The latest splash from the Merri Paddle

Friends interested in the long-term goal of returning the iconic platypus to the Merri will be interested in the latest efforts of the Paddle, the coalition of groups devoted to that aim.

Following the research report prepared for the Paddle by Josh Griffiths in 2022, Returning Platypus to the Merri Creek, the Paddle has secured funding from Melbourne Water, Friends of Merri Creek, Merri-bek Council and the Merri Creek Environment Fund to convene a roundtable of Council environment officers and Melbourne Water to discuss how to progress remediation of the 14 potential habitat sites assessed by Josh.

Merri Paddle sampling sites, map, Peter Ewer

The roundtable will also include a presentation from the Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group, RMIT University, on the problem of industrial contaminants, especially in the middle reaches of the Creek. These contaminants are especially harmful to the macro invertebrates on which the platypus relies for food. Dealing with this issue will be essential in any long-term plan to return the animal to the Creek.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the results of the roundtable!

In the course of negotiating with Melbourne Water over this event, it emerged that MW will be repeating the DNA sampling, which is the non-intrusive technique used to detect the presence of the platypus. Paddle volunteers undertook this work for the Griffiths study. We are in discussions with MW to include community participation in the next round of sampling.

This September we will also be joining the Australian Conservation Foundation’s platy-project, an Australia-wide citizen science project to map the range of the platypus. 

Finally, we are organising further field work for November and December. This will be to conduct another round of water quality testing and habitat assessments – dates to be advised.

The Paddle is proud to have generated the ‘base line’ data about platypus habitability and we look forward to progressing this generational project.

If you are interested in the work of the Paddle, or would like to get involved, visit our page https://www.friendsofmerricreek.org.au/merri-paddle, or contact FoMC committee member, Peter Ewer, at peter.ewer@yahoo.com.au

Paddlers on the prowl - testing water quality for the iconic platypus
Image: Merri Paddle