Merri Creek Management Committee

Under the guidance of Uncle Dave Wandin and the Wurundjeri Tribe Council’s Narrap Team,⁠ Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) staff participated in their first cool burn at Bababi Djinanang Grassland, Fawkner in mid-July 2019. Cool burns, also known as cultural burns, are conducted using traditional Indigenous land management techniques.

They differ from our usual ecological burns which are normally done in mid-autumn, with a hot fire which moves fast due to the largely dried out vegetation. In contrast, cool burns are done following heavy rains, when the soil is wet and lots of green vegetation has resprouted. The cool fire moves slowly and burns a patchy mosaic, giving wildlife time to move to safe ground.

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Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) celebrated its 30th Anniversary with an afternoon walking tour along Merri Creek on 23rd May 2019.   

First stop was near CERES in Brunswick East, where the MCMC President, Ann McGregor, talked about some of the first plantings along Merri Creek in the 1970s. Then people walked downstream along the Northcote side of the Merri where Geoff Mabett talked about the  transformative works of the Northern Waterways Group in creating Merri Park in the late 1980s. The group was photographed on the footbridge between Merri Park and Sumner Park.

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The promise of a new Upper Merri Park linked to a Wallan Regional Park along the Merri is coming closer to reality. Both are critical parts of the Greater Wallan-Merri Park concept, a 2016 joint initiative of MCMC, Friends of Merri Creek and Wallan Environment Group to create A living landscape for a liveable Melbourne.  

The Upper Merri Park is one of five new 'suburban' parks the State Government has committeed to. A feasibility study for the Wallan Regional Park is also commencing. The park boundaries will be determined through consultation with stakeholders and community.  

MCMC had a very positive first meeting with the DEWLP project officers for the Upper Merri Park in mid-July 2019 - see below for key steps and time-lines for the park development process.

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Our President, Ann McGregor, photographed this Powerful Owl in a Peppercorn tree overlooking Merri Creek shared path in Fitzroy North, in May 2019. We believe this is the first time a Powerful Owl has been recorded along the Merri in the inner suburbs. 

Please let us know of your own wildlife sightings along Merri Creek by using the reporting form on our website.  A photo is of great help. All significant confirmed sightings are forwarded to appropriate databases such as the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas.