| April 2025
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| Newsletter of the Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) |
| | wallan wallan Regional Park:
A vision for Melbourne’s North leaps closer |
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In the e-News you recieved on Friday 11/4, the 'Read more' link below was incorrect - that's now been fixed. A long-awaited feasibility study for the wallan wallan Regional Park has finally been released, sparking hope and enthusiasm among conservationists, local advocates, and the wider community. This proposed parkland, extending north from the existing marram baba Upper Merri Creek Parklands, would create a significant green corridor – comprising both environmental refuges and outdoor recreation areas – within Melbourne’s rapidly expanding northern growth corridor. | |
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A collaborative vision for the Growling Grass Frog | | On a beautiful sunny day in February during the biderap season, a group of land managers, scientists and community supporters gathered by wetlands in Fawkner’s Moomba Park to celebrate the launch of a new strategy for the Growling Grass Frog, a species that once thrived along the Merri Creek but now faces serious threats. The strategy envisions a future where the frog is regularly heard and seen throughout the Merri Creek and its tributaries from Somerton to Fawkner, supported by collaboration between land and water managers, scientists, Traditional Owners, and local communities. | |
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My Place – Paul Piko | | Paul Piko lives in Hidden Valley, a residential village and bushland area which the Merri Creek runs through on the northern edge of Melbourne. Paul is an orchid expert and Chairman of the Hidden Valley Environment Subcommittee, which formed in 2023 to support the work of the Wallan Environment Group and to protect the bushland in Hidden Valley. | |
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| MCMC releases its 2022–2024 Biennial Report |
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| In February we were delighted to publish our 2022–2024 Biennial Report – a wonderful opportunity to share just some of the stories that we at MCMC are privileged to be a part of, with you, the people who make it all possible. | |
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| Ecological burning in Merri-bek Council
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As we enter warin season, MCMC begins our Autumn burns season. We share our story of the growth of our burning program originally published in our recent 2022–2024 Biennial Report. In the remnant plains grasslands of the Merri Creek valley, the delicate, star-shaped flowers of the Matted Flax-Lily add a vibrant splash of violet to the landscape. The grasslands are slowly healing, responding to an ecological burn program spanning 30 years. In 2023, this included clearing of invasive weeds and grassy biomass, creating the conditions for native wildflowers to flourish. | |
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| iuk on the Merri: the season of a monumental journey | If you moved through the Merri landscape in March, you may have noticed as the browns and yellows of biderap (dry, hot season for Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people) gave way to the flowering of Manna Gum as iuk, the season where the length of days and nights shift until they are of equal length. | | But below the surface of the Merri waters another story was unfolding, as it has for millenia: while waterbirds waded and insects darted above the water, in the depths of the Merri, Short-finned eels were maturing after an incredible journey that began as larvae in the salt waters of the Coral Sea, off the coast of Far North Queensland. These eels spend ten years or more in the fresh water of the Merri before metamorphosing into Silver eels. These eels inform the Wurundjeri name for this season: iuk means “eel”. |
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| Future Directions Plan celebrated | | In February, a group of Merri Creek supporters came together at galada tamboore to celebrate the beginning of work on the marram baba Future Directions Plan and the funding of new initiatives and projects that are part of implementing the plan. The plan is the culmination of many years of work by MCMC and the members of the Parklands Partnership, towards a vision for continuous public parklands along Merri Creek. MCMC President Ann McGregor says the contribution of many organisations has resulted in a plan that can make a real difference to creatures that call the Merri home, like the Little Eagle and Golden Sun Moth, as well as the future residents of new suburbs who will be able to connect with nature in the Parklands.
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Merri Creek Management Committee. 2 Lee St, East Brunswick, Victoria, Australia 3057
Phone:(03) 9380 8199 Email: admin@mcmc.org.au
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