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Merri e-News - March 2018

Merri e-News - March 2018

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Merri E-News

mARCH 2018

Newsletter of the Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC)

MCMC Annual Report 2017 smallCheck out Merri Creek Management Committee's 2017 achievements by reading our latest Annual Report. In summary we:

  • organised 29 community events ranging from plantings, sowing seeds, weed management, ecological surveys, and walks and talks;
  • reached 5,600 people in hands-on and education activities;
  • publicised 108 community events (our own and other groups');
  • commented on 25 planning permit applications;
  • supported 'Friends of' groups and hosted numerous volunteers;
  • achieved an 88% success rate for grant applications;
  • our financial bottom line was positive!

 

 

Laffan woody weed removal smallMerri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) completed two 18-month long restoration projects along the Merri’s middle reaches in early 2018.  Both projects were funded by Melbourne Water grants. The Loving Laffan project saw MCMC take on the Weed of National Significance, Gorse (Ulex europeaus), along a one kilometre stretch of Merri Creek south of Laffan Reserve in Craigieburn North. Dense infestations were controlled along several hectares of endangered Escarpment Shrubland vegetation. The planting of 200 indigenous shrubs restored some of the habitat values that had been provided by the Gorse. Hume City Council’s Bushland Management Team assisted MCMC staff in this physically demanding task. During this work we discovered a previously unrecorded population of the critically endangered Golden Sun Moth and a population of Emu Foot (Cullex tenax), an endangered pea not seen locally in over a decade. 

The second project Merri Models saw MCMC restore endangered Creekline Tussock Grassland at Craigieburn’s Rushwood Drive Reserve. 

 

Kid CatchmentMap 2018 BrunswickLibraryInside: Led by MCMC staff, about 20 families got out of the January heatwave and into the cool of the Brunswick Library for the little kids to look at different local plants and make monoprints with them. Our Merri Creek Catchment Map helped everyone think more about where we are and how we're connected.

SV Rotary Feb2018Outside: On another day, another place, we went out exploring the new wetland near the confluence of the Merri and Edgars Creeks in Coburg with members of Moreland Rotary. It was fantastic to stroll in the shade of the gum trees, walk around the wetland and enjoy the gorgeous habitat. The engineering is hidden, but it is great for us all to consider how this haven intercepts and treats polluted urban stormwater before it gets to our local creeks.

 

Horsefields Bronze CuckooMerri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) has kept a record book of flora and fauna sightings since 1997 with our own staff being key contributors to this. The current (third) volume began in 2004 and is almost full. These records are useful when reviewing the success of restoration in providing habitat. They can reveal whether wildlife is just passing through or whether it is significantly supported by the landscape. Some of the detailed notes from Spring and Summer 2017 provide valuable insights to this process.

 

 

Walk & Talk - World Wetlands Day 2018To celebrate 2018 World Wetland Day, MCMC led 19 participants on a walk and talk around the picturesque Edwardes Lake in Reservoir on 1st February. This year’s theme was Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future and Edwardes Lake, Edgars Creek and associated wetlands were a very appropriate locale (see why below). Attendees learnt about water quality testing, the current ecological health of the waterbodies and how the wetlands and Gross Pollution Traps (GPTs) help improve water quality. They also got to see a local Spotted Marsh Frog. 

 

South African Weed Orchid editedWebMCMC congratulates Friends of Merri Creek for obtaining a $23,242 Community Grant from Port Phillip & Western Port Catchment Management Authority to control the highly invasive South African Weed Orchid (Disa bracteata). The grant will support Friends of Merri Creek’s fledgling Special Weed Orchid Terminator volunteers to continue their weed control work. Along with MCMC staff expertise, the Darebin Council's Green Army team’s enthusiasm, and the methodical surveys of volunteer Andrew Kuhlmann, SWOT systematically searched 80% of Ngarri-djarrang grassland in 2017, and removed over 1,500 Weed Orchids.

 

 

 

 

We have an activity for you!

We have lots of activities coming up and there's bound to be something that suits you. We've got a bike ride, nature plays, weedings, talks, litter clean-ups and bird surveys. Just check out our calendar, or if you would like to be notified about events along Merri Creek, sign up here. You can sign up to receive email notices for all events, for events in a specific area, or for certain types of events. 
Merri Creek Management Committee. 2 Lee St, East Brunswick, Victoria, Australia 3057  (view map in new window )
Phone:(03) 9380 8199     Fax:(03) 9380 1150     Email:
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