Waring on the Merri
If you’re walking along the Merri Creek this time of year, you’ll notice what Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people observe as the season of Waring. Waring is one of six seasons on the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung seasonal calendar and is the longest of the seasons, occurring over four months.
Like other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people have seasonal markers based on changes in the landscape and skyscape rather than the Western calendar. Museum Victoria describes this local seasonal calendar as “marked by the movement of the stars in the night sky and changes in the weather, coinciding with the life cycles of plants and animals”. There are many interpretations of seasons available for Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country.
Merri Creek and National Sorry Day
In early June, Merri Creek Management Committee honoured National Sorry Day with Whittlesea Council at the Quarry Hill Bushland Park in South Morang, co-leading a guided walk and community event Local Bushland: a Historical Discovery.
The theme of this year’s National Reconciliation Week, held by Reconciliation Australia, is Now More Than Ever, a theme that reminds Australians that “no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue.”
A vision for the future of marram baba Merri Creek Parklands
Our vision for continuous public parklands along Merri Creek is one step closer with the Victorian government’s 2023 adoption of the Future Directions Plan for the marram baba Merri Creek Regional Parklands, a proposed chain of parks and conservation reserves stretching from Campbellfield to Beveridge in Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung country. marram baba means “body of mother” in Woi-wurrung language.
The proposed parklands will join a number of existing reserves with other areas proposed for parklands acquisition as urban development proceeds. The expected completion date is 2050. The park will offer habitat for a suite of grassland and woodland species like the vulnerable Growling Grass Frog and critically endangered Golden Sun Moth among many others as well as important opportunities for people to connect with nature.
The vision for the Parklands is: marram baba Merri Creek Regional Parklands is the preeminent natural corridor running through Melbourne’s north on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, connecting and nurturing culture, nature, water, and people.
In the darkness, the call of the Growling Grass Frog can surprise you...
At first, it’s a gentle, deep sound, which expands into the night as it grows. Then another frog might join the slow, melancholic chorus in a different key – and a moody, musical performance begins among the reeds at the edge of the Merri Creek. Our ecologist Michael Longmore is there to hear it.
But if, like Michael, you’ve heard this call recently, you’re remarkably lucky. The Growling Grass Frog, listed as vulnerable at both national and state levels, is holding on against the odds. Populations have declined across Australia since the 1970s, including those along the Merri Creek.
The good news is that with your help, Michael and the team at Merri Creek Management Committee will work to protect the southern populations of Growling Grass Frogs along the Merri Creek and you can help. Find out more about our plans below.
Donor-funded survey reveals Growling Grass Frogs breeding at new wetlands
The dusk light is fading and a small group, gathered at the edges of a wetland, switch their spotlights on and cast beams across scattered grasses and ponds. The February night is warm and still – perfect for spotting frogs. The group, three surveyors from Merri Creek Management Committee and Merri-bek Council, are scouring a new wetland at Moomba Park, Fawkner, for the presence of the Growling Grass Frog,which until recently, hasn’t been seen locally for over 50 years.
The Growling Grass Frog is a ground-dwelling tree frog that was once abundant along the Merri Creek, but whose calls went largely unheard in the area in the 1970s. The species is now listed at both state and federal levels as vulnerable, having disappeared entirely from some areas, including the extent of the Australian Capital Territory. In 2019 however, Merri Creek residents were thrilled to report the distinctive call was being heard locally once more.
Green Links Grants awarded to the Merri Creek
Swamp Wallabies, Wood Ducks, microbats, platypuses and pardalotes are among the many animals that are set to benefit from the recent awarding of over $800,000 in grant funding for four Merri community groups: Merri Creek Management Committee (with Friends of Merri Creek), Friends of Edwardes Lake, Merri-bek Council (with Friends of Edgars Creek) and the Wollert Community Farm.
“We are thrilled that the Victorian Government has recognised the incredible value that one of the best-loved creeks in Melbourne’s north gives to people and creatures alike,” said Merri Creek Management Committee Executive Officer Bernadette Thomas.
Minister for Water, Regional Development, and Equality Harriet Shing MP, announced the funding in March 2024, part of a $10 million investment to “improve habitat, water quality, and provide cool green spaces for communities around our urban creeks, rivers and waterways.”
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