?Wellington has joined the ‘green wall’ party with Victoria University installing a vertical garden at its Kelburn campus.

Wellington City Council funded the installation as part of its Our Living City programme and Victoria University has committed to maintaining the wall for the next five years.

Professor Charles Daugherty, assistant vice-chancellor at Victoria, says he hopes the first external green wall in Wellington will inspire other similar initiatives.

“Green walls are a growing trend around the world and with a long history of being an environmental leader, Victoria University is proud to be the first in Wellington to be implementing this initiative.”

The garden, located on the MacLaurin building opposite Kelburn Parade, includes a range of native plants, grasses and ferns, chosen because of their hardy nature and tolerance to Wellington conditions.

The system comprises a series of individual rectangular modules with a built in irrigation system. Over the next few months, as the plants grow, the modules will become covered in greenery.