We had the opportunity to visit the Ken Armitage Dry Tropics Nursery at Anderson Gardens - a rare chance to peek behind the scenes at one of the places quietly shaping the future of Townsville’s urban landscape.

The nursery is just one piece of a much larger puzzle when it comes to greening our city. It sits within a long chain of planning, growing, planting, and maintenance across council teams, community groups, and local volunteers. But it plays a crucial role.

A Nursery with a Big Job

The nursery’s key performance target is 30,000 plants per year. Most of these go directly to Townsville City Council crews for street-greening projects, urban shade corridors, and rejuvenation works across our suburbs. Others support the botanical gardens and the occasional community plant giveaways that so many residents look forward to.

Over recent years the nursery has come a long way. Their focus on native species — plants naturally adapted to our dry tropics climate — helps ensure higher survival rates and smarter use of water. They’ve also developed a specialised soil mix that retains moisture, reducing water demand during establishment.

Timing is Everything

Growing for a city is not as simple as potting and planting. We learned how much planning and timing matter: seedlings have a narrow window where they’re healthy and ready for planting, and delays can mean starting again. Where possible, staff use cuttings and locally collected seed, helping maintain genetic resilience and connection to place.

Even with best-practice preparation, Townsville’s soils demand patience, and successful planting ultimately relies on consistent follow-up watering — always a challenge in a city as big and as hot as ours.

People Who Care About This City

Under the guidance of Site Manager Jake, the nursery team clearly takes pride in their work. They’re passionate about making Townsville more beautiful, more liveable, and more appreciated for its growing green spaces. Jake himself brings experience from Landcare and other environmental groups, and believes in community engagement and building a culture that values urban greening.

Planning for a Hotter Future

We also touched on the growing challenge of preparing Townsville for climate changes. While the nursery can adapt through species selection and practical trials, staff emphasised that policy direction and region-wide data will need to come from above to plan climate-resilient plantings.

Part of a Much Bigger Chain

This visit highlighted the many different processes and links in the chain that keep our urban environment green — from seed collection to propagation, planting, maintenance, and the ongoing community care that keeps these efforts alive.

A big thank-you to David Cassells and the Climate Action Group for organising the visit. It was inspiring to learn from the people working every day to green our city, one seedling at a time.