Allowing homeowners to plant berm gardens improves social cohesion and brings communities together, according to an Australian researcher.
New Plymouth woman Alana Brough faces a $1000 fine with an additional $50 added every day if she doesn’t remove a fruit and vegetable garden she planted in her berm.
But a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia’s school of agriculture and environment, Natasha Pauli, said research she had done over almost a decade showed improved community well-being was “an accidental consequence” of allowing “verge gardens” as they were called in Australia.
“So the research that we’ve looked at is predominantly around low growing vegetation. Read more