GREAT GUARDIANS
The Great Gardens team is lucky enough to meet thousands of people who are embracing sustainable change in their lives. Sometimes we meet people who are such great ambassadors for sustainable communities that we invite them to become honorary members of our extended team. We call these special people Great Guardians – guardians of our community and ambassadors for sustainability. Anyone who makes an effort towards building a sustainable community is appreciated by the Great Gardens team and occasionally our Great Guardians are invited to join us at award events, discussion forums and some even make guest appearances on TV!
If you would like to become a Great Guardian, please complete the form below:
MEET SOME GREAT GUARDIANS
Caine Holdsworth
Caine is currently studying a Landscape Architecture degree as a result of a passion (which has developed over the past 10 years) for environmental issues, sustainability, and urban agriculture. He has converted a 60m2 courtyard from an old palm and an olenader, to hold 8 citrus varieties, paw paw,guavas, fig, acerola cherry, apple,grapes, avocado plus heaps of vege's from pots and two large raised beds!
Caine has also taken over vacant space on his strata block, planting out numerous fruit plants and trees, natives and succulents.
The grden next to the driveway was pure white sand but now has a mixture of tough mediterranean herbs, some fruit trees, passionfruit, and a mixture of veges.
In a fantastic effort towards Waterwise gardening, he has also removed a water-guzzling grass verge and replaced it with natives. Watch this space...although it is the only native verge garden in the street, it may well inspire the neighbours to follow suit!
Caine keeps all of his organic waste on site, with compost bins and worm farms, improving the soil along the way. He is also part of the Curtin Uni Vege Growers Garden and helps out when time permits with keeping it going and teaching students how to grow veges. Caine has also been involved in the design and construction of a number of gardens for friends and family over the past few years.
Caine is a great ambassador for the Great Gardens program and if you are keen to follow his progress, check the website for updates!
Roni Oma
Roni has a 4200m2 property in Herne Hill, which she is currently renovating and re-vegetating to become self-sustaining.
The Future…
Roni’s ultimate aim is to have a flourishing and self-sufficient property that sits in comfort with the natural landscape, provides good crops of fruit and veg, is shielded from the harsh easterly winds and can be managed sustainably. Roni is particularly keen to attract and provide a balanced natural habitat for birds, bees and frogs (and, of course, for her dogs!).
Keith and Dot Collins
Keith and Dot live on a spacious urban block in a traditional heritage house in Bicton. They have already established a system of gardening that suits their needs (which includes frequently entertaining their kids and grandkids!) but they are seeking to move towards more water and nutrient wise gardening methods to really bring out the best in their beautiful garden. They are regular attendees at a number of different Great Gardens workshops.
Keith and Dot state that the thing they have found most valuable from the Great Gardens workshops has been information about soil improvement.
The Future
The goal is to achieve a beautiful urban garden in keeping with the house and develop a more sustainable programme of maintenance. Working with the Great Gardens team, Keith and Dot are specifically planning to:
- Move towards 1 drop plants and away from 2 – 3 drop plants
- Introduce waterwise mulching into their gardening
- Improve the soil condition with the use of sand amendments
- Introduce more native plants
On the verge of a discovery - Dot and Chris discuss soil amendment and plans for a native verge
Natalie Cavill
Natalie lives in Morley on a block of approximately 700m2. She has attended a number of Great Gardens workshops and is committed to improving sustainable living at home whilst being on a tight budget. Natalie is very positive about the Great Gardens workshops and is particularly impressed that there is no attempt to push products on attendees. She has recommended the workshops to friends and family and says that the information given is “just right for me”. The main goal for Natalie is to develop a more sustainable home and garden with a small budget. We were particularly impressed by Natalie’s resourcefulness and her commitment to sustainability wherever possible.
Since coming to her first Great Gardens workshop in Autumn 2009, Natalie implemented changes in several areas of her garden. She has started:
- Using less fertiliser and using wetting agents more regularly instead
- Using soil conditioners
- Applying organic matter to the soil
- A worm farm
- Using Waterwise mulches
- Mulching garden prunings and shares a mulcher with a friend
- Making changes to the irrigation system to improve efficiency
- Constructed a rainwater tank.
The Future
Natalie’s property is currently being fixed up as funds allow. The property has expansive lawns of more than 50% of the garden size. Changes to the lawn will need to be gradual to take into account budget and the current enjoyment the kids get out of it. Over time, Natalie is planning to:
- Replace the front lawn/verge or split it into an area of native planting, which will comprise perhaps 2 feature trees, some tube stock and Grevillea Crithmifolia
- Shade the remaining lawn area with frangipani and small trees
- Plant more fruit trees and windbreaks along boundary in rear garden
- Improve the irrigation system further to include surface drip irrigation
- Use recycled materials wherever possible in the garden.
Erin Oliver, Ellenbrook
Erin has made excellent progress in achieving a river-friendly garden in the geographically significant area of Ellenbrook. She has replaced her feature garden bed and front verge with a river-friendly garden, using native plants and coarse mulch. Erin has already noticed significant water-saving in the garden since replanting the garden and is a great ambassador for the Great Gardens program.
Erin's river-friendly garden in Ellenbrook
Andrew Burton, Beaconsfield
Andrew and his family live in a typical Beaconsfield property which they have retrofitted to become more water and energy efficient. Andrew and his wife Sue are long-term devotees of the Great Gardens program and have attended more than 10 workshops. They have begun growing their own fruit and veg at home, have replaced most of their lawn with water wise and river friendly gardening and turned their garden into the most used room in their home!
The Burton's organic veggie area and their shady frog pond
