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                    Greening Howlett Street

                    Rooftop of building with plants
                    The Greening Howlett Street project was successful in receiving a $100,000 grant from the Urban Forest Fund.

                    ​​​​The residents of Howlett Street, Kensington, gave the common area of their apartment building a green makeover, including tree planting, a green wall, a biodiversity garden and veggie patches.

                    What motivated the Howlett Street residents to green their property?

                    The Howlett Street complex consists of 45 apartments. It has an outdoor common area running through the centre of the property, providing a publicly accessible connection from Smithfield Road to Howlett Street.

                    Prior to this project, the area had some small garden beds and a large river red gum. The property frequently encountered flooding issues. Due to the lack of attractive communal spaces, residents didn’t often interact with their neighbours or use their outdoor space.

                    The Urban Forest Fund grants program provided an opportunity for residents to create a more inviting common area. Coming from a diverse background of owners and renters, families and singles and different generations, residents saw the range of benefits that would come from investing in a greener space.


                    'We had just started a community garden club which was really popular, and this grant seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand on the community benefits that we were seeing from that project. We wanted to bring our community together and create an attractive and unique space that we could all benefit from.'

                    - Milla Mihailova, Howlett Street Resident 

                    Project details

                    The Greening Howlett Street project includes:

                    • 1653 new plants and 122 square metres of new green vegetation
                    • 34 custom 700mm deep planter boxes with wicking irrigation system (containing a mixture of perfumed, vertical, forest-like, and edible plants)
                    • shaded courtyard with native wildflower garden designed to support the existing river red gum tree
                    • a 10 metre square green wall in a communal gathering area
                    • a redesign of the apartment entrance with a bamboo forest and exotic tree species
                    • new stormwater harvesting and irrigation system designed for re-use on the gardens.

                    The total cost for the project was approximately $200,000, with $100,000 provided by the Urban Forest Fund. This project cost includes:

                    • project design and management
                    • site preparation, including drainage works
                    • soil improvement and preparation
                    • plants, trees and mulch
                    • irrigation
                    • green wall
                    • landscaping elements.

                    Benefits of the project

                    The green infrastructure improvements from the Greening Howlett Street project aim to provide the following benefits:

                    Environmental

                    • Harvesting and re-using stormwater through an installed system and reducing mains water consumption
                    • Reducing the effect of the Urban Heat Island through increased tree canopy coverage
                    • Improving insect and bird biodiversity through the courtyard’s indigenous planting scheme including a native wildflower garden.

                    Community

                    • Edible and sensory gardens that improve the sense of community, cohesion, and wellbeing
                    • Communal areas for shared community experiences
                    • Secluded courtyard for relaxation and refuge.

                    How did residents get the project started?

                    Each green infrastructure project is different and requires a unique approach, but Howlett Street residents came together to turn their project ideas into a reality through the following steps:

                    • A pilot study – Community members tested the level of community engagement and interest in greening by establishing a gardening group in the complex and planting an edible vegetable garden, with 50 per cent of community members participating in gardening events.
                    • Support from the complex owner was obtained for the proposed greening.
                    • The potential environmental and social benefits of the proposal were assessed, such as stormwater harvesting, canopy cover and biodiversity benefits.
                    • A landscape architect was hired to create a green infrastructure design plan including structural and plant selection recommendations.
                    • Quotes were sought to understand the potential long-term maintenance cost of the planned vegetation.
                    • A structural assessment was undertaken to determine the suitability of the green wall installation. 
                    • A community meeting was held by elected members to vote on and eventually approve the project.
                    • An application for the Urban Forest Fund was prepared using the information.

                    'My partner and I heard about the Urban Forest Fund on social media and even though I thought it was a long shot I just decided to go for it. I created a draft of the project and brought it up in our body corporate meeting. We were all really excited about the possibilities and hired a landscape architect to create structural plans as well as inspiring visuals for our application.'

                    - Milla Mihailova, Howlett Street Resident

                    See the project for yourself

                    The Greening Howlett Street project was completed in late 2018 and is currently in the establishment phase. The project area is publicly accessible so you can visit and check it out for yourself. 

                    Head to 8 – 32 Howlett Street, Kensington. Greening is located throughout the walkway areas on the property, accessible by heading up the stairs on the Howlett Street side, or down the stairs on the Smithfield Road side.

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