Get Gardening for a Healthy Urban Habitat

6 January 2012

City West Water has launched healthyurbanhabitat.com.au – a website dedicated to providing information about sustainable gardening, efficient water use, and how individuals can contribute to greener urban landscapes and communities.

Aimed at householders, the highly interactive website loaded with ‘how-to videos’ from Sustainable Gardening Australia and practical factsheets has been established to provide a comprehensive resource of the latest information about sustainable gardening and water use practices.

City West Water Managing Director, Anne Barker, said the website provides the community with an invaluable resource that enables residents to enjoy gardening in an environmentally sustainable manner.

“The healthy urban habitat website is a fantastic resource that can be enjoyed by the novice gardener or an expert green thumb, with practical information about virtually all aspects of sustainable gardening,” Ms Barker said.

“We’ve covered the gardening topics that matter most – including the types of plants best suited to drier climates, boosting soils and tips on gardening in small spaces, so gardeners of all levels of experience can learn something new.

“As we enter what is traditionally our driest time of the year, the website is loaded with information on how to enjoy your garden while keeping water use to a minimum.”

Ms Barker said healthyurbanhabitat.com.au contained interesting information about the effect of vegetation and trees on liveability and temperature in the western suburbs.

“In addition to the gardening tips, the website hosts important information about the vital role that green space, trees and private and public gardens play in creating appealing and liveable places that communities can enjoy while also providing health benefits.”

“Sports fields, playgrounds, walking tracks, established street trees – these are just some of the attributes that make an area highly desirable and contribute to the health and wellbeing of local residents – and the website will be updated with information about a number of initiatives being planned to increase the level of vegetation and tree cover at a number of locations in Melbourne’s west.

Ms Barker said the website was devised to serve as an information resource for household gardeners as well as providing the community with important information about how increased vegetation can improve liveability and public health, creating a healthier urban habitat.

“Through the healthy urban habitat website, we’ve brought private gardening around the home together with public green space, with the aim of highlighting the important link between the two."