The City of Greater Bendigo has flagged a review into nature strip policy in the next 12 months but a Quarry Hill resident has vowed to keep protesting in the CBD.

The council confirmed this morning it is planning a review of the policy.

It is a great step forward but a year is not soon enough, activist Vyonne McLelland-Howe said.

"It should be changed in the immediate future, not 12 months," she said.

"They are not treating this as urgent. That action needs to start now."

She plans continue protesting every weekday outside council offices to make sure climate change is made a priority in the nature strip review.

Mrs McLelland-Howe and her husband Andrew have been protesting for at least an hour a day in the CBD and outside their Quarry Hill home for three weeks.

Wednesday

BENDIGO'S nature strip policy does not help people take the fight against climate change into their own hands, a new petition says.

Vyonne McLelland-Howe wants to overhaul rules about what can be planted on thousands of kilometres of nature strips across the City of Greater Bendigo.

More plants would act as "carbon sinks" for greenhouse gases, but it would currently cost $88.90 to bring a council worker out to see whether the small shrubs would be suitable.

"There's plenty of other councils around that actively encourage you to go out and do it and charge no fee," Mrs McLelland-Howe said.

"To me it empowers residents to do something, because climate change is such an overwhelming issue. I personally think 'what can one person do'."

"That's why I thought I could plant some shrubs to create a small carbon sink of some sort, but the policy is discouraging us from doing that."

The council approved the policy in 2006 as millennium drought water restrictions pushed more residents to use crushed stone or brick on their nature strips, as well as plants or mulch.

"If you plan to do anything other than grow lawn grass, you will need permission from City of Greater Bendigo - Asset Planning and Design Department," the policy stated.

The policy does not fully take account of climate change Mrs McLelland-Howe said.

She points to the Macedon Ranges Shire, where people can landscape nature strips without council approval, provided they meet certain guidelines.

They include rules over how high plants can grow and sightlines between pedestrians and motorists, a council spokesperson said.

"If a resident is walking along the footpath, they need to be able to clearly see an approaching driver and whether the vehicle is indicating that it is going to turn in front of them," they said.

"Alternatively, motorists wishing to turn a corner or into a driveway must also be able to clearly see an approaching pedestrian prior to turning."

Any landscaping that falls outside of the Macedon Ranges guidelines needs council approval and residents must provide a sketch of plans and $151 in fees.

The plans are then reviewed by a council worker on a case by case basis, the Macedon Ranges spokesperson said.

Mrs McLelland-Howe and her husband Andrew have been protesting the change outside the Lyttleton Terraces council offices and their Quarry Hill for the past three weeks.

They have just started the petition.

"People say 'oh, you could just plant the shrubs, but that won't change the policy," Mrs McLelland-Howe said

"It all started with Greta Thunberg, when she addressed the UN. I thought 'Oh my God, what can we do?' I am retired and I thought 'I can do something'.

"I've got kids and grand kids and it's their future. We need to do something and we need to do it now."

To view the petition look for Mrs McLelland-Howe every weekday outside the Bendigo council's offices.

She spends at least an hour there, though times vary depending on the day. She expects to be out the front from 3pm to 5pm on Thursday.

The Bendigo council has been approached for comment.

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