Environmental Education
Platypus back in the Merri? Meet the 'Merri Platypus Paddle' - a webinar recorded on 30 September 2021. The Merri Platypus Paddle group invite you to join MCMC’s Waterwatch Coordinator and Melbourne Water’s Dr Teresa Mackintosh for an informative introduction to the iconic platypus and the plan by Merri Platypus Paddle to get platypus back into Merri Creek. Watch a recording of the webinar here.
Wild Chat: Rewilding and Living Bequests in Darebin - a webinar recorded on 5 September 2021 focusing on one of Melbourne’s oldest English-style parks, Oldis Gardens in Northcote. It discusses the relationship between Wurundjeri Country and landscape decision-making in cities, legacy, indigenous biodiversity, public parks, and the concept of ‘rewilding.’ Watch a recording of the webinar here.
More Frogs, Less Litter: Improving Merri and Moonee Ponds Creek water quality with the community - a webinar recorded at ACF CERES' 1 November members meeting, where the Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) made a presentation. Watch a recording of the webinar here.
Stepping out: Leadership beyond the kindergarten setting - An on-line conversation for early years educators who are developing activities with 
children beyond kindergarten settings. Watch a recording of the webinar here.
Evaluation of the 'Creekulum' program - A report on the ambitious and unprecedented creekside education program from 2019, showing how the community, guest educators and a whole-of-school approach worked together to meet the learning goals of Prep to Grade 6.
At home in Whittlesea’s grasslands - a video of the National Threatened Species Day Webinar on 6 September 2020, with information about the plants of Galada Tamboore and some terrific creatures including a jumpy Growling Grass Frog.
Gum Tree Learning - a video about inspiring primary educators to teach with Australian eucalypts with a Merri Creek focus.
Celebrating Merri Creek's Biodiversity in Film - A three minute video showing the imaginative ways that MCMC connects and communicates with local communities and celebrates local biodiversity.
Talking Merri Birrarung: Caring for Country where the Merri flows into Birrarung (Yarra River) (Part 1 - 8.12.21) See Powerpoint highlights from a partnership project between Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation & MCMC to give you some cultural and ecological connections on Wurundjeri Country, where the Merri runs into Birrarung. (The recorded conversation is currently unavailable.)
Talking Merri Birrarung: Caring for Country where the Merri flows into Birrarung (Yarra River) (Part 2 - 26.1.22) See Powerpoint highlights from a partnership project between Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation & MCMC to give you more cultural and ecological connections on Wurundjeri Country, where the Merri runs into Birrarung. This presentation was produced in the context of marking January 26th in Australia.(The recorded conversation is currently unavailable.)
Frogs
‘Top Spots For Frogging’. Where are the best spots to hear frogs? On Tuesday 21 September, James Frazer, Frog Census Coordinator at Melbourne Water, and Julia Cirillo, Waterwatch Coordinator at Merri Creek Management Committee, hosted a ‘roundtable’ discussion with experienced "froggers" from around Melbourne who shared their top sites for hearing frogs.
City of Yarra "froginar" 
- made by Merri Creek Management Committee Waterwatch staff for the City of Yarra libraries school holiday program, Summer 2020/21.
Discovering the Frogs of Darebin - a "froginar" recorded on 5 June 2020:
Discovering the Frogs of Whittlesea - a "froginar" recorded on 21 August 2020
Frog Quiz
Download our frog quiz as a Word document - images/file/education/Frog-Quiz.docx
Other frog resources
- Melbourne Water frog census FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MWFrogCensus/
- Frog census instructions and where to download the app: https://www.melbournewater.com.au/community-and-education/be-citizen-scientist/frog-census
- USA based research and advocacy organisation for frogs world wide - great free webinars and literature: www.savethefrogs.com/day
- Gardening Australia's "How to create a frog bog habitat" with Costa.
- FrogID is a national citizen science project that is helping us learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs.
- (Shared from Frog ID): Frog hotels are certainly doing the rounds on social media right now. It’s amazing to see all the photos being shared of people doing their bit to create habitat in their gardens. Frog hotels provide shelter for tree frogs and should always be strategically positioned in an area out of direct sunlight. There are some fantastic resources out there now that provide all the tips on how build and decorate your very own hotel, and our partners at Bunnings did a fine job on a video as part of their DIY Live program. Click here to watch the full Bunnings DIY Live video on Instagram.
- Junior Landcare - Learning Activities about creating a frog friendly habitat – research, design and construction.
History
45 years of restoring Merri Creek - On Saturday 24 July 2021 local environmental legends, Ann and Bruce McGregor, presented a personal perspective on a 45 year journey of restoring Merri Creek, from a weed-infested drain to bushland haven, illustrated with before-and-after images. Watch a recording of the webinar here.
Merri Creek: from wasteland to parklands - A web version of the two metre size panels celebrating MCMC's 25th Anniversary and the outstanding community achievement since 1975 in transforming Merri Creek from a weed-smothered drain to a much-loved waterway running through a bushland corridor: fronts of panels (17MB file); backs of panels (9MB file). This exhibition was originally on public display at a number of public locations in the Merri Creek catchment in 2015-16.
