A small but determined group of residents on Gleadow Street, Deloraine is transforming their neighbourhood one nature strip at a time. At the heart of the effort is Natalie Keane, who is leading a grassroots initiative to bring biodiversity to the suburban streetscape.
“As a group we are trying to create biodiversity in neighbourhoods and to encourage people to look at trees,” Keane tells us. o bring nature into neighbourhoods… and to let people know that you can live side by side with nature, with trees.”
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The group began planting on the often neglected nature strips about a year ago. These strips – typically unadorned patches of grass lining the streets – have traditionally been used for parking or left bare. Now, they are being turned into vibrant native gardens designed to make the area more walkable and enjoyable.
“This was stage two of a project,” Keane says. “We decided this to improve the walkability and enjoyment of our street… to plant out their nature strips, which are often unloved entrances to people’s homes… and to just make [our] streets more beautiful.”
Keane believes that one of the main motivations for this effort has been the lack of green space in the area. The gardens are not only beautifying the neighbourhood, but also offering a much-needed dose of nature in an otherwise built-up environment.
Currently, four residents have planted out their strips, with additional support from the local council and developers. “We’ve got four actual nature strip gardens I think at the moment, not including the council section. They’ve done their piece as well,” Keane explains. “I have an 82-year-old neighbour who’s mostly my offsider, so we look after the council side. And then we’ve got wonderful neighbours – Grant and Barb next door and Denise down the road – and they’ve got their nature strips involved as well.”
The community has received strong backing from various quarters. “Once Meander Valley Council knew what we wanted and that we didn’t wanna lose the character of our neighbourhood they absolutely came to the party,” she says. “They supplied numerous trees. The developer also planted numerous trees down the rest of the street and also donated a whole nature strip full of plants for one of our ladies down the road, Denise.”
Support has also come from local businesses. “I had a whole donation, a big pallet of plantings from Found In Earth,” Keane explains. “So, it’s been amazing. I often arrive home and the community support’s been incredible.”
Looking ahead, Keane hopes to expand the project beyond Gleadow Street to nearby Keegan Rise, including the area in front of the reservoir, despite lukewarm interest from TasWater. “They’ve said we can go ahead and do it,” she says. “So that’s our next step. And maybe to put some seating around too for people, because it’s a very big walking area. And we’d love to have people sit and enjoy the gardens.”
Anyone interested in joining the initiative can reach out through the “Gleadow Street Native Project” Facebook page. “They can just look, give us some moral support. If they’d love to donate or maybe contribute to a nature strip or offer their nature strip up for us to help with that would be amazing,” she said.
For Keane, the project is not just about plants — it’s about people and fostering the strong community spirit that can be found in Deloraine.
