The Regenerative Garden Project Blog documents our journey as an average family with limited gardening experience and a desire to regenerate an Australian urban garden. This post set out the vision for our urban garden. It will be progressively updated as we do more research along our personal learning journey.
In this post you will find:
- Why we decided to Regenerate our Urban Garden
- How regenerative gardening supports a circular economy
- The current urban garden layout plan
- Our vision for our Regenerative Urban Garden
- Tips on how you could regenerate your garden.
Why we decided to Regenerate our Urban Garden
In early 2021 we were fortunate to purchase a property on Dharawal Land (Southern Sydney). Our block is 550 square meters of grass, exotic plants and invasive species. The soil has not been tested, but appears to be of decent quality. Our block adds very little to the indigenous habitat of the area and we don’t see a lot of local bird life. There are three key drivers for regenerating our block of land.
- Increase carbon capture in our soil: While we have not tested our soil, and it looks OK in some areas, the manicured lawns are not an environmentally friendly solution. We only have 550sqm, but each meter counts.
- Increase native plant species: We live in a country with some of the most beautiful native plants around. They have also adapted to living in this climate for millions of years, so are a more sustainable solution to gardening. Why plant a tropical plant in a desert then spend your life watering it?
- Increasing native bird life: We have 2 young daughters, aged 0.25 and 4. When our youngest first was learning her first words she was fascinated by “Lori” and “Keet”. Lori and Keet, as you may have guessed, were a pair of Lorikeet who visited our rental property regularly and danced at the window.
- Teach the girls where food comes from: As a child we had a vegetable garden. It was never a particularly productive garden, but i learnt that food doesn’t magically turn up in a supermarket. We will include home grown food in our garden to teach the girls. We will learn regenerative agriculture concepts to make the garden as sustainable and resilient as possible.
How does Regenerative Gardening support a Circular Economy?
The third principle of a Circular Economy is to Regenerate Nature. The economy needs to change to be more sustainable. Our one garden will not make a significant difference to the planet, but we hope that our journey can inspire others to take similar steps. By embedding sustainable practice at home, we hope we can influence decision making in business. Follow us if you’d like to be part of the solution.
“There’s no concept of waste in nature. Everything is food for something else – a leaf that falls from the tree feeds the forest. By returning nutrients to the soil and other systems, we can enhance natural resources.” – Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The current garden layout
To come…. we are currently mapping the species within our plot and will publish a “before” plan soon. Follow us on Instagram if you’d like to help.
Our vision for our regenerative urban garden
Our vision is for a regenerative urban garden which supports indigenous plant species, attracts native birds and wildlife, and provides a supply of organic vegetables to supplement our weekly shop.
We will update this section when we have a more detailed plan.
Tips on how you could regenerate your garden
To come…. we need to learn some things first. Join the Circular Generation if you’d like us to keep you updated on our Regenerative Urban Garden.
Check out our resources post for our latest research and thoughts.
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