In the city of Knox, something meaningful is happening in people's backyards.
Among busy streets and everyday suburbia, residents are making space for nature again.
Native birds are returning to gardens.
Butterflies are appearing where they hadn't before.
Frogs are finding places to shelter and call.
It's a community led effort to restore habitat, one garden at a time.
Quietly turning ordinary yards into places where wildlife can live.
Chapter One: Why This Matters
Across Australia and around the world, biodiversity is in decline.
As cities grow and native bushland disappears.
Wildlife is losing the food and shelter it depends on.
Birds, insects and small animals that once felt common, are becoming harder to find.
This loss changes how places feel, what we hear, what we notice, what we pass on to the next generation.
Here in Knox, the community chose to respond.
Chapter Two: The Knox Beginning
Gardens for Wildlife began in Knox in 2006.
It started with a conversation and a belief that gardens could be part of the solution.
Irene (G4W Co-founder)
Jan Jordan and I, as members of the Knox Environment Society, really got passionate about wildlife gardening when we could see that remnant populations of plants were under significant threat.
And with the development that was going on in Knox we just both thought that council was trying to do something.
Environmental groups were trying to do something.
That in order for things to change, we'd all have to do something.
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That belief became something practical and powerful.
A hands-on program created through partnership between Knox City Council, the Knox Environment Society and local residents.
Nadine (G4W Coordinator)
When I was approached by two very passionate, very keen ladies who wanted a Gardens for Wildlife program to begin. I thought, why not!
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The aim is simple use local native plants.
Make thoughtful choices, create habitat that supports birds, insects, frogs and other wildlife, right where people live.
And it's working.
What began with a small number of gardens has grown into hundreds across Knox, each contributing to healthier habitat for indigenous plants and animals.
Together, these gardens form stepping stones, helping wildlife to move through suburbs more safely and find what they need.
From the beginning, Gardens for Wildlife has been built on partnership.
Irene
We worked out that really, we only had to go out there and help people to begin.
And we had an approach that we all were to go into their property.
We would share with them our own learnings and experience and provide them with some positive, doable, even just small little differences they could make on their property.
And from the very beginning, we got it right.
Nadine
People just needed, a connection to council and a connection to biodiversity that was meaningful to them.
And wildlife gardening and our Gardens for Wildlife program has genuinely provided that opportunity.
And that bridge between, their own personal space and the value of biodiversity and the broader landscape and how it contributes to the flora and fauna of Knox.
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Today it continues the same way.
Council staff, volunteers, residents.
Everyday people, all playing a part.
It shows what's possible when a community and council works side by side with a shared purpose.
Chapter Three: One Garden at a Time
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Gardens for Wildlife is free to join.
It's open to anyone in Knox with a garden or even a small green space.
Once someone signs up a trained volunteer visits to talk through what's possible.
It's a relaxed conversation.
A walk through the garden, looking at what's already there and what could grow next.
Ian (Volunteer)
I’m not just a volunteer, I'm also a gardener.
So I actually get to learn from other people's gardens and get their ideas as well.
I can apply it in my own garden, and also just the pure pleasure of being out in the environment enjoying what gardens exist in Knox.
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It's practical, supportive, and grounded in the idea that even a small garden can provide food and habitat.
Chapter Four: Community & Impact
Nish (G4W Member)
Creating a garden on my own block, having indigenous and native plants, inviting the local wildlife and insects has been a really rewarding experience.
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That shift happens again and again, not just in gardens, but in people.
Val (G4W Member)
It started as a blank canvas, and a lot of work has gone into it from my husband, who loved landscaping.
And it's just a lovely haven to get out into.
Kylie (G4W Member)
We recently included a frog pond into our backyard.
And it has been such an exciting experience.
At first there were no sounds, but one night we were just sitting out and all of a sudden they were there.
And I just love sitting out listening to them.
John (G4W Member)
Really educate people who are new to the whole concept of growing indigenous.
And it's been great to get to know other people involved in the program.
Samantha (G4W Member)
I wanted to give something back to the environment, but this experience has ended up just giving so much more back to me.
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These stories are heard again and again.
People connecting with nature, with each other and with where they live.
In Knox, wildlife gardening isn't just about plants and animals, it's about people, impact, growth, and a model for the future.
You can see the impact everywhere.
More flowering plants mean more food for birds and insects.
Ponds and damp areas give frogs places to breed.
Shrubs and trees provide shelter for small animals.
It all adds up.
Each garden plays a part.
Together, they form a living network linking backyards with parks and bushland reserves.
A pond in one yard, might connect to a creek nearby.
A flowering tree might help a bird reach the next patch of habitat.
Chapter Five: From Knox to Victoria
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And what began in Knox didn't stay in Knox.
The strong local response from the first 90 gardens to the hundreds of followed showed there was real appetite for this kind of action.
Other councils and communities took notice and the idea spread.
Garden by garden, council by council, community by community.
Until Knox became the starting point for something much bigger.
Gardens for Wildlife has grown into a model for wildlife gardening across Victoria.
Proving conservation doesn't only happen in reserves or remote landscapes.
It can happen at home.
One garden at a time.
The real measure of success isn’t awards or recognition.
It's wildlife finding places to live and people finding pride, purpose and connection through something simple.
Caring for nature where they live.
In Knox, we often say that a sustainable environment starts at home.
Gardens for Wildlife brings that idea to life.
By planting local native species and making thoughtful choices residents are creating safe spaces for wildlife and strengthening their community.
If you live in Knox, consider joining Gardens for Wildlife.
There's no cost, just support, guidance and the chance to make a difference where you live.
If you're already involved, you might consider becoming a volunteer or encouraging someone else to join.
Because every garden adds to something bigger.
Nadine
I am incredibly inspired and always proud of the volunteers and the community members that are involved.
Irene has been an incredible representative and an inspiration to so many people.
Irene
What’s really, really satisfying is to understand and appreciate that it’s still as popular as ever.
Seeing the young people coming through and understanding that this is a place that they want to be too.
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20 years on, Gardens for Wildlife is still doing what it set out to do.
Helping wildlife survive, helping people reconnect and reminding us that meaningful change doesn't always start with something big.
Sometimes it starts with a conversation and a few plants in the ground.
Gardens for Wildlife.
Growing a natural legacy.
One garden at a time.
