Gardens for Wildlife

Overview

The Gardens for Wildlife is a free program will assist you to create wildlife-friendly habitat in your garden by providing you with simple, practical advice for an environmentally sustainable garden. The program is provided by Frankston City Council supported by our wonderful Garden Guide volunteers.

The program aims to:

  • promote biodiversity for native flora and fauna
  • to improve the habitat connectivity through the landscape of Frankston City
  • increase the plantings of indigenous or other suitable Australian plants in gardens
  • create enjoyable and practical gardens improving on our health and wellbeing.

Participants will receive: 

  • a garden habitat assessment carried out by two friendly local Garden Guides
  • a gift voucher for 20 indigenous plants from Frankston Indigenous Nursery
  • a letterbox sticker to help promote the program to your neighbours
  • invitations to Gardens for Wildlife events and information sessions across the year
  • fee waived for a nature strip planting permit.

Frankston city council, in conjunction with the Gardens for Wildlife group, has created a valuable resource for anyone who wants to create a wildlife friendly garden or just learn more about the possibilities. Learn about garden design, species selection, how to identify opportunities to attract more wildlife to your garden and more. 

View or download Gardens for Wildlife Booklet(PDF, 56MB).


Register your interest

Interested gardeners can register online through Eventbrite to view available time slots and book a garden visit.

Book a Garden visit

We can visit a limited number of gardens; however, we hope to cater for more properties as we grow our team of volunteer Garden Guides.

If no dates are available, please register your garden and join our waitlist to receive notifications once new dates are released.

Join the waitlist 


What is a Wildlife Garden? 

A wildlife garden contains features that provide a safe haven for wildlife, with food, shelter, nesting sites and safe areas to raise young. These include:

  • a tall mature tree, native to the area
  • a patch of natural mulch for beetles and worms
  • a clump of dense shrubs where birds can shelter
  • nectar plants for honeyeaters
  • a cat-proof birdbath
  • a frog-friendly pond or bog with unpolluted water
  • a warm, sheltered corner for lizards
  • local daisies for butterflies
  • there is no garden too small.

Planting on your nature strip

Participants of the Gardens for Wildlife Program get the fee waived for a Nature Strip Planting Permit. 

There are many benefits of planting indigenous plants on your nature strip, including:

  • provides habitat and a food source for native biodiversity
  • brightens up the street, bringing your creative garden design to the neighbourhood
  • plants reduce water run off by absorbing water back into the ground, reducing pressure on stormwater drains
  • creates green corridors for the movement insects and birds.

Visit our nature strip permit page for more information on application requirements.