Tomorrow we build the first 'Streetgarden" in the footpath outside the Kylie Off-grid renovation project. The local council has approved the trial which is being paid for by Kylie Ahern.

Each year the drain garden will divert over 20,000 litres of water from the street gutter to irrigate a sad, unhealthy tree that is presently denied that water due to the road design.

We'll monitor and report here on the sediment that accumulates in the streetgarden and the impact of the water on the health and height of the tree.

During the construction we'll review the design and cost to make and install the streetgarden and report on that, too.

There's a huge potential to cool our cities by irrigating street trees with stormwater from the road, to clean the air we breath and to improve the value of our infrastructure by reducing the wear and tear on it from stormwater. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote a highly critical article of current government waste of money and water caused by their design and maintenance practices.