, the gardens present an opportunity to provide a space in their neighbourhood where people can come together and socialise, children can learn, and physical and mental wellbeing can be improved.

Wollongong councillors unanimously endorsed the grants at this week's ordinary council meeting.

Cr Cath Blakey said that while it was a small amount of funding, the program got "great bang for its buck".

She said the project was a good way to activate the city's suburbs.

The funded projects are in Fernhill, Corrimal, Bulli, Coniston, Berkeley, Mount Kembla, Figtree, Fairy Meadow, Scarborough, Dapto, Towradgi, and West Wollongong.

The program was launched last year after the council released guidelines for residents to build verge gardens that were safe and did not impede pedestrians or power lines.