Warnings were issued about contaminated water following run off from large fire in a tyre recycling yard north of Mahoneys Road in Broadmeadows, on Monday 13th January 2016. Melbourne Water advised people to avoid contact with the wetland at Jack Roper Reserve in Broadmeadows . They warned that contaminated run off from the firefighting efforts had reached the Merlynston Creek, which flows into the wetland lake, and nearby Campbellfield Creek. The runoff could be harmful to animals or humans.  Melbourne Water worked with the EPA and Yarra Valley Water to manage the run off and actively pumped out contaminated water from the creeks for a number of days. The latest news is that pumping out of the water has been successful.

Both Merlynston Creek and Campbellfield Creek are tributaries of the Merri Creek. Merri Creek Management Committee commends the prompt and successful action by Melbourne Water's crews to limit the impact of the fire runoff on local waterways of the Merri Creek catchment.

A large fire at an illegally operated wood dump in Somerton has seriously polluted Merri Creek after burning for about a week in late November 2015. MCMC and other agency staff observed dead carp and eels downstream at Bababi marning Grassland (Cooper Street). A 7km stretch of Merri Creek between Somerton and Campbellfield was heavily impacted by runoff from the fire-fighting operations. Dissolved oxygen in the water, essential for creek life, reached the unprecedented level of zero, hence the fish deaths and presumed death of most other creek life.  This section of Merri Creek is key habitat for the endangered Growling Grass Frog.

To deal with these extreme conditions,  Melbourne Water actively pumped out the polluted Merri Creek water at Barry Rd, Campbellfield and introduced clean water into the creek.  Aerators were also put in at key creek locations to improve oxygen levels.  These efforts were effective in halting the downstream spread of polluted water and in improving the water quality in the affected area. Samples have been taken to check on any residual toxicants that may have come from the fire and regular monitoring is underway.  MCMC is participating in the formal recovery planning for the creek environment, along with Hume Council, Melbourne Water, EPA and the Victorian Department of Environment Land Water & Planning.

MCMC was one of only 24 community organisations to receive funding from the Australian Government’s Department of Social Services to showcase philanthropic partnerships. MCMC received $10,000 for the project: Stepping into Print - Philanthropic Support for Engaging the Community and Moving into the Literature, which involves exploring, celebrating and sharing the outcomes of successful partnerships through a series of innovative events. In December 2015 we’ll be holding a workshop, including a Wurundjeri Welcome, by invitation only (let us know if you’re interested by email). The project is supported by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

Merri Creek Management Committee planned, developed and delivered a conference Inspiring Women in Environmental Science. Expert women scientists from nine environmental scientific organisations addressed over 130 high school students from four different schools at Melbourne Girls College alongside the Yarra on 18th June 2015. Read more about this conference here.

July was a great month for biodiversity and water conservation at local schools. Almost 2,300 plants were planted at Brunswick North West Primary School by nearly 1,000 of the school community, students, teachers and parents. This work has completed the transformation of a derelict part of the school’s grounds which lies above Melville Creek, buried in a drain long ago.

At Thornbury Primary School about 300 students created a Woiwurrung Garden by planting about 350 indigenous plants during NAIDOC Week. This was after the removal of a large concrete path and all non-indigenous plants.

Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) played a pivotal role in both projects. Read more here.

Click here to find out about Plains Yam Daisy, or Murnong, and the fascinating hunt for its small bright green tufts among the millions of new shoots in newly burnt grassland at Kalkallo in May 2015.

In 2013-14 we achieved:
• Over 400 community and educational events
• 14,550 plants in the ground.
• Golden Sun Moth and Plains Yam Daisy surveys.
• Working alongside Wurundjeri Elders and the Wurundjeri Narrap team on land management.
• Tackling pollution hotspots in Thomastown

Read about this and more in our latest Annual Report on the MCMC website. See the highlights of the 2013-14 year in the President’s Report, the on-the-ground achievements of our Parkland Management Team, the environmental awareness spread by our Catchment Program Team and of course our yearly finances. More financial details are also available in our latest Auditor’s Report.

In 2014, Friends of Merri Creek contracted MCMC to control serious environmental weeds, then plant trees, shrubs, and dense ground-storey plants at the striking Northcote Gorge for their project, Gorge-ous Views! Restoring the Merri Creek Habitat Corridor.  Melbourne Water River Health Incentives program funded the resoration of this volcanic escarpment on the east bank of Merri Creek north of Heidelberg Rd Northcote. There is still some more work to be done, but this photo story (739KB PDF file) shows the success of the project so far.

Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) staff often visit school grounds to deliver environmental education programs and recently we noticed that a lot of the rain tanks, which have been installed over the last decade, were being under-used or sitting dormant.

As part of a new 2014-15 project funded by Whittlesea City Council, MCMC conducted an online survey with all Whittlesea schools to gain knowledge about how they use of their rain tanks. MCMC's Waterwatch Coordinator, Jane Bevelander, is following up these surveys by visiting schools, conducting an onsite audit with school staff, and providing schools with advice on how to better utilise their rain water.

After just two school visits Jane has seen some great initiatives, such as a tank linked to watering a new mini orchard. However for those schools that need improvement, one incentive is funding and support from the project to use tank water in productive way by creating a frog bog on the school grounds.

Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) is deeply concerned about the state government’s proposal to rezone the site of the former Lakeside Secondary College at 31 Radford Rd Reservoir, from Public Use Zone to Industrial Zone, in preparation for its sale on the open market.
The rear portion of this property, between the school oval and Merri Creek, has functioned as public open space since the mid-1980s. It has been managed for many years by the City of Darebin as open space for passive recreation, ands biodiversity and waterway significance.

Its values include:

1. The Merri Creek Shared Path/Trail: This trail traverses the site and is part of the Metropolitan Trail Network and connects the Yarra Main Trail north along Merri Creek to the Ring Rd.
2. Significant Linear Open Space Connectivity: The Darebin Open Space Strategy nominates this area as recreational open space.
3. Significant Biodiversity Values: These include nationally-listed EPBC species and communities. These values are mapped and described in detail in Darebin Council’s draft Natural Heritage Plan 2011.
4. Significant Waterway Values: Merri Creek is a Melbourne’s most popular urban creek and is greatly valued by the community.

The Education Department has offered to sell the land to Darebin Council, but at a commercial price that Council does not want to pay. MCMC supports the land remaining as public open space for its important recreational, biodiversity and waterway values, at no cost to the community.