DAREBIN CREEK COMMUNITY PLANTING AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS IN RESERVOIR

On June 4, there was a great community turnout for this important infill-planting along the Darebin Creek, on the eastern edge of Reservoir. Seventy two locals gathered in Arch Gibson reserve for a heart-warming welcome to country, where our joint landcare responsibilities were explained, and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung elder, Uncle Dave Wandin, offered us an invitation to receive smoke-blessing. ‘As you gather the smoke, gather a remembered loved one into your arms for a big hug too’ , he suggested.

John Burke, coordinator of this reach, Reach 5, of the Darebin Creek, registered the participants and distributed the gloves we needed. That’s how we know there were 72 of us volunteering. Haley Harris, on the committee’s social media, got the story out to us very successfully.

The Darebin Creek Management Committee guided us through the planting and activities.

Margaret DeKam, the president of Friends of Darebin Creek, introduced the community to the activity:

“This is an opportunity for the community to join in the revegetation ‘biodiversity corridor’ with the Friends of Darebin Creek. The project focuses on the less vegetated areas, complementing extensive Darebin Council plantings.

“By bridging these gaps, Friends of Darebin Creek is creating a biodiversity corridor, from the bushland behind Latrobe University, called Nangak Tamboree, all the way up the creek to the Blau Street wetlands beyond the Western Ring Road in Bundoora. This will create a welcoming and safe habitat for birds and other wildlife (including humans) to move along the creek,” she said.

I interviewed Margaret about the importance of this work, “One of the important things we have been thinking about with mass-plantings, is minimising the use of tree guards, to avoid pollution and the cramping of plant shape.

“So today we have left the lomandras and poas to look after themselves. Good soil and plant preparation, combined with complimentary planting, will maximise the success of today’s plantings. Danny Reddan, the coordinator of the DCMC, planned the types of plants we would use together so tall plants can protect the small plants,” Margaret said.

Committee member Peter Grenfell had waded into the creek to collect waterbugs and provided a wonderful hands-on experience of the local waterlife. The younger volunteers were fascinated by these bugs, and Peter had everything they needed to enjoy and explore. You can see the many photos of

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Top:

Volunteers add their leaf, representing a loved one, to the smoke.

Bottom: Ember shares his excitement with Peter Grenfell of DCMC

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Left:

Ember plants his first Lomandra

Right:

Plantings are mingled with previous plantings.

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Top Left: Peter Grenfell of DCMC with his waterbugs explorers.

Bottom Left:

Young volunteers captures and identifies a waterbug

Right: the younger volunteers fishing for waterbugs.

How plants have grown in three years.

“Local large rains washed many waterbugs out of the creek, but they have built up again, because the good plant life in the creek is good habitat for these waterbugs. Waterbugs are platypus food, so we get the occasional platypus swimming up from the Birrarung, the Yarra river.

“We would love to see a breeding pair of platypus feeding here. In 2017 we spotted a platypus but it was later found dead, tied up in rubber bands, hair-ties and building-site strapping.

“So we need to avoid dropping these things anywhere on the streets. We also see rakarli or water rats, and short-finned eels that grow to one metre long. We have had a fish ladder installed downstream that is allowing up-and-down migration of waterbugs, fish and eels in the Darebin Creek,” Peter said.

Ruth Williams, anchor of the Darebin Sweepers, explained the importance of collecting the rubbish from the creek precincts. She told me:

“We look for the rubbish around the shopping centres and gutters which would end up in the creek after rain. Old rubbish caught in the bushes breaks down, and polystyrene and small pieces of plastic need to be picked up carefully.

“Storm drain collections, building site rubbish and up-stream rubbish all head towards the creek and need to be swept up. We collect rubbish between 10.30 and 12.30 on the third Sunday of the month, with volunteers doing as much as they can during those two hours. We divide rubbish into recyclable and landfill bags, then local bush crews pick up our bags.”

Sabutai (Sai) Haider, the DCMC secretary, and Jorell from FoDC did much of the bulk handling of materials. They set out these species for us to plant:

• Acacia mearnsii – Black Wattle - Local wattle that supports an abundance of invertebrates – which become food for birds

• Acacia Pycnantha – Golden Wattle – Australia’s national emblem with bright golden flowers

• Melicytus dentata – Tree Violet – Prickly shrub providing valuable cover for small birds from the bigger bossy birds along the creek

• Rhagodia candolleana – Seaberry Saltbush –Spreading shrub with berries providing food and cover for birds and lizards

• Lomandra longifolia – Mat Rush – Culturally significant plant that also provides food for caterpillars

• Pao labillardieri – Tussock Grass – Valuable habitat for lizards and invertebrates.

To find out more about this group, future work and volunteering opportunities, contact: http://www.dcmc.org.au