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                    Gardens for Wildlife

                    City of Melbourne - Gardens for Wildlife
                    Gardens for Wildlife supports the community to provide an area of habitat in the garden for local wildlife.

                    Whether you have a big backyard, a community garden, a school veggie patch, a green rooftop or pot plants on your balcony, everyone can help promote urban biodiversity.

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                    About the program

                    Gardens for Wildlife Melbourne aims to inspire Melburnians to create space for nature in the city.

                    A partnership with Westgate Biodiversity: Bili Nursery and Landcare and community members, the free program sees trained volunteers visit private land to provide insights on improving spaces for wildlife. Gardens for Wildlife Melbourne recognises that individuals can make a meaningful contribution to conservation through gardening.

                    Private landholders manage around three quarters of the land in our municipality and play a big role in ensuring the city has healthy ecosystems and thriving biodiversity. By participating in the program and getting involved in wildlife gardening, you will help our community to foster local nature. 

                    Tenants and property owners within the City of Melbourne municipality can apply to have our trained wildlife garden advisers visit your space and provide recommendations. Afterwards you can join our network of wildlife gardeners in the city. If you don’t live in the city, you can still get involved as a volunteer.

                    Gardens for Wildlife Victoria is a state-wide network of community group and local government partnerships active in more than 25 municipalities across Victoria. The network supports collaboration, connections and wellbeing alongside environmental objectives. 

                    The City of Melbourne have used the successful Knox Gardens for Wildlife Program, and research on its impact, as a model to develop a local program. Thank you to Knox City Council and Gardens for Wildlife Victoria for their assistance.

                    How to get involved

                    Join the program and make your garden a haven for local wildlife

                    We want to support and encourage everyone, no matter the size of their space, to provide an area in the garden to promote and support local wildlife, providing habitat with indigenous natives or suitable alternatives. Because each space, no matter how small or big, is important for creating and linking wildlife habitat, and conserving biodiversity.

                    Our volunteers will request some photos of your garden, and will schedule a visit with you to learn more about your space and your goals. We are currently offering both virtual and in-person visits, in compliance with current COVID restrictions. Following your visit you will be provided with a report on how you can work towards your goals and make it even better for wildlife. You will also receive a voucher for free native plants from Bili nursery. 

                    Request a garden visit.

                    Connect with Gardens for Wildlife online

                    Gardens for Wildlife Victoria is a network of community members and council/shire officers across Victoria supporting each other to involve local residents, schools and businesses to join us in caring for the native plants and animals of our communities.  

                    The Gardens for Wildlife Facebook group is a great place to share and learn from other passionate wildlife gardeners! 

                    Be inspired by stories from our gardeners

                    Why do we garden for wildlife? 

                    Poem by G4W Volunteer and habitat gardener Anne 

                    Why do we garden for wildlife? 

                    I love to see the butterflies I love the birds to sing 

                    How can I to my garden native creatures bring? 

                    Without food and shelter they will not come my way 

                    So I will rethink my garden starting right away 

                    But what to plant these creatures to invite 

                    Maybe Gardens for Wildlife can guide me aright 

                    Every site is different each owners preference is unique 

                    But a friendly garden visit is sure my interest to pique 

                    Some ideas, some suggestions as to how I might proceed 

                    Will help me get started, should turn intention into deed 


                    Tips for a wildlife-friendly garden

                    • Plants that flower in winter are great for birds because birds are active throughout the year. Insects depend on warm weather for activity. So when the weather is cold, insects aren’t active to take advantage of winter flowers! 
                    • Butterflies only lay their eggs on specific plants that will nourish their caterpillars. But adult butterflies will take nectar from lots of different flowers, native or exotic. 
                    • Spotted pardalotes are small birds that nest in tunnels, dig in embankments and feed on insects taken from the leaves of eucalypt trees. Listen for their simple yet distinctive calls around the city during the breeding season in spring.
                    • Insectivorous bats naturally roost in the crevices of trees or under bark, but in urban areas they sometimes shelter under dead palm fronds, and in ceilings or walls.
                    • There are 16 species of insectivorous bats in Victoria but only one can be heard by the human ear – the white-striped freetail bat.
                    • Australia is home to over 1500 species of native bees. All Melburnian species are solitary, meaning they don’t form hives or produce honey. 
                    • Solitary native bees lay their eggs in tunnels in the ground, brick walls or holes in timber. They lay their eggs in the tunnels with a ball of ‘bee bread’ made from a mixture of nectar and pollen that feeds the larvae in sealed chambers until they emerge as adult bees. 
                    • Native groundcover plants like nodding saltbush and ruby saltbush produce fruit loved by blue-tongue lizards. If you’re lucky enough to have them in your yard, they’ll also snack on garden snails. 
                    • It’s easy to attract large nectar-eating birds like rainbow lorikeets or red wattlebirds by planting banksias and grevilleas. If you want to attract smaller birds like eastern spinebills, try planting some thick shrubs for them to escape from the bigger birds, as well as from cats and dogs.
                    • Many small birds build their nests using spider webs, fur, fibres and grass collected from various places. Keep an eye out for birds collecting nesting material and secure any plastics in which they can become entangled.

                    Wildlife-Friendly Feeding 

                    Written by G4W Volunteers Annelise and Ella 

                    One of the most tempting ways of bridging the gap between us and our wild neighbours is offering them food, but can this do more harm than good? 

                    While well-intentioned, offering food to wildlife can contribute to a range of problems and compromise their survival. Providing water is a great way to help wildlife without causing them harm. Just remember to clean your bird baths and containers regularly to stop the spread of disease. And place a combination of rocks, sticks and leaves in any large containers to help smaller wildlife such as bees to drink safely.  

                    The best way to attract wildlife to your garden is by planting a range of wildlife-friendly indigenous plants that they can use for both food and shelter. Apply for a wildlife garden visit, so we can help you select some plants to attract your favourite wildlife and feed them a natural diet! 

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