If you’re walking along the Merri Creek this time of year, you’ll notice what Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people observe as the season of Waring. Waring is one of six seasons on the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung seasonal calendar and is the longest of the seasons, occurring over four months.

Like other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people have seasonal markers based on changes in the landscape and skyscape rather than the Western calendar. Museum Victoria describes this local seasonal calendar as “marked by the movement of the stars in the night sky and changes in the weather, coinciding with the life cycles of plants and animals”. There are many interpretations of seasons available for Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country.

Our vision for continuous public parklands along Merri Creek is one step closer with the Victorian government’s 2023 adoption of the Future Directions Plan for the marram baba Merri Creek Regional Parklands, a proposed chain of parks and conservation reserves stretching from Campbellfield to Beveridge in Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung country. marram baba means “body of mother” in Woi-wurrung language.

The proposed parklands will join a number of existing reserves with other areas proposed for parklands acquisition as urban development proceeds.  The expected completion date is 2050. The park will offer habitat for a suite of grassland and woodland species like the vulnerable Growling Grass Frog and critically endangered Golden Sun Moth among many others as well as important opportunities for people to connect with nature.

The vision for the Parklands is: marram baba Merri Creek Regional Parklands is the preeminent natural corridor running through Melbourne’s north on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, connecting and nurturing culture, nature, water, and people.

In early June, Merri Creek Management Committee honoured National Sorry Day with Whittlesea Council at the Quarry Hill Bushland Park in South Morang, co-leading a guided walk and community event Local Bushland: a Historical Discovery.

The theme of this year’s National Reconciliation Week, held by Reconciliation Australia, is Now More Than Ever, a theme that reminds Australians that “no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue.”

 At first, it’s a gentle, deep sound, which expands into the night as it grows. Then another frog might join the slow, melancholic chorus in a different key – and a moody, musical performance begins among the reeds at the edge of the Merri Creek. Our ecologist Michael Longmore is there to hear it.

But if, like Michael, you’ve heard this call recently, you’re remarkably lucky. The Growling Grass Frog, listed as vulnerable at both national and state levels, is holding on against the odds. Populations have declined across Australia since the 1970s, including those along the Merri Creek.

The good news is that with your help, Michael and the team at Merri Creek Management Committee will work to protect the southern populations of Growling Grass Frogs along the Merri Creek and you can help. Find out more about our plans below. 

As Merri Creek Management Committee approaches its 35th year of operation, we celebrate both the enduring culture of our organisation
as well as anticipating a time of growth and change. In 2023 we farewelled team members who have supported the Merri Creek with passion for many years, including Ray Radford, who served the organisation for 28 years and who remains involved as a volunteer with Friends of Merri Creek.

Ray is known for stewarding the Merri News and Annual Reports, his hands-on work organising many Woody Weed Whacking events, his tenacious pursuit of the usage of Woi-wurrung names for Merri grasslands and his overall versatility to help the organisation with whatever it has needed.

Swamp Wallabies, Wood Ducks, microbats, platypuses and pardalotes are among the many animals that are set to benefit from the recent awarding of over $800,000 in grant funding for four Merri community groups: Merri Creek Management Committee (with Friends of Merri Creek), Friends of Edwardes Lake, Merri-bek Council (with Friends of Edgars Creek) and the Wollert Community Farm.

“We are thrilled that the Victorian Government has recognised the incredible value that one of the best-loved creeks in Melbourne’s north gives to people and creatures alike,” said Merri Creek Management Committee Executive Officer Bernadette Thomas.

Minister for Water, Regional Development, and Equality Harriet Shing MP, announced the funding in March 2024, part of a $10 million investment to “improve habitat, water quality, and provide cool green spaces for communities around our urban creeks, rivers and waterways.”

In November last year, friends, neighbours, volunteers, activists, writers, photographers and scientists, bound by a shared love of the Merri Creek, came together to celebrate an incredible story of restoration and transformation – a story told within the pages of Merri Creek: A Ribbon of Nature in Melbourne’s North. The book is artfully designed and beautifully written to reminisce on a half-century of achievement for our much-loved creek. A Ribbon of Nature first came to life as the vision of the four directors of the Merri Creek Environment Fund (which funds some of the work carried out by Merri Creek Management Committee) stewarded by Ann Sanson, but soon became a passion project for many people revelling in the telling of this inspiring story.

On 8th March we celebrate' the contribution of women on International Womens Day. Across our beautiful city are the stories of women making a difference to the green spaces where Melburnians connect with nature. Today, on International Women’s Day, we recognise and celebrate the contribution of women and female-identifying changemakers to the restoration of these spaces, both in the broader urban conservation community and along the banks of our much-loved Merri Creek.

Women play a critical role in the protection and restoration of green spaces across Australia, a truth that is understood by our friends at the annual Women in Conservation breakfast and Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA). Women bring a unique perspective at every level of conservation, whether through the keen eyes of a scientist, the engaging voice of an environmental educator or the leadership of a philanthropist who supports this work. The social impact of biodiversity and habitat loss are felt by women just as they are by others, which is why it’s essential that women and female-identifying people contribute equally in the solution to those problems.

The dusk light is fading and a small group, gathered at the edges of a wetland,   switch their spotlights on and cast beams across scattered grasses and ponds. The February night is warm and still – perfect for spotting frogs. The group, three surveyors from Merri Creek Management Committee and Merri-bek Council, are scouring a new wetland at Moomba Park, Fawkner, for the presence of the Growling Grass Frog,which until recently, hasn’t been seen locally for over 50 years.

The Growling Grass Frog is a ground-dwelling tree frog that was once abundant along the Merri Creek, but whose calls went largely unheard in the area in the 1970s. The species is now listed at both state and federal levels as vulnerable, having disappeared entirely from some areas, including the extent of the Australian Capital Territory. In 2019 however, Merri Creek residents were thrilled to report the distinctive call was being heard locally once more.

Metro Trains, a customer of MCMC, was recognised with a High Commendation award in the Excellence in Environmental Outcomes Category at the annual Infrastructure Sustainability Council awards on 7 September, 2023. The Biodiversity Manager of Metro Trains, Ben Roberts, said "I feel the award is a great recognition of the skilled and dedicated effort that MCMC have contributed since the inception of the biosite program. Throughout the program, MCMC have provided a consistent and reliable service which has resulted in the MCMC managed sites steadily recovering over this time, including improving site conditions which have significantly increased threatened species abundance."

Achievements made by Metro Trains at the Biosites include: 314% increase in abundance of threatened species; recovery of three Threatened Ecological Commuities; the return of five previously unrecorded threatened species; and the introduction of regular cool season eco-burns as a "business-as-usual" practice.
 Also see the video of our work with Metro Trains on remnant rail reserves in this segment on Gardening Australia in 2021.