On a beautiful sunny day in February during the biderap season, a group of land managers, scientists and community supporters gathered by wetlands in Fawkner’s Moomba Park to celebrate the launch of a new strategy for the Growling Grass Frog, a species that once thrived along the Merri Creek but now faces serious threats.
The strategy envisions a future where the frog is regularly heard and seen throughout the Merri Creek and its tributaries from Somerton to Fawkner, supported by collaboration between land and water managers, scientists, Traditional Owners, and local communities.
MCMC launch of the Strategy - 'Securing the Southern Metapopulations of the Growling Grass Frog in the Merri Creek.' Photograph by MCMC's Bernadette Thomas.
Paul Piko lives in Hidden Valley, a residential village and bushland area in the Upper Merri catchment on the northern edge of Melbourne. Paul is an orchid expert and Chairman of the Hidden Valley Environment Subcommittee, which formed in 2023 to support the work of the Wallan Environment Group and to protect the bushland in Hidden Valley.
My favourite place in the Merri Creek catchment has to be the remnant bushland in the north section of the valley, which we unofficially call the Hidden Valley bushland reserve. The gullies feed into Mittagong Creek which in turn flows towards Merri Creek, not all that far from its source. When I moved into Hidden Valley I was delighted to discover this seemingly forgotten woodland. I was already an orchid enthusiast and was pleased to document a good number of species there, including one listed as Threatened. With the help of Chris Cobern from MCMC, we’ve also confirmed this bushland is also home to the Brush-tailed Phascogale. It is a special place.
Paul Piko at the 2024 MCMC staff field trip. Photograph by MCMC's Chris Coburn.
In February we were delighted to publish our 2022–2024 Biennial Report – a wonderful opportunity to share just some of the stories that we at MCMC are privileged to be a part of, with you, the people who make it all possible.
As we enter warin season, MCMC begins our Autumn burns season. We share our story of the growth of our burning program originally published in our recent 2022–2024 Biennial Report. Read the full report here.
In the remnant plains grasslands of the Merri Creek valley, the delicate, star-shaped flowers of the Matted Flax-Lily add a vibrant splash of violet to the landscape. The grasslands are slowly healing, responding to an ecological burn program spanning 30 years. In 2023, this included clearing of invasive weeds and grassy biomass, creating the conditions for native wildflowers to flourish.
Autumn burn at Bababi djinanang, Fawkner. Photograph by MCMC's Michael Longmore.
If you moved through the Merri landscape in March, you may have noticed as the browns and yellows of biderap (dry, hot season for Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people) gave way to the flowering of Manna Gum as iuk, the season where the length of days and nights shift until they are of equal length.
But below the surface of the Merri waters another story was unfolding, as it has for millenia: while waterbirds waded and insects darted above the water, in the depths of the Merri, Short-finned eels were maturing after an incredible journey that began as larvae in the salt waters of the Coral Sea, off the coast of Far North Queensland. These eels spend ten years or more in the fresh water of the Merri before metamorphosing into Silver eels. These eels inform the Wurundjeri name for this season: iuk means “eel”.
In February, a group of Merri Creek supporters came together at galada tamboore to celebrate the beginning of work on the marram baba Future Directions Plan and the funding of new initiatives and projects that are part of implementing the plan. The plan is the culmination of many years of work by MCMC and the members of the Parklands Partnership, towards a vision for continuous public parklands along Merri Creek.
MCMC President Ann McGregor says the contribution of many organisations has resulted in a plan that can make a real difference to creatures that call the Merri home, like the Little Eagle and Golden Sun Moth, as well as the future residents of new suburbs who will be able to connect with nature in the Parklands.
marram baba Merri Creek Regional Parklands. Photograph by Dom McKenzie.
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See a web version of these fabulous panels which celebrate the outstanding community achievement since 1975 in transforming Merri Creek from a weed-smothered drain to a much-loved waterway running through a bushland corridor: fronts of panels (17MB file); backs of panels (9MB file).
The two metre size panels were originally displayed at libraries and other public places throughout the Merri Creek catchment over 16 months until late 2016, in celebration of MCMC's 25th Anniversary.
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Merri Creek Management Committee. 2 Lee St, East Brunswick, Victoria, Australia 3057 (view map in new window )
Phone:(03) 9380 8199 Email: admin@mcmc.org.au ABN: 13 025 599 242
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