To:Frankston City Council
From Costa Georgiadis
Dear Councillors,
I write to you about an application to install productive fruit trees on a verge in your municipality. As a Landscape Architect travelling the country for the last four years creating television, I have had the opportunity to feel the temperature and groundswell that is building in communities. With real estate and land use demands on the increase , there is a growing desire for individuals to engage with their food supply chain. People across the country are becoming more informed and more demanding of their food quality, its production, transport and overall environmental footprint.
I do not have the opportunity to explain in a short letter the far reaching impact that this growing connection to food and its production is having . But I can say that as part of my current TV show , I am developing a productive verge garden in the second most densely populated municipal area of the country, Waverley Council in Sydney’s East. Not more then 2km from Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, I am establishing a community garden for my street on my verge. Some 150m2 of land has been transformed from weed infested part grass-wasteland, into a productive mix of gardens that sees a section growing the indigenous species endemic to the area, a herb maze growing herbs for the children and families of the street and a vegetable growing area that is illustrating and educating the local community on just how easy it is to get growing your own health. Beneficial native plantings are providing habitat for local fauna, and the soil has now become a sponge in the space of 8 weeks, that captures rainwater and decreases runoff during heavy rain , thus re-hydrating the land.
Probably the most important aspect of this project has been the community building. Residents of one end of the street are meeting other residents they never knew existed when tending or even just walking past the garden. Children are walking up to the garden each night after dinner to check on progress, in the process spending family time together, and meeting and greeting people / neighbour/community along the way.
If my municipal council can do it with the demands of being one of the most frequently visited and populated areas, then I see no reason that this community and environment building initiative can not be developed in your area too. This is not a fad and Frankston can help set the guidelines and policies for responsible , integrated and wholistic community development, one verge initiative at a time. Help lead this community connection and put the nature back into the nature strips of Frankston.
Yours in compost and community building
Costa Georgiadis BLArch
Its not just plants that grow in gardens, people do to !!!