A community planting event this Saturday will breathe new life into one of Fremantle's busiest thoroughfares. The William Street Reimagined project, spearheaded by the Fremantle Department of Culture (Freo DoC), is finally coming to fruition, inviting locals and visitors to participate in greening the street.
Details of the Planting Day
Participants are encouraged to head down to William Street, which connects High Street Mall with the Federal Hotel and extends past FOMO to Fremantle Oval. They will have the opportunity to get their hands dirty while helping to plant 500 native plants in recently constructed garden beds, which were built on a previously paved area. The event will run in two sessions: the first from 9:30am to 11am, focusing on garden beds near the Federal Hotel, and the second from 10:30am to 12pm, targeting beds closest to High Street Mall.
Project Background
The highly anticipated project was developed by the Freo DoC team, launched by environment advocates Hannah Fick and Kate Hulett in 2022. They were later joined by Fremantle councillor Melanie Clark and Greens MLC Brad Pettitt. The group received a $100,000 grant through the Streets Alive program in late 2024, in partnership with the City of Fremantle.
Ms Clark told PerthNow that the grant covered reticulation, soil, mulch, and asphalt de-paving to create the groundwork for the planting. “We have 500 plants that have been growing at APACE to put into the beds – it will be densely planted and we’ve waited for the best timing to plant out,” she said. “Local landscaper Andrew Beck selected the plant mix, which are all natives, meeting City of Freo guidelines, ensuring there will be flowers in the greenery all year round.”
Benefits of the Project
The completed project will also feature seating to encourage the community to enjoy the space, aiming to enhance local biodiversity, support pollinators, slow traffic, and promote urban cooling. “The completed project will assist with heat bank reduction – I measured the heat of the asphalt as 60 degrees on a 35 degree day,” Ms Clark said. “There’s been a lot of excitement around this project, both from the nearby businesses and locals and also as an example of inner-city de-paving. This type of re-greening needs to be our new normal, not just in Freo but in city centres everywhere.”
Community Involvement
The Freo DoC team expects more than 70 community members to attend. Participants are encouraged to bring gardening gloves, trowels, and watering cans if they have them, but the team will have some available on site. Ms Hulett expressed the significance of the project finally coming to life for the entire community. “This project, with an outcome so tangible, visible and accessible, will offer a positive boost for locals and visitors,” she said. “Obviously there is so much work by so many people going into something like this – a lot of planning, budgeting, negotiating, consulting and expectation. We will be delighted when we finally get to plant out the beds on May 9, and we are so lucky to be able to watch the project grow and evolve over the years to come.”
