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

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. 

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).

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.

Hanna Swamp, a remnant wetland of the upper Merri, is ripe for restoration. It is vital that imminent planning decisions don't preclude this option. Hanna Swamp lies about 50km north of Melbourne on the eastern side of Herne Swamp near Wallan. The future of Hanna Swamp is the subject of a recent blog and a hard-hitting discussion paper from the Nature Glenelg Trust.

Despite agricultural drainage, Hanna Swamp's morphology persists across the bulk of its original footprint and it still temporarily inundates on a semi-regular basis. Natural wetlands are very forgiving ecosystems, capable of supporting plants that are especially adept at bouncing back after decent rainfall. Sustained recovery of Hanna Swamp is potentially only a single season away, as long as water is retained instead of drained away.

Photo: Spectacular habitat recovery at Scale Swamp, near Dunkeld, SW Victoria in 2017, 3 years after restoration. Prior to restoration, this site was largely devoid of native vegetation and has a broadly similar agricultural drainage history to Hanna Swamp. © NGT

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.

Photo above: Herne Swamp after heavy rain, Mt Fraser in background. Sept 2016.

Herne Swamp is a hidden gem on the upper Merri Creek awaiting the opportunity to be brought 'back to life'.  Lying to the south and east of the town of Wallan it has 'all the ingredients required for a spectacular restoration project'. This is the central point made in an inspiring discussion paper from the Nature Glenelg Trust -  Restoration Vision for the Wallan Wallan wetlands, including Herne Swamp, as the centrepiece of the Wallan Wallan Regional Park. The Nature Glenelg Trust are experts in wetland restoration and were invited by local community members to inspect Herne Swamp in 2018. 

We have reprinted our popular full colour book, Creek Life: Flora & Fauna of the Merri Creek Valley. This is the story of a Sacred Kingfisher's journey to find a home, traversing 13 flora and fauna communities along Merri Creek. It features beautiful illustrations by former MCMC staffer, Brian Bainbridge, along with evocative descriptions of the communities. 

It's available for $20 at the MCMC office, 2 Lee St Brunswick East (cash, cheque or direct deposit) or from our neighbours at CERES Nursery. If you'd like the book posted, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and add $3 for postage.  For direct deposit details see further.

Are you curious about what Merri Creek looked like 30 or more years ago? Or maybe you'd like to have a trip down memory lane?  You can do this by taking our web-based tour of Merri Creek sites in Brunswick East and Northcote from the 1980s. Just follow this link. Even better, visit Merri Creek with your web-enabled device.  Then you'll be able to view photos from decades ago and simultaneously appreciate the amazing ecological transformation that can be seen today.