Merri Creek.. The Place to be for People, Fauna & Flora..

This is a photo I took, on a lil bank, of Merri Creek and if u can see the train above the creek, through the trees - I take this train quite alot too and from school and the veiw of the creek is allways so nice :)

A brief before we get into it -

The Merri Creek flows about 60 km from the Dividing Range through Melbourne’s northern suburbs to the Yarra River. The Merri Creek is an environmental, heritage and recreation corridor which has significance from its role as a continuous corridor as it does from the qualities of individual reaches. The Creek and its immediate surrounds is host to some of the most threatened ecosystems in Australia and has a unique role to play in the preservation of threatened flora and fauna and the maintenance of vegetation communities that in other places have almost been totally destroyed.

Revegetation works and parkland development including path construction have created outstanding quality and landscape character – which plays an important role in the park system of the metropolitan region.

Some info that I think is awesome and is something to think about next time walking by the the creek next; A quote from the website of the Merri Creek Management Committee, “ the Merri valley contains many millions of years of history and secrets. Over 400 million years ago the sea covering this area receded....from 0.8 to 4.6 to million years ago volcanoes such as Hayes Hill (about 5km east of Donnybrook) and Mt Fraser (near Beveridge) erupted, sending lava on an epic journey along the ancestral valleys of the Merri and Darebin Creeks and into the valley of the Yarra River as far as the CBD...Our modern day Merri Creek was formed over many years, by incising through the lava surface.”

Merri Creek management Committee Incorporated (MCMC) is an environmental coordination and management agency and this is their mission statement, which I think is pretty cool and sums up well who and what they do -
MCMC respects and honours the spirit of the land and its peoples, indigenous plants and animals, and works with the community to preserve, restore and promote the Merri Creek, its catchment and neighbouring region as a vital living system

This is a project which I found interesting –

http://www.mcmc.org.au

Nearly two decades of community advocacy and planning preceded the initial development of Merri Park Wetland in Northcote in 1999. The commitee worked with community and its partners to strengthen the wetland’s water treatment and habitat values in subsequent years, creating a ‘hotspot’ for wildlife along the Merri.

Lobbying during the 1970s and 80s overcame a proposal for a high concrete flood protection barrier next to Merri Creek. Instead, landscaped earthen levee banks and creek-side parklands were established and planted. Community input influenced the design of the wetland. Since 2000 over 16,000 plants have been planted.

Wetlands are productive ecosystems providing habitat for native animals and plants, including rare and threatened species. They assimilate and recycle nutrients and trap sediments. They act as flood control basins, aiding the hydrological stability of the catchment.

BIg props to this committee and involved community members. Go to their website for more info and they have heaps of fun events to get involved in :) http://www.mcmc.org.au

References

http://www.mcmc.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1