Bringing a vision to life for the Gardiners Creek corridor
Gardiners Creek (Kooyongkoot) is a significant waterway within Stonnington that provides an important wildlife corridor within an increasingly urban environment as well as highly valued open space, recreation hubs, Indigenous heritage, public transport links and the Malvern Valley Golf Course.
Within Stonnington, Gardiners Creek (Kooyongkoot) extends for approximately 8.7km from its junction with the Yarra River in Kooyong through to Warrigal Road, Glen Iris.
The Council vision for Gardiners Creek (Kooyongkoot) is that “The Gardiners Creek corridor will be a resilient environmental landscape nurturing the wellness of people and Country. As a loved community destination, it will form a vital link through the municipality, offering green respite from the urban surrounds with rich biodiversity and habitat.”
In 2020, the City of Stonnington adopted the Gardiners Creek (KooyongKoot) Masterplan, outlining a long-term vision and overarching framework for the transformation and enhancement of Gardiners Creek (KooyongKoot) and surrounding open spaces along the corridor within Stonnington to improve the quality of stormwater entering the Yarra River, enhance biodiversity, improve access and connectivity, support active and passive recreation, celebrate cultural heritage and values and facilitate community nature connection. Implementation of the masterplan is now progressing.
The City of Stonnington is leading this project and is working to coordinate a shared vision for the entire Gardiners Creek corridor with key stakeholders in the catchment.
This project is recognised as a priority (Action 23) in the Yarra Integrated Water Management Forum’s Strategic Directions Statement.
Themes and Local Areas
| Primary Theme: | Waterways |
| Other Themes: | Native vegetation, Native animals, Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Victorians, Communities |
| Primary Local Area: | Urban Melbourne |
| Other Local Areas: | |
| Project location: | Gardiners Creek (Kooyongkoot) extending for approximately 8.7km from its junction with the Yarra River in Kooyong through to Warrigal Road, Glen Iris |
| Scale of the project: | Local |
| New or continuing work: | Continuing/building on previous work |
Project partners
| Lead organisation: | Stonnington City Council |
| Key partners: | Boroondara City Council, Monash Council, Whitehorse Council, Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water |
| Registered Aboriginal Party/s relevant to the project or its area: | Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation |
Investment opportunities
| Opportunities for investors within this project start from: | $$ (Tens of thousands of dollars) |
| Estimated scale of investment for full project implementation: | $$$$ (Millions of dollars) |
| Estimated timeframe for full project implementation: | 2-10 years |
Contribution toward targets
| Primary Regional Catchment Strategy target: | Waterway amenity – Achieve an average score for waterway amenity of VERY HIGH for the Yarra catchment. |
| Relevant Biodiversity 2037 goal: | Support people connect with nature |
| Relevant National Landcare Program priority: | – |
