Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards
Community Group Caring for Public Land Friends of Merri Creek
The leading lights of our local environment were recognised today when the winners of 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards were announced at a celebration held at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne.
The 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards celebrate the environmental contribution that individuals, community groups, schools and councils make to the environment undertaking activities that improve the quality of land but also influence, educate and inspire others to make a difference.
The winners were presented by Doctor Kate Auty, Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability and special guest Doctor Rhonda Galbally AO former CEO of Our Community.
The premise of the landcare movement is that action makes a difference. The Landcare movement has grown from a group of farmers that came together to address erosion in the 1980s to become both a known brand (Landcare Australia) and a way to care for the land through community action.
These days, landcare activity also encompasses the work of ‘friends’ groups and ‘committees of management’ who often form because of a shared desire, or need, such as controlling weeds next to a walking track, or helping protect an endangered species.
Frequently the catalyst for the formation of such groups is passion and Regional Landcare Coordinator for the Port Phillip and Western Port region Doug Evans says “recognising those people and organisations who make a difference to the environment is a great accolade and, more often than not, these winners are delighted but extremely surprised they have been nominated to received an award let alone being publicly rewarded for their work.
Friends of Merri Creek are one such group, winning the Community Group Caring for Public Land category for their work on the creek which starts in its northernmost point near Wallan and winds its way through Melbourne’s northern suburbs, via parks and reserves until it meets the Yarra near Clifton Hill and Victoria Park.
Friends of Merri Creek have proven themselves to be an influential group whose results on-ground are matched by their work with partners including; local councils, the Merri Creek Management Committee and the community.
Friends of Merri Creek have undertaken major revegetation works in the highly urbanised and well known areas of the Creek in the South (near the Western Ring Road and Dights Falls in Abbotsford) and have also done works and built relationships in the north in conjunction with Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria, the local Wurundjeri people and with other friends groups that work the area.
In the words of the judges “The Friends of Merri Creek have shown great leadership and innovation in regards to protecting and enhancing the environs of the Merri Creek.”
The group has been very successful in securing grants to ensure that their work can continue, they have been able to influence planning and management for the creek through their work and has been influential in dealing with councils, authorities and other organisations undertaking work in the area.
Friends of Merri Creek has close to 320 members, and since 2000 over 61,000 indigenous plants have been planted by the group and close to 3,000 people have attended the 256 events and activities organised by the groups in the last 6 years.
Significantly, some members of the Friends of Merri Creek have been instrumental in discovering, documenting and recording populations of endangered species near the creek, including the Growling Grass Frog and Golden Sun Moth.
All winners will now be nominated for the Victorian landcare Awards in 2011.
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