Turning Back to Edgars Creek - An exhibition in the form of a booklet about Edgars Creek in Thomastown and Lalor, from Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden
Merri Creek 35 years ago - Take an on-line tour of favourite sites on the Merri in East Brunswick and Northcote and see what they were like decades ago.
Indigenous biodiversity
Trimming Poa labillardierei (Common Tussock-grass) on Wurundjeri Country: Ecological, educational, and cultural perspectives. Our Poa story was recorded in March 2021. It focuses on the valuable seed and the benefits of harvesting it in Iuk (Woi-wurrung language for Short-finned eel) Season on Wurundjeri Country. Watch the video here.
Bringing Back the Banksias to the Merri. Silver Banksia woodlands were once widespread across the volcanic cones and stony rises of western Victoria. Sadly in the Merri catchment and much of the Victorian Volcanic Plains, the Banksia woodlands are now extinct. Thanks to generous donations to the Merri Creek Environment Fund, we hope to bring Banksia Woodlands back to the Merri in the years ahead. On Wednesday 20 October 2021 Merri Creek Management Committee and Steve Sinclair (Arthur Rylah Institute/Friends of the Forgotten Woodlands) ran a webinar discussing how historical records and ecological information are being combined to understand the past distribution of Silver Banksia, and how the surviving fragments are being brought together to return these forgotten woodlands to western Victoria. Watch the video of the webinar here.
(Silver Banksia image courtesy of JJ Harrison CC BY-SA 3.0)
Ngarri-djarrang spring virtual tour - Join a virtual tour of Ngarri-Djarrang grassland in spring with MCMC’s Ecological Restoration Team. Recorded on Saturday 14 November 2020, see gorgeous wildflowers in bloom and learn about the importance of protecting urban grasslands remnants through community activism and action.
Virtual tour of Marran Baba grasslands - On Saturday 7 November 2020, MCMC’s Ecological Restoration Team hosted a virtual tour of Galgi Ngarrk and Bababi Marning, important reserves for endangered grasslands in Melbourne’s North. Watch the video to learn about the variety of threatened flora and fauna in the reserves, the threats to their survival and how you can help protect them.
Living together: Powerful Owls in Yarra’s neighbourhood - On Sunday 20 September, Merri Creek Management Committee held a webinar about our urban relationships with magnificent Powerful Owls. Watch our video to hear Urban Ecologist and PhD Candidate, Nick Bradsworth (Deakin University), and Senior Biodiversity Officer, Craig Lupton (City of Yarra), share their experience of the secret lives of Powerful Owls (Ninox strenua) in inner Melbourne.
Merri Birds - At the Merri Birds Webinar, held on Saturday 12 September, Friends of Merri Creek bird survey leaders spoke about some of their favourite Merri birds, including the Nankeen Night-Heron, Tawny Frogmouth, and Golden-headed Cisticola. Watch our video to find out about the habitats visited and some highlights of the surveys, which have been running since 2008.
At home in Whittlesea’s grasslands - MCMC celebrated National Threatened Species Day 2020 on 6 September, with 58 participants tuning into the Webinar: At home in Whittlesea’s Grasslands. MCMC’s ecologist Michael Longmore, who manages MCMC’s Ecological Restoration Program, and Josh Cox, the Director of Reptile Encounters gave us a virtual tour of Galada Tamboore and some close insights to creatures of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. The video is available here.
Seeding the Future - Indigenous seed collection training videos: https://www.mcmc.org.au/information-publications/older-news/337-seeding-the-future
Celebrating Merri Creek's Biodiversity - learn about indigenous biodiversity and recognising the Wurundjeri Traditional Owners with the community at Merri Creek, Melbourne, Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71yXVDvWmxA&feature=youtu.be
Grassland plants - The ABC's Gardening Australia did a segment on one of the railway reserve grassland remnants that MCMC helps manage. See MCMC's Michael Longmore explain a little bit about what we do: https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/remnant-rail-reserves/13343086
Aitken Creek's Living Pathways - A graphic tour of a special part of Aitken Creek in Craigieburn, highlighting its rare plants and animals. (Aitken Creek is a tributary of Merri Creek): https://merricreek.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=b2dbfd451e3544768bc9adcd1fbb4eed
Presentation on interpreting Indigenous cultural heritage - A short, arrestingly illustrated pdf summarising an MCMC staffer’s presentation at LaTrobe University’s Victorian Archaeology Colloquium 2021: Pitching in: Working with the recent ‘experimental archaeology’ of Wurundjeri Country (2/02/2021). The presentation considers appropriate ways for non-Indigenous people to ‘pitch in’ and work together to acknowledge Country.
