In the early hours of a Melbourne morning, Danny Reddan can be found running a ten-kilometre route along the urban waterways of his inner-Melbourne neighbourhood. As he rounds the stretch of trail that takes him past the Moomba Park Wetlands, his mind turns to the Growling Grass Frogs he knows are busying themselves nearby.

“Growling Grass Frogs just remind me of my childhood in Warrnambool,” says Danny. “I was always out chasing frogs and lizards and so I have an idea of what habitat on the Merri Creek and its tributaries would once have been like – and what they could be like again too, if we work hard enough, if we come together as a community.”

Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis), photograph by Geoff Heard

Vix Penko (Melbourne Water) and Shaun Leane MP

After 25 years living in Melbourne, Victoria Penko couldn’t imagine the city without the Merri Creek.

“Well, there’s no Melbourne without the Merri Creek, is there?” she laughs. As Head of Waterway and Catchment Services North West for Melbourne Water, Victoria describes Merri Creek Management Committee as “a pioneering trail-blazer in collaborative waterway management”. With these sentiments in mind, it was a “no-brainer” to rejoin as an MCMC member organisation last month, an announcement which MCMC President Ann McGregor describes as “a very welcome move.”

Merri eNews talks to Claudia James, President of the Wallan Environment Group. Tributaries of the Merri Creek (Wallan, Taylors, Mittagong and Stathaird Creeks) run through the growing town of Wallan, on the northern edge of suburban Melbourne, where Claudia James has led the group since 2016.

How is caring for waterways in Wallan different from other parts of the catchment?

Rapid urban development is our greatest challenge. Much time is spent advocating for the protection, extension and connection of public open spaces aligning the creek lines. As new subdivisions arise there is also the need to advocate for the protection of valuable remnant vegetation and natural wetlands, along with the connectivity of habitat for native species. Another point of difference is that the Merri tributaries mainly flow through private property in Wallan – only short, disconnected stretches of Wallan, Taylors and Mittagong creeks are accessible to the public. This means that advocating strongly for the best planning outcomes, at both local and state government levels, for the Merri Creek is really important.

Claudia James, President of the Wallan Environment Group

Long-tailed Bombyx (Trichiocercus sparshalli), photograph by Nayt Housman

Take a walk on the Merri Creek this time of year and you’ll notice the changes that have guided generations of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people through the season of Porneet – tadpole season. During Porneet (normally observed in the months of August and September) Pied Currawongs can be heard calling, Grass Candles begin to respond to the warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours, and tadpoles begin to wriggle their tiny tails in their wetland homes.

The first thing that Merri Creek Management Committee’s Nayt Housman notices as Porneet approaches is the dragonflies darting among the grasslands. Nayt is a member of our “bush crew” or Ecological Restoration team, which spends its days caring for the landscapes that hug the banks of the Merri Creek and its tributaries. In rain, hail or shine, Nayt has observed the Merri’s plants and animals for four years, including two as a volunteer and the last eighteen months as a bush crew member.

“The invertebrates are the first to notice the early changes in season,” says Nayt. “You see lots of amazing caterpillars this time of year.”

Dr Toni Roberts, photograph by Dianna Wells“Wominjeka Wurundjeri balluk yearmann koondee biiik.”

“Welcome to the land of the Wurundjeri people.”

This is the warm and generous greeting, written in Woi-wurrung and endorsed by Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elders, which visitors to the marram baba Merri Creek Parklands receive when they view the suite of interpretive and wayfinding signs that were installed in the parklands in July 2023.

A year on from the unveiling of the new signage, the thoughtful work of the project team has been recognised with a win at the Melbourne Design Awards 2024, receiving a Gold Award in the Graphic Design – Environmental Award category.

“Whenever I’m lucky enough to see a Golden Whistler, it’s always because I’ve heard it first,” says Adi Tudor, a wildlife photographer who enjoys regular walks along Merri Creek. “They’ve got a very beautiful, melodic song. It always takes me by surprise, but it’s such a delight.”

Small insect-eating birds like Golden Whistlers have a preference for habitat where there is dense understorey and mid-storey shrubs to provide protection from larger, more territorial birds. While they are a relatively common species, and not under imminent threat, it’s unusual for them to be seen in the inner-north part of the Merri Creek.Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis), photograph by Adi Tudor

As Dr Brendan Casey sits at his desk, the beautiful and eerie calls of the Growling Grass Frog coming from his computer take him back to the banks of the Merri Creek where he spent childhood days exploring with wonder. The passion born from those early days drives him through the laborious process of manually working through 20,000 frog call recordings gathered over three years of research.

Brendan grew up near the Merri Creek, at a time when native frogs – including Growling Grass Frogs – were abundant. Several decades later, with the Growling Grass Frog listed as vulnerable at both national and state levels, Brendan returned to the area to undertake a monitoring project that would lead to improved understanding of the environmental conditions that affect the frogs’ call activity.

Helping the Merri Creek to heal helped Arjumand Khan form a new community – and in doing so, she's inspired hundreds to learn through the tactile experience of nature.

Arjumand Khan was pushing a pram past a noticeboard on her daily walk as a new arrival from India in 2006, when something on the noticeboard caught her attention. In the pram, her tiny baby slept soundly. A flyer on the noticeboard invited mothers of small children to join a local walking group.

As Arjumand walked the streets of Fawkner and along the Merri Creek, the walking group lingered in her mind. She was a new mother in a new country, without a network to support her through early motherhood. Her walks in nature along the Merri Creek gave her solace, but she yearned for community.

My place: a Q&A with the people who love and protect the Merri

Favourite spot on the Merri Creek?

My two favourite spots are bababi marning and galgi ngarrk native grassland reserves. These places feel far-removed from urban Melbourne, even with the city skyline on the horizon. ngarri-djarrang is a treasure trove of grassland species, and spending time walking there – eyes down and peeled – is a meditation.

Matt Tudor stands surrounded by grasses in the Amberfield Grasslands Reserve, Craigieburn, in Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung country. In his hands he holds a wand attached to what looks like a jerry can – the apparatus is known as a “fire bug” and its design is informed by the firestick, a traditional tool used by Indigenous Australians.

Matt has visited these grasslands tens of times in the eighteen months he’s been contributing to its management as a team leader in Merri Creek Management’s ecological restoration team. He’s seen the place change through seasons and years – and he’s seen how the grasslands respond to the program of annual ecological burning, which we deliver on behalf of Hume City Council.