Aurora Lane Cove Residents Lead the Way in Strata Native Garden Programme

    Once again, the landmark Lane Cove apartment building Aurora in Finlayson Street has led the way by creating a native, wildlife-friendly garden corridor.  ITC has featured Aurora before when they commissioned 185 solar panels on their roof.  The panels are expected to produce more than 132,000 Kilowatt hours of renewable energy per year – read our article here.

    Janice Chadbourne from the Executive Committee said that the strata decided to take advantage of the Lane Cove Council’s Backyard Habitat program to commission a backyard habitat report from Lane Cove Council.

    The Backyard Habitat program is free to Lane Cove residents. The committee received a personalised written report which included detailed information for enhancing the garden, plant recommendations for the site, a bountiful supply of local environmental information, weed management advice, plus free native tube stock from Council’s Community Nursery. As a result, over 100 native plants have been planted.

    “We had a traditional ‘developers’ garden when the building was completed in 2015, so it was great to be able to replace the original non-native plants with Australian natives, and now we hope to see the benefits in birds and wildlife as the garden progresses,” said Mrs Chadborne.

    The Aurora Garden Before the Backyard Habitat Programme

    The weeds and existing vegetation were removed and weed matting and mulch laid down. Natives such as Callistemon, Leptospermum and Banksia were planted throughout the area.

    The dense planting of these natives will help to replicate the local bush will also help to add habitat value by creating shelter and protection for small birds to forage and for ground-dwelling fauna such as lizards to live in, thus attracting larger predatory birds. A mixture of local wild-form species and commercially produced native cultivars has created a garden that is not only pleasing to the eye but also excellent for local wildlife.

    The Aurora Garden after the planting

    A spokesperson for the Backyard Habitat Officer with the Lane Cove Council said “the contribution of the Aurora Garden is another important step in improving wildlife corridors and biodiversity in the Lane Cove region and is greatly valued. The Backyard Habitat program aims to extend the reach of native flora and fauna in the area, creating wildlife corridors linking our fragmented urban bushland reserves”.

    We have attached a small “Backyard Habitat Sign” to our front garden fence which we hope will promote the program to our neighbours, as the more people involved in this program, the greater the benefit to our wildlife it will be! Mrs Chadbourne said. You don’t necessarily need to adjoin a bushland reserve to make a difference.

    How to Get Involved in the Lane Cove Council’s Backyard Habitat Programme

    Lane Cove Council’s Backyard Habitat program supports residents to create native, wildlife-friendly gardens through the provision of free resources, including native plants, a garden consultation and a personalised garden report. Register your interest today at https://www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/ “

    Our Cover Photo is Aurora Garden EC members Janice Chadbourne and Mark McElligott 

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