LAWN Project

Living Lab: Shifting Sands, UWA Nedlands Campus

Established October 2020

Shifting Sands is a ‘Living Lab’ aimed at encouraging communal and educational activities and experiences concerning both sustainable design and Perth’s unique landscape. The design principles include: sustainability (using recycled material and low water species), biodiversity (using native Western Australian plant species), aesthetics (nature/culture coexistence) and education (interactive living lab for students, staff and visitors).

Shifting Sands received the 2021 AILA WA Landscape Architecture Award for Small Projects.

Shifting Sands brochure

Living Lab: Lawn as a Living Lab, UWA Nedlands Campus

Established June 2021

This living lab exhibits the following lawn gradient: old lawn left uncut (Couch and Kikuyu mix), artificial turf, three traditional lawn species used in Perth with conventional irrigation and mowing (Cynodon dactylon, Stenotaphrum secundatum and Pennisetum clandestinum), spontaneous lawn (abandoned ground left to natural plant succession processes) and native ground covers of Dichondra, Eremophila, Myoporum and Scaevola species.

Lawn as a Living Lab flyer

Living Lab: Urban Biodiversity in Design, UWA Crawley Campus

29 Cook Street, Crawley 6009 | Established July-September 2022

The design concept is based on the demonstration of dynamic character of existing urban landscapes.  The present site is a typical urban biotope that can be found anywhere in Perth.  The garden shows the dramatic transformation of Perth’s landscapes from the original indigenous vegetation, Karrakatta complex, to designed colonial garden, an orchard, and a spontaneous weedy space. This journey is taken through a series of looped paths that starts and finishes with the native garden – an attempt to return native nature to the urban landscape. This garden has three mini exhibits testing mixture of native grasses and groundcovers as a part of the LAWN project.

Demonstration Site: Dowling Street Reserve, Rockingham experimental plots

Established on the 4th of June 2024,

These 16 experimental plots aim to demonstrate different scenarios of sustainable options for urban lawns and investigate the phenomenon of lawns from environmental, social and design perspectives to test alternative sustainable design solutions for urban green spaces in a drying climate. Plots include mixtures of low-growing native grasses, sedges, perennials, annuals, and shrubs as well as new lawn species and maintenance specifications to help find water-wise and biodiverse solutions for Perth public and private lawns. 

Experimental plots idea and methodology: M. Ignatieva
Planting design of native grass plots, plant material: D. Wittwer
Experimental plots implementation: M. Ignatieva, D. Wittwer, A. Cabanek, L. Liu, G. Fawkes, City of Rockingham team (M. Chambers, A. Johnston)

Dowling Street Reserve plot map

Demonstration Site: Collier Park Golf Course, City of South Perth

Established on the 4th of June 2024

These 12 experimental plots aim to demonstrate different scenarios of sustainable options for urban lawns and investigate the phenomenon of lawns from environmental, social and design perspectives to test alternative sustainable design solutions for urban green spaces in a drying climate.  Plots include mixtures of low-growing native grasses, sedges, perennials, annuals, and shrubs as well as new lawn species and maintenance specifications to help find water-wise and biodiverse solutions for Perth public and private lawns. 

Experimental plots idea and methodology: M. Ignatieva
Planting design of native grass plots, plant material: D. Wittwer
Experimental plots implementation: M. Ignatieva, D. Wittwer, A. Cabanek, L. Liu, G. Fawkes, City of South Perth and Collier Park Golf Team

Collier Park Demo Site plot map

Demonstration Site: Western Australian Native Meadows

Established on the 14th of June 2024

The goal of this meadow is to try to create meadow-like vegetation based on grasses, sedges, perennial and annual native Western Australian species. This aims to test the opportunity of designing biodiversity-friendly, aesthetically pleasant plant communities that could find a place in the public parks and golf courses in dedicated open space zones. Planting methods include tube planting and sowing seeds.

Experimental site idea: M. Ignatieva
Planting design concept and plan, plant material recommendations: D. Wittwer
Experimental plots implementation: M. Ignatieva, D. Wittwer, A. Cabanek, S. Nielsen, L. Willix, M. Nastos, City of South Perth and Collier Park Golf team

Western Australian Native Meadows plot map