A biolink along the Merri Creek from the Great Dividing Range to the Yarra River
The primary purpose of the Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) is to ensure the preservation of natural and cultural heritage, and the ecologically sensitive restoration, development and maintenance of the Merri Creek and tributaries, their corridors and associated ecological communities.
This project focuses on creating an effective biolink along the main channel of Merri Creek from the Great Dividing Range south to the Yarra River. Much work has been done by MCMC and its partners, mainly in the southern half of the catchment, but there is plenty of work to do, especially in the northern catchment as development of the growth area proceeds.
Themes and Local Areas
| Primary Theme: | Native vegetation |
| Other Themes: | Waterways, Wetlands, Native animals |
| Primary Local Area: | Macedon Ranges, Hume, Mitchell & Whittlesea |
| Other Local Areas: | Urban Melbourne |
| Project location: | This biolink follows the main channel of Merri Creek from Yarra Bend Park north to the Great Dividing Range near Heathcote Junction |
| Scale of the project: | Landscape |
| New or continuing work: | Building on previous work |
Project partners
| Lead organisation: | Merri Creek Management Committee |
| Key partners: | Mitchell Shire, City of Whittlesea, City of Hume, Moreland City Council, City of Darebin, City of Yarra, Friends of Merri Creek and Wallan Environment Group are members of MCMC and support its purposes. Many other organisations have contributed to and continue to contribute to this project. |
| 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: | 10+ years |
Contribution toward targets
| Primary Regional Catchment Strategy target and contribution to its achievement: | Target 5.4 (Major New Biolinks), specifically the biolink proposed on the map in the strategy along Merri Creek, extending the mapped biolink south to Yarra Bend Park, and north to the Great Dividing Range. The work of Merri Creek Management Committee together with its member organisations has been the driver of most work to date to establish a biolink along Merri Creek, and we expect that will continue to be the case. This project would tick off the biolink proposed along Merri Creek as part of target 5.4 |
| Relevant Biodiversity 2037 goal: | Support people to connect with nature |
| Relevant National Landcare Program priority: | Ecological communities – Grassy Eucalypt Woodland and/or Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain – Condition improved |
