The Merri Creek broke its banks and moved out onto flood plains as a result of heavy rains in October 2022. Hernes Swamp, near Wallan in the upper Merri catchment, showed why it's called a swamp (see photo) and other Wallan swamps were similarly filled. This clip gives an excellent view of the expanse of Hernes Swamp.

Downstream, parts of the Merri Shared Path were underwater and constructed wetland, Strettle Wetland in Thornbury, was filled by overflow from Merri Creek. With the floods came masses of litter and the imperative to remove entangled plastics before they degrade into microplastics and contaminate aquatic life of the Birrarung (Yarra), Port Philip Bay and beyond. MCMC and the Friends of Merri Creek were featured in the local Brunswick Voice and The Age about the problem of litter, especially plastics, in and around Merri Creek.

We welcome the proposal to retain the southern part of Burrung Buluk (former Hanna Swamp) in the revised Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan. The swamp, which is one of the Wallan Wallan wetlands in the upper Merri catchment, was recently given the Woi-wurrung name: Burrung Buluk. 

Earlier proposals for the Beveridge North West Precinct showed the swamp covered by urban development. After a highly effective presentation by Mark Bachmann of Nature Glenelg Trust, on behalf of Friends of Merri Creek, the Planning Panel Report to the Minister recommended the swamp be protected.  

The next challenge will to be to protect the northern part of Burrung Buluk which falls within a different precint, the Wallan South PSP. Bizarrely, this natural feature, falls across two different precincts and its fate as a single, integrated entity rests on two separate decsion-making processes.

If you're interested in wetland restoration 'Wetland Restoration 101' - Reading the landscape with Nature Glenelg Trust gives an excellent introduction to the approach taken by the NGT. 

Photo shows Herne Swamp, the largest of the Wallan Wallan wetlands, after heavy rain in Sept. 2016, with the volcanic cone of Mt Fraser in background.

Plant Heroes is a project that showcases stories of people saving plant species from around Australia. One of its stories features Murnong Microseris scapigera and the years of work by MCMC and Traditional Owners, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, to conserve this species. It shows that the conservation work was less to do with the plant and more about the special relationship with people, in this place.

The creators of the story hope it can help to acknowledge the need to place cultural knowledge as core to conservation planning and developing 'right-way' projects.
See the video: Murnong; saving Yam Daisy on Melbourne's Merri Creek, or listen to more detail on the podcast.

Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) recently cemented stronger ties with the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority (PPWCMA). Our success in gaining funding to employ a Landcare Facilitator for the Upper Merri led to the development of a formal partnership agreement with the PPWCMA. 

MCMC also joined over 70 other organisations listed as partner organisations to the CMA's Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS). It means we formally support the pursuit of the visions and targets for relevant parts of the RCS and have agreed to help achieve optimum results, within our available resources.

As a partner organisation, MCMC submitted two projects for the Prospectus section of the RCS: the Merri Creek Biolink project and the Merri Creek Community Engagement project. The Prospectus is akin to a ‘stakeholder billboard’ on which organisations summarise their most important, desirable, practical and/or innovative project proposals. Although it doesn't guarantee funding, it advertises the fact that we are looking for help to achieve the projects.

Photo: Merri Creek in its upper reaches in Merriang

The recording of the webinar, Wild Chat: Rewilding & Living Bequests in Darebin, on 5 September 2021 is now available HERE.

Hear about ‘re-wilding’ in Darebin, focusing on an unlikely candidate, the very English-style park, Oldis Gardens in Northcote, and the wild work going on there. Also find out about the Harry Nash Indigenous Garden that's being developed there, and Living Bequests. Perhaps you might be inspired to make a bequest, or to form a new Friends of Oldis Gardens group,

Organised by Merri Creek Management Committee and supported by City of Darebin.

Watch the recording HERE of this popular webinar held in late July 2021. Local environmental legends Ann and Bruce McGregor discuss their 45 years of involvement in transforming Merri Creek from a weed-infested drain to bushland haven, illustrated with graphic before-and-after images of favourite areas.

Photos: Ann McGregor on the remains of a winch in East Brunswick, looking across to Merri Park Northcote, 1986 and 2019. Photographer: Bruce McGregor

The Strategic Plan is a guiding document for all Merri Creek Management Committee activities and decisions. It provides an excellent overview of MCMC, what we do and how we do it, the benefits that we bring, and the key issues we face.

The Strategic Plan identifies priorities and actions under five strategic focus areas:

• Leadership & Advocacy
• Partnerships & Collaboration
• Waterway Corridor Restoration
• Education & Engagement and
• Organisational Strengthening.

You can see the Strategic Plan here (10.8MB PDF).

MCMC is delighted that the October 2020 Planning Panel Panel Report for the Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) has recognised the importance of Hanna Swamp. Hanna Swamp straddles two large areas proposed for urban development (PSPs). It is part of the Strathaird/Taylors Creek system, a north-west tributary of Merri Creek near Wallan. 

Although the future of Hanna Swamp as a restored wetland is not secured, support from the Panel is a helpful step forward to realising this vision. This reasoning is explored in more detail in a recent Nature Glenelg Trust blog.

A crucial factor in gaining the Panel's support for Hanna Swamp was a presentation made by Mark Bachmann of the Nature Glenelg Trust on behalf of Friends of Merri Creek.  The Friends also successfully argued that biodiversity and regional park planning should be acknowledged in the PSP. 

Merri Creek, Darebin Creek and Edgars Creek Waterwatch data is now easy to discover via MCMC's new Waterwatch Water Quality Summaries.

Find out about the surveys, observations and reports collected by Waterwatch staff and volunteers and learn how your contributions could help shape our understanding of waterway health in the future. 
It's all HERE.

With increasing numbers of people using the Merri Creek Shared Path, MCMC is receiving more reports from people concerned about litter and rubbish. We appreciate being notified of these issues. However the best way to get action on dumped rubbish is to report it to the relevant Council, as they are responsible for rubbish clean-ups.

The SnapSendSolve app makes reporting of rubbish easy. You use your phone to snap a photo and send a report. The app knows which Council area you are in. One of our staff members recently used SnapSendSolve for this photo of rubbish under the Moreland Rd bridge over Merri Creek. Moreland Council promptly responded and the rubbish was removed.