NatureNow

Is this the cleanest, greenest street in Ipswich?

From little things, big things grow. Nowhere is that more true than Goss Drive, Collingwood Park, where neighbours nurture a better community.

Cathy and Howard Turrall with daughters Grace and Darcey (top) and the Golden Penda trees planted in Goss Drive with the help of the Beautiful Ipswich campaign.

The rows of Golden Pendas that now line Goss Drive will in coming years burst into beautiful blooms.

Those trees are the latest manifestation of the community pride underpinning the neighbourhood, where residents pick up rubbish, remove graffiti and look out for each other.

For Goss Drive resident Justine Garten, it’s the little things that make a huge difference.

“When we first moved in, there’s wasn’t a bin at the bus stop. Teenagers in particular used to drop rubbish everywhere,” she said. Putting in a call led to a bin being installed – and less rubbish on the street.

Nearby, the Turrall family are using free community programs, donating their time and getting family, friends and neighbours involved.

It’s things like using Council’s free graffiti kits and services to remove unsightly vandalism from their street, or organising a term of working bees to clear rubbish and weeds from the local school’s rainforest section through Land For Wildlife.

By registering with Council’s Habitat Gardens Partnership they were able to pick up 20 free plants, filling their garden with frog- and butterfly-friendly grasses.

The Turralls also registered Goss Drive for street trees through Council’s Beautiful Ipswich program, which led to the Golden Pendas planted earlier this year.

Howard Turrall said there were many nice houses in the area, and it had the potential to be a “really nice suburb”.

“I heard about the street trees program, and I thought that’s exactly what this street needs – it’s so long and straight, with a lot of concrete,” he said.

Once during a big storm the bins were blown up and down the street. We were cleaning up the rubbish off the road and we went to check on the elderly lady nearby… Little things like that make it nice to live here – we look out for each other.

Justine Garten

Trees planted so far through Beautiful Ipswich

It’s our neighbourhood, and for us it’s really important the children learn to make a positive nature-filled community, and they fall in love with it too.

Cathy Turrall

What is Beautiful Ipswich?

Beautiful Ipswich is a program endorsed by Council to beautify major thoroughfares and streetscapes, create attractive parks and pathways and improve waterways. Stage 1 includes initiatives in pilot suburbs Collingwood Park and Riverview.

Residents, community groups and employment agencies have come on board to support the Beautiful Ipswich program. Challenge Employment and Training were the first with boots on the ground at Jamboree Park – which was also the first major project undertaken as part of the ongoing program.

Some other ways residents can become involved in improving their local area include Council’s free plant program, providing feedback to local upgrades, or nature strip landscaping.

It is encouraging to see local residents and organisations have become involved in this (Beautiful Ipswich) program, whether it’s planting trees in their street or gathering a team to tackle a larger project in a public space.
Council is committed to developing a cleaner, greener Ipswich and I am happy Collingwood Park and Riverview were selected as the pilot suburbs for this exciting program.

Councillor Kerry Silver

Division 3

Let us know if you're a contender to be crowned Ipswich's friendliest street ...

Grow your connection to Ipswich First - it's free!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
X
X