We celebrated National Threatened Species Day 2020 on 6 September, with 73 participants tuning into a webinar: At home in Whittlesea’s Grasslands.
Michael Longmore, manager of 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 into creatures of the Victorian Volcanic Plain.

A recording of the presentation is now available, full of information about the plants of Galada Tamboore and some terrific creatures including a jumpy Growling Grass Frog. 

The webinar was organised by Merri Creek Management Committee, with funds from the City of Whittlesea and the Commonwealth Government's Communities Environment Program.

At the Merri Birds Webinar, held on Saturday 12 September 2020,  Friends of Merri Creek bird survey leaders highlighted their regular survey sites and spoke about their favourite Merri birds, including the Nankeen Night-Heron, Tawny Frogmouth and Golden-headed Cisticola. An extensive question and answer session followed the presentations.

If you missed out on attending the webinar you can now watch the recording.  

This was a joint event of Friends of Merri Creek and Merri Creek Management Committee.
Photo: Nankeen Night-Heron by C Tzaros.

Merri Creek stars in a recent paper on Communities caring for land and nature in Victoria published in the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education by long-term Merri Creek activists, Ann and Bruce McGregor.

The McGregor's paper explores the importance of getting to know an area to be more a part of it and nature, and that areas suitable for outdoor adventure lie unnoticed near the centre of Melbourne. It outlines evidence that humans need nature in order to live happy, healthy lives and gives personal examples from Ann and Bruce's 40 years of activism on Merri Creek.

It highlights the important role that community organisations like Merri Creek Management Committee and Friends of Merri Creek have played in caring for land and nature along Merri Creek, and the significance of the Victorian National Parks Association at the state level. The paper was originally presented to the Victorian Outdoor Education Conference in 2019. 

Photo: newspaper cutting of Ann and Bruce McGregor planting along Merri Creek in 1977.

A very successful Fungi of the Merri webinar, with Fungal Ecologist, Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher, was held in July 2020, attracting 69 participants.
The link takes you to a recording of the presentation, which is full of fascinating information about the fungi found near Merri Creek and their important roles.
The webinar was jointly organised by the Friends of Merri Creek and Merri Creek Management Committee. (Photo: Chip Cherries, Leratiomyces ceres).

Help publish a full colour book on Fungi
You can help publish Australia’s first book on practical land management harnessing the mysterious mycological kingdom: Fungi for land, by donating here.