Secretary's Report

The Friends of Merri Creek have had a good year. Shout-out to Celia Romaniuk and Evan Rennick for taking on website duties and acquitting themselves well over the last year. Polly Bastow also joined the team editing the newsletter and has been running the show solo while Jane Miller has been on leave. As always, if you're interested in joining the committee, please reach out.

On the first Sunday of every month Paul Prentice continues to run litter cleanups up and down the catchment, from Rushall Station to Craigieburn and many places in between. No cleanups in January due to the heat, and March, to avoid clashing with Clean Up Australia Day. It’s a week later. The Wednesday Volunteers have been all over: from Ngarri-djarrang Grassland in Reservoir, to Stellaria Nature Reserve in Somerton, to Merriang Conservation Reserve in Beveridge. 

The quarterly bird surveys attracted an average of 63 keen observers each time. They picked up plenty of finds including Scarlet Robins and Flame Robins at bababi marning, Brown Falcons at galada tamboore, Wedge-Tailed Eagles at galgi ngarrk and White Ibises in their masses, particularly at Coburg Lake. As at the time of the November newsletter, I might still make it to a bird survey

Though they are a separate group to us, I will again shout out the efforts of the Friends of Edwardes Lake up along Edgars Creek - another twenty thousand plants and twenty million weeds - an impressive feat to sustain - and continues to transform the area. 

Time to talk about our subgroups. The Friends of Coburg Lake and Surrounds subgroup have been studiously working away at their areas on a twice-weekly basis and have received a grant from Yarra Valley Water for additional plantings in the Merlynston Creek and Merri Creek confluence. The Friends of Merri Creek have also put a significant figure towards getting MCMC to remove some key weed species, as well as additional funds for planting.

The Friends of Merri Park subgroup in Northcote completed their traditional Mother's Day planting and have kept the weed levels down and local litter levels well down. This is also funded by the Friends of Merri Creek, with you, our members, helping us make sure we have the money to do that.

Strettle Wetlands volunteers in Thornbury have continued with their three annual events.

The Friends of Edgars Creek subgroup continue with their monthly works.

The Friends of Bracken Creek subgroup are starting to get some traction, getting permission to plant out the neglected Beaconsfield Parade garden beds.

The Friends of the Merri Creek Labyrinth subgroup had a very popular planting as well, albeit on a very rainy day. They are looking to do even more in the future, but would like more volunteers to help with the efforts - get in touch if you're interested at friendsofmerricreeklabyrinth@gmail.com

Friends of East Coburg at Merri Creek is launching this year, focusing on Tate Reserve south of Harding Street Bridge.

In what is becoming an annual tradition, the Friends organized a bus tour to the upper reaches. This time we shook things up with new locations: the Wollert Community Farm, the site for the proposed Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal, and Dry Creek in the north. Thank you to Claire Weekley and Laziza Hawkins for organizing, and Bruce McGregor, Judy Schrever and Polly Bastow for helping out on the day.

There was also some less fun, though no less important work. Jake Duyvestyn, Darebin Citizen of the Year, Kate Jost, and advisors from the Wallan Environment Group in the north, worked together to collect responses and score candidates from all the wards of all the councils bordering or containing the Merri Creek. There are a lot - Yarra, Darebin, Merri-bek, Hume, Whittlesea, and Mitchell, with a number of wards for each. It's also critical to the future of the Merri Creek Management Committee, which is heavily reliant on Council funding to make things happen and do the things volunteers can't. The Merri Paddle are also continuing their collection of data of platypus habitability along the Creek, sponsored by the Friends of Merri Creek and the Rotary Clubs of Coburg, Moreland, Pascoe Vale and Preston. We also spent an afternoon revisiting the strategic plan we first created in 2022, and look forward to sharing the results of that effort. Sales of the Merri Creek Calendar, with bird photography by Adi Tudor and logistically organized by Monica Williamson, also went well in 2023, and likely 2024 as well. 

The six (and one alternate) FoMC representatives on the Merri Creek Management Committee continued their substantial contributions to that vital organisation, including holding the positions of President, Vice-President and Treasurer.

The FoMC Committee wrote submissions and letters, and otherwise engaged in issues including development applications affecting the Creek, dog control, waterway management and planning controls, strategic plans, and the Marram Baba and Wallan Wallan Regional Parklands.

We now have two new Life Members :

• Luisa Macmillan for her efforts with the MCMC over 20 years, and
•  Jane Miller for her near-decade on committee, including the Herculean effort of managing our Facebook page, an activity she is now stepping back from.

Image drawn by @merricreekmusing