Mark Bachmann, on the work of the Nature Glenelg Trust - restoring wetlands

The Friends hosted an evening presentation recently. Mark Bachmann, of the Nature Glenelg Trust, spoke to us on Reviving Nature: Wetlands of the Merri and western Victoria. The inspiring talk surveyed several NGT projects and went on to explore some of the post-colonisation history of the upper Merri wetlands, possibilities for the future and barriers that need to be overcome to bring these wetlands back to life.

Over recent years, Mark has worked with the Friends and Merri Creek Management Committee in support of the restoration of the Merri wetlands. The wetlands of the upper Merri – burrung buluk, Meade Swamp and Hernes Swamp — are central to the campaign for the wallan wallan Regional Parklands. Drained for agricultural purposes in the early 20th century, they are now at risk as Melbourne’s urban edge spreads north and surrounding acreage is slated for development to absorb significant population growth. For Wallan and Beveridge alone — an additional 110,000 people are expected by 2041. 

Image credit: wallan wallan Regional Parkland, upper Merri, wwRP Alliance, 2026.
Detail showing burrung bulluk (Hanna) swamp, Meade Swamp and Greater Hernes Swamp. The highlighted green areas is the extent of the Parklands. 

These new communities need not only housing and built and community infrastructure, but ecological infrastructure that provides natural values and amenity for residents and visitors. Building on these restorable and rich natural assets will deliver a heart to the wallan wallan Regional Parklands. Wetlands can capture and store rain where it falls, providing safe habitat for a range of local species, migratory birds, supporting threatened ecosystems and benefiting groundwater recharge.  The neighbourhood effect is where land surrounding good reserves is boosted and sees species return: often, birds are the first.  These features will provide places of beauty, community engagement, recreation and respite for residents and visitors.

The practical contribution the wetlands can make to local and downstream settings cannot be underestimated. As flood mitigation tools, the wetlands can hold rainfall after heavy rain events and prevent downstream harm: both to riparian zones, housing and other built infrastructure. Modelling estimates that the drainage provided to surrounding developments, by the restoration of the wetlands, will be enough to manage moderate downstream flows after increased rainfall. These occurrences are now much more frequent than the 1 in a hundred-year event previously planned for. As the climate heats, wetlands can contribute to urban cooling and provide support to wildlife in greater climate extremes.
If these wetlands are not filled in, it isn’t too late to restore them!

Image credit: Wallan, with Hernes Swamp in the background, October 2022, photo by Rob Eldridge, Wallan Environment Group

The Precinct Structure Planning (PSP) process, which guides urban developments in Melbourne’s growth corridors, largely focuses on built infrastructure. The Friends have participated in consultative projects over many years, campaigning for the environment and local ecological systems to be valued in these reckonings and not sacrificed.

Getting the PSP process to absorb the intent of integrated water management planning and the Healthy Waters Strategy, when wetland features don't run to grid patterns and conventional boundaries, is a challenge. For example, the Beveridge North-west PSP bisects burrung buluk (formerly Hanna Swamp), making planning for its entirety challenging. Hopefully, the next few years will see it treated as one system, even though it straddles 2 different PSPs. Meade Swamp is also restorable in its entirety. Sections of Hernes Swamp have already been compromised, primarily by the Wallara Waters residential development in the north-western section. The rest of it can still be restored.

Unearthing the history of change is essential to understand the full extent of the wetlands prior to colonisation. Wetland restoration provides an important opportunity for reconciliation with First Nations communities. For the upper Merri wetlands, understanding Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung land and water management practices, researching historical records and maps and identifying remnant patches of flora, all combine to provide a richer picture of the pre-colonisation state.

Image credit: Chinaman Flat Wallan Wallan, 1859, Historic Plans Collection. Public Record Office Victoria VPRS 8168.

From the government policy perspective, only the current state of wetlands is considered. Decision-making is not informed by either their history, or their restoration potential. The tension between these two positions is what is exercising advocates now.  The principles underpinning ecological restoration and the values that these features can provide can be found in policy documents and strategies. There remains a disconnection between this and the way these wetlands are treated in the PSP planning process.

Mark asked the question — why reinstate modified natural wetlands?
Why indeed! Natural wetlands can be restored to provide the same services by building with and taking advantage of natural landforms.

What would be a great outcome for the process into the future?
Ideally – the best outcome is establishing the wallan wallan Regional Parklands boundaries now, to include all the wetland areas and for everyone to work to these boundaries. This top-down adoption of regional Park boundaries would provide certainty for all and the confidence to plan holistically.  Nature and landscape can be revived!

Our thanks to Mark for visiting and speaking to us, and his passion and commitment to restoring these important natural features to our landscapes.

What you can do:

• Sign and share the petition calling for government commitment to the wallan wallan Regional Parklands.

• Watch Mark’s presentation here: Reviving Nature: Wetlands of the Merri and western Victoria.

• Sign up to the monthly NGT newsletter.