In July 2023, we were amazed and very touched when our 2023 Merri Creek Environment Fund appeal received a $100 donation from Merri Creek itself!!  It came to MCMC with a letter addressed to the creek from Clifton Hill resident, Bruce Lavender, apologising for the bad treatment over the years and the heaps of rubbish that it has had to put up with, but noting the many attempts to improve it. The $100 note was one of the many things Bruce and his partner found on one of their clean-ups.

See the full letter below.

Dear Merri Creek, 
How are you? I know that after thousands of years of glorious good health, you have become sick. I hope that you are improving, but I know that it is very slow to recover from such bad treatment and that there are still constant attacks on your health. 
I guess you sense that many people are trying to help you recover and that you wish that this would accelerate. Many people are advocating for you, planting good plants and weeding along your banks. Many people are cleaning up the rubbish that is dumped or washed into you. 
Meredith and I have been cleaning up a small section of you in Clifton Hill for more than 30 years. In the past this cleaning has been spasmodic, but in the last few years it has become almost an obsession. In the last couple of years, we have collected more than 300 green shopping bags of rubbish. You have sent us a bewildering variety of stuff - credit cards, a drone, vaping paraphernalia, bongs, cans, bottles, COVID facemasks and plastic, plastic, plastic..... And balls of every description, including over 1800 golf balls (imagine how many have been recovered in Northcote). And polystyrene, worst of all.
It is very dispiriting doing this, but at the same time it is a pleasure to be exploring you more and making a tiny difference to your health. We don't seek any reward for doing it, so it was a very big surprise when you sent the attached $100 note the other day. This was not necessary. We have decided to give it back to you (still caked in Merri Creek silt) through the wonderful Merri Creek Environment Fund. The Merri Creek management Committee will use this money to improve your life. 
Thanks for everything Merri Creek, 
Bruce Lavender