Strengthening skills through rail corridor restoration
For most Melburnians, the view from a Metro train window rushes past in a blur – an unremarkable stretch of grass, perhaps a small patch of scrub. Few realise that these seemingly ordinary rail corridors are home to some of Victoria’s most threatened grassland species and ecological communities.
Since 2018, MCMC has played a central role in helping Metro Trains protect and restore these vitally important ‘biosites’. When the current Metro franchise began, there were 30 sites identified as having significant ecological values, many of them neglected or poorly documented. Metro engaged specialist contractors to restore and monitor the sites, with MCMC taking responsibility for the majority – particularly the most sensitive or complex grassland reserves.
WaterWatch volunteers connect, learn and lead
Waterproof waders might not be your typical weekend wardrobe, but for a group of 20 WaterWatch volunteers gathered in the inner-north of the Merri Creek catchment in late November, these garments are simply the trademark of a passion for waterway health.
For once, these WaterWatch volunteers kept their socks dry, while attending MCMC’s first-ever Citizen Science networking workshop: although WaterWatch volunteers routinely head out to collect samples, record observations and monitor the health of local creeks, they rarely have the chance to meet one another.
MCMC wins National Landcare Award!
MCMC's CEO Bernadette Thomas. Image by Landcare Australia. At the National Landcare Awards on September 23rd, Merri Creek Management Committee was awarded the Australian Government Community Partnerships Landcare Award.
This is recognition of the work of many people over decades to repair, restore and protect the Merri Creek and catchment. Congratulations everyone!
The Award acknowledges individuals, groups, or organisations that have demonstrated leadership and achievement in landcare-related activities, as a result of working in partnership with others in their community.
Contratulations to all the other 2025 National Landcare Award winners.
Slender-tailed dunnart at Hidden Valley
Fauna monitoring at Hidden Valley Bushland Reserve (in the north of the Merri Creek catchment) has revealed exciting footage of the Slender-tailed Dunnart, a small marsupial that relies on healthy ground cover habitat for the insects it loves to eat.
Are your eyes open for Sacred Kingfishers in Porneet season?
As the length of days and nights become even and warmer temperatures are felt in Porneet season on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, you could be lucky enough to see a Sacred Kingfisher show itself along the Merri Creek as it hunts for grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, frogs, yabbies, and skinks amongst the grasses and bushes of the Merri Creek and surrounds.
Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)
Dipping our toes into climate-adapted planting along Merri Creek
On a crisp June morning, a committed group of community volunteers knelt in the soil along Merri Creek, trowels in hand, planting shrubs that will shape the future of their neighbourhood. Among the 12,000 seedlings funded through the MCMC Green Links project were a handful from Euroa, 150 km to the north – plants that had never felt Melbourne’s chilly winter before yet might hold the key to thriving here as the climate changes.
Volunteers planting the Tree Banksia Orchard in Fawkner.
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