Fungi of the Merri
Fungi Webinar recording - Fungal Ecologist Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher, talks about the fungi found near Merri Creek, and their important roles. This is a recording of the Merri Creek Management Committee and Friends of Merri Creek webinar, held 12 July 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5djSZbWUrXs&feature=emb_title
Other Merri Fungi Resources
- Digital fungi jigsaws: www.mcmc.org.au/information-publications/jigsaws
- Short videos of Merri Fungi featuring fungal ecologist Sapphire McMullan-Fisher
- Merri Fungi Guide: www.friendsofmerricreek.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Fungi_Guide.pdf
- iNaturalist Fungimap: www.inaturalist.org/projects/fungimap-australia
Digital Jigsaws
Creek Life Jigsaws
Jigsaws from Creek Life: Flora & Fauna of the Merri Creek Valley - 2nd Edition. Artwork by Brian Bainbridge.
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| Creek Life cover | Birds of Prey | Jewels in the Grass | Redgum and Inhabitants |
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| Merri banks | Waterflow and Waterlife |
Frog Jigsaws
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Fungi Jigsaws
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Litter
Webinar: What is "Plirding", and how to do it! Plirding is picking up litter while birding! Anyone can be a plirder and removing litter from bird habitat can make a positive difference for birds. Best of all, it can be done solo and as part of your exercise! Join Ann McGregor, Friends of Merri Creek Birdwatch Coordinator, Julia Cirillo, from Merri Creek Management Committee, and Freya McGregor, Coordinator of Birdability in the USA, to learn the art of plirding, birds to look out for while birding, and how to pick up litter safely while contributing to the Victoria wide Litterwatch Citizen Science project
Litter clean-ups - A wealth of "how to" information for individuals and groups to safely remove litter from the Merri catchment: https://www.facebook.com/pg/MerriCreekLitterCleanUps/
Covid-safe Litter Clean-ups - A recorded webinar on how to do a Covid-safe litter clean-ups: https://mcmc.org.au/mccrrl-video
Litter Trackers - This project, coordinated by RMIT, Melbourne Water, MCMC and Antonine College, followed the release of five plastic bottles fitted with GPS litter tracker into Merri Creek in May 2019. You can track what happened with the Merri Creek bottles HERE, and also bottles in other waterways around Melbourne HERE.
Polystyrene in the Yarra - This webinar, hosted by the Yarra Riverkeeper Association on 21 May 2020, gives an overview of the amounts of polysterene found in the Yarra River: https://bit.ly/EPSwebinar
Strain the Drains - This video from Tangaroa Blue recaps their project of monitoring some drains to identify the main sources of litter into Port Phillip Bay. This project, partnered by the City of Moreland, helps to develop strategies to reduce the litter load and protect our waterways and marine ecoystems. The data from our litter pickups is sent through to Tangaroa Blue and can be accessed by the community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoIuX0b5FAo
Maps and virtual tours
Special Sites on Merri Creek - an interactive map: https://www.mcmc.org.au/environmental-education/northern-nature-creek-connections/special-sites/merri-creek
Virtual Catchment Tours of Merri Creek - four Google Earth tours of Merri Creek, a general tour, a grasslands tour, a geological tour, and a tour of Galada Tamboore: https://www.mcmc.org.au/about-merri-creek/virtual-catchment-tour
Aitken Creek's Living Pathways - a graphic tour of a special part of Aitken Creek in Craigieburn, highlighting its rare plants and animals. (Aitken Creek is a tributary of Merri Creek): https://merricreek.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=b2dbfd451e3544768bc9adcd1fbb4eed
30 years of transformation of lower Merri Creek - this graphic tour takes you to a series of sites along Merri Creek in East Brunswick and Northcote, with images from more than 30 years ago. Go on site and take your device with you to understand the extraordinary transformation of this part of Merri Creek: https://merricreek.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=244df5367add46f092f631ea1a25bc25
Volcanoes
Volcano Bingo - test your knowledge on volcanoes: https://www.mcmc.org.au/environmental-education/more-activities
Volcanoes of Northern Melbourne - text article with links to further information: https://www.mcmc.org.au/environmental-education/northern-nature-creek-connections/volcanoes
Water
Darebin Council’s Water Map - explore Darebin Council’s interactive map of it's water sensitive projects, such as raingardens, swales, etc: http://water.darebin.vic.gov.au/
Waterwatch
MCMC's Waterwatch program - a narrated powerpoint with Julia Cirillo, MCMC Waterwatch Coordinator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoD8AIjsHwo&feature=youtu.be
2012 talk about the general state of Merri Creek and the discovery of a platypus stuck in rubbish - Jane Bevelander, MCMC Healthy Waterways Waterwatch Coordinator from 2009-2016 talks to Leader Newspapers reporter, Andrew Jefferson on 13 February 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONSYgVjdmFA
Waterwatch Water Quality Summaries - https://www.mcmc.org.au/environmental-education/waterwatch/waterwatch-water-quality-summaries
Melbourne Water education resources - https://www.melbournewater.com.au/community-and-education/education/browse-resources-year-level#all
Waterwatch training session, 17 June 2021 - https://www.mcmc.org.au/mcmc-waterwatch-training-17-june-2021
Merri Creek Management Committee. 2 Lee St, East Brunswick, Victoria, Australia 3057 