A pair of local councils have received grants from the state government to support and maintain the health of local waterways.
Yarra Ranges Council and Maroondah City Council were two of the 10 recipients sharing in $2 million from the Green Links Grants program.
Yarra Ranges Council received $342,229 for their Olinda Creek floodplain restoration project and Director of Planning and Sustainable Futures Kath McClusky said the Olinda Creek Floodplain is central to the Yering Billabongs Project, which has involved restoring a large portion of the floodplain.
“Works that have previously been undertaken at the site include weed control, revegetation and reconnecting Olinda Creek to the floodplain, which all helps to improve water quality and enhance habitat for local species,” she said.
“What this funding will do is help extend capacity to more degraded areas of the 60-hectare site, improving the biodiversity in areas where a greater level of intervention is required, some of these interventions will include things like undertaking revegetation, direct seeding and other associated activities,”
“Recent environmental DNA sampling found some significant species in the local waterways including short-finned eels, black fish and Macquarie perch, highlighting the potential and importance of increasing the biodiversity value of the site.”
Maroondah City Council also received $183,111 for collaborative habitat creation along the Mullum Mullum Creek corridor which extends into Croydon.
Maroondah City Council were contacted for comment.
Minister for Water Gayle Tierney said our urban waterways are important to our communities’ health and wellbeing, along with providing vital habitat for native wildlife.
“Green Links grants are empowering local communities to protect their local waterways and create greener open spaces in urban areas for more families to enjoy,” she said.
Last year, Eco Warriors Australia also received $102,250 for ‘Planting the Seed’ at Yering Billabong, where primary school students, coordinated by an Indiegnous representative, had the opportunity to collect, propagate and care for native seedlings used to revegetate a 10-hectare site at the billabong, using a data collection tool to monitor afterwards.
Students from Yarra Glen Primary School, Lilydale Primary School, Coldstream Primary School, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in Lilydale and Yering Primary School participated.
