It's not too late to renew your 2015 membership! Thank you to those who have already done so we look forward to a great year.

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Audra Thornton
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Upcoming events The Friends of Darebin Creek was formed in 1995 to protect, restore and conserve the Darebin Creek and its adjacent parklands as a natural environment for the enjoyment of the

1 Upcoming events The Friends of Darebin Creek was formed in 1995 to protect, restore and conserve the Darebin Creek and its adjacent parklands as a natural environment for the enjoyment of the community. March 29: Cherry Street Reserve: Woody weed management April 15: General Meeting April 26: 20th Anniversary Celebration May 31: Hunters Lane Mernda: Maintenance of last year s plantings 2015 membership It's not too late to renew your 2015 membership! Thank you to those who have already done so we look forward to a great year. 20th Anniversary Celebration Come and celebrate 20 years: Live band, cake and sausage sizzle When: 26 April 2015 Where: Darebin Parkland Management Building, end of Station Street Alphington Time: 11 am 2 pm The committee feels there is a lot to celebrate for our 20th anniversary. Over the years many volunteers have given their time and energy to help to improve the creek and its environs. We also have many members who have been loyal in their support of the group by renewing their membership each year. We welcome past, present and new members and all those who have been associated with the group to celebrate with us. Sausage sizzle and drinks will be provided, and of course, a cake. Children are welcome. Peter Wiltshire will give a short talk about his work along the creek for 20 years. We will be entertained by the Whisky Gypsies band, which should make for a lively afternoon. RSVP would be appreciated at: friendsofdarebincreek@gmail.com, or call Sheryl:

We also discussed some wild and wonderful ideas for 2015 but Phillip reminded us of the need to be practical.

2 Xmas end-of-year dinner 2014 A group of the Friends of Darebin Creek had a lovely meal and a great evening at the Furlan Club for the Xmas breakup. We discussed the year gone by and how we would greatly miss our president Phillip Orth who was moving overseas. We also discussed some wild and wonderful ideas for 2015 but Phillip reminded us of the need to be practical. Annual General Meeting February 2015 Our AGM commenced with the viewing of the DVD Baykeepers, produced by Neil Blake and his group highlighting the problems of nurdles and microplastics in Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River. After further explanation and discussion with our excellent speaker Fam Charko from Port Phillip EcoCentre and Baykeepers group, we were keen to assess areas of Darebin Creek for this problem. Existing groups already monitor at bay beaches and some other waterways. (We have purchased the DVD so may be able to lend it out to interested members). Baykeepers DVD 2

3 Committee elections President and Activity Coordinator: Adrian Hotchin: Adrian has been on the committee for 11 years. He has worked for the City of Boroondara Parks and Gardens for the past 25 years. Vice-President: Peter Grenfell: Peter has been a member of the committee for five years and is employed with the Darebin Creek Management Committee. Secretary and Memberships: Sheryl Sibbison: Sheryl has been a member for 14 years and on the committee for 13 years, Treasurer: Helen Walker-Cook: Helen has been a committee member for 14 years. General Committee members: Paul Prentice and Michael Bradley. Thank you to Laura for volunteering to help by editing the newsletter and Wendy for volunteering to help get our activities into the local papers. Friends of Darebin Creek 2015 AGM Wednesday February 18, Annual Report We were very pleased at our last AGM to elect Michael Bradley onto the Committee. Michael is a hardworking, hands-on member who is present at every weeding and planting event, and knows a lot about what s happening to the creek and its environs in the West Heidelberg area. We also elected Phillip Orth as President, as under the incorporation rules we are required to have a President. Peter Grenfell was elected as Vice-President. Peter provides close links with DCMC and keeps our