A Path for Pollinators

In the suburbs of South Melbourne, where concrete sprawls and nature is an afterthought, something unexpected has taken root. A once-barren stretch of pavement now supports clusters of native flowers — Brachyscome daisies, bulbine lilies, and Xerochrysum — attracting Blue-banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and Yellow Admiral butterflies (Vanessa itea).

This is just one link in Heartscape's Melbourne Pollinator Corridor (MPC), a first-of-its-kind initiative in Australia. Stretching five miles from the Royal Botanic Gardens to Westgate Park, the project uses native plantings to connect fragmented urban spaces, creating stepping-stone habitats for pollinators — bees, butterflies, hoverflies — that urban sprawl has been steadily squeezing out.

At the heart of it all is Emma Cutting, who began with a single garden outside her rental home and ended up reshaping the way her city thinks about nature. 

A Garden Begins with a Single Plant

In 2020, Emma founded The Heart Gardening Project, dedicated to transforming overlooked urban spaces into vibrant street gardens while fostering a sense of community. She hadn’t set out to rewild a city; she’d simply felt a desperate need to sink her hands into the earth after years of chronic fatigue had kept her isolated, and she started with a small patch of dirt outside her rented home in South Melbourne. 

“On this street, we already had a beautiful culture of some street gardeners,” Emma says. “Some locals that had been here for a long time were tinkering out the front. So, I wasn’t the first. I know how lucky I am to already have that culture change on the street. Saying that, I definitely took it and ran with it!”

Australia is home to around 2,000 species of native bees, rapidly disappearing from urban areas and most of them unknown to the general public. Unlike European honeybees, many of these species are solitary, nesting in the ground or in tree hollows, and desperately in need of habitat. When Emma learned about the native bees, she was shocked. “Suddenly I went, ok, they’re in trouble,” she says. “What do I need to do?”

Noting the bees congregating in the gardens of The Heart Gardening Project, she wondered what a network of such gardens might do. Could it provide a way for bees and other pollinators to move through the city?

The idea took hold.

How to Grow a Movement

The Melbourne Pollinator Corridor is deceptively simple: 200 street gardens spaced no more than 50 meters apart, with the short gaps allowing for cross pollination along the entire route. At each end are two major gardens — the Royal Botanic Gardens and Westgate Park. The corridor between them consists principally of verge plantings (plantings in the strips of land between sidewalks and the street), even at industrial properties such as car parks and schoolyards. Project workers prioritize native and indigenous species chosen for their ability to attract and support pollinators year-round.

 “The key,” Emma says, “is understanding that this isn’t just about plants. It’s about people.” Unlike traditional conservation projects, which often exist at arm’s length from the public, the MPC invites people to participate in rewilding their own streets. “Street gardening asks people to rethink public space,” Emma explains. “It’s not just ‘your’ garden — it’s everyone’s.”

Some neighbours plant. Others donate. Some just stop and notice, which is, in itself, a shift. Over time, even the skeptics come around. A resident who initially grumbled about “mess” may, months down the line, volunteer to start watering a patch themselves. Slowly, subtly, the culture of a street shifts. 

Emma knows the long game. “You can’t just plant a garden and walk away,” she says. “You’re changing culture. That takes time.”

The Roadblocks and the Wins

Creating the corridor wasn’t always easy. Some local councils were hesitant, preoccupied with public land regulations. There was a battle, for example, with the Port Melbourne council over its nature strip guidelines, which initially placed restrictions on verge planting. Emma fought back, gathering community support, launching a petition, and ultimately securing a win. The council reversed its decision.

Fighting council regulations was only half the battle. A few residents complained that the gardens looked messy. Accustomed to the neatly clipped sterile lawns. Emma knew education was key. She put up small signs explaining which pollinators the flowers were supporting. She posted updates on social media, showing the difference a single season could make. Gradually, people’s attitudes began to shift.

And then there were the physical challenges, including litter, dog poop, trampling, and vandalism. “Yes, you’re going to get rubbish,” Emma says. “Yes, you’re going to get people trampling on it. That is going to happen.” But she’s learned not to focus on the occasional setbacks. A snapped plant here or an upturned sign there isn’t enough to derail the bigger picture. “The more you care for a space, the more other people start to care, too,” she says.

A Global Effort to Regenerate Cities

The Melbourne Pollinator Corridor is part of a much larger movement — one that sees cities not as dead zones for nature but as vital landscapes where biodiversity can thrive.

In Brisbane, the Pollinator Link project is turning backyards into stepping stones for bees and butterflies. In London, the Rewild London Fund is bringing native plants and wildlife back to neglected urban corners. Across Europe and Japan, the Tiny Forest Movement is squeezing biodiversity into pocket-sized plots, proving that even the smallest spaces can support nature.

And then there’s Knepp, the UK’s most famous rewilding project, where a once-depleted farm has been transformed into a haven for endangered species. Knepp is now home to thriving populations of endangered species, showing that rewilding is about regeneration as well as conservation. It’s proof that if you give nature a foothold, it will return in ways you never imagined. 

Melbourne’s pollinator corridor might not be as big as Knepp or as structured as Rewild London, but its lesson is the same: we can reshape our cities and the ecosystems within them.

A Blueprint for Replication

The success of the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor offers a model for other cities looking to bring biodiversity back into urban spaces. It proves that even the most built-up environments can support nature — if we make room for it. 

Emma is the first to admit that big ideas take time. “Dream big, but start small,” she says. If you’re looking to transform public spaces or replicate the MPC in your own community, here’s what she advises:

• Start with what’s manageable. A single garden, a single street — small wins build momentum.
• Bring in the experts. Ecologists, native plant specialists, and local scientists can help create the best habitats.
• Make it a community effort. The more people involved, the stronger and more resilient the project will be.
• Work with local councils, not against them. Understanding regulations (and sometimes challenging them) is part of the process.
• Keep the conversation going. Share knowledge, run workshops, and inspire others to create their own pollinator-friendly spaces.

But you don’t need an entire pollinator corridor to make a difference. If you want to rewild your own space — whether it’s a backyard, balcony, or verge — Emma’s advice is simple:

• Plant for pollinators, not just looks. Native plants provide the food and shelter wildlife needs.
• Layer your planting. A mix of flowers, shrubs, and small trees creates a more dynamic habitat.
• Use whatever space you have. Even a tiny garden bed or an old planter box can be a lifeline for insects.
• Get your neighbours involved. Change happens faster when it’s collective.
• Be patient. Nature works on its own timeline, but once it takes hold, it thrives.

For those who want to dig deeper, Emma has compiled years of experience into the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor Handbook, a practical guide to creating pollinator-friendly spaces in cities. Packed with planting recommendations, design tips, and strategies for engaging communities, it’s a roadmap for anyone wanting to bring a little more wildness back into the world.

The Melbourne Pollinator Corridor is proof that cities can be part of nature, not separate from it. When we pay attention, when we plant with purpose, when we see the life around us as something to be nurtured rather than contained, we don’t just change our streets — we change the way we live in them.