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Claire Kenefick
I’m helping to build more sustainable Woody Meadows by investigating the potential of recycled construction and demolition mineral materials as growing media and mulch for Australian shrubs.
Mineral substrates are a key part of the Woody Meadows design. Scoria, a mined volcanic gravel product, is the ideal Woody Meadow substrate that both supports plant establishment and growth and acts as a mulch to suppress weeds. While beneficial, scoria is unsustainable because it is a mined, finite resource.
My PhD project will evaluate the potential of recycled mineral wastes, such as crushed concrete, crushed rock and recycled sand as a growing media and mulch for Australian shrubs. In addition, I will investigate a specialised plant palette designed for concrete substrate mixes based on native Australian plant communities adapted to alkaline soils. The results from my project will help to design more sustainable and resilient Woody Meadows for the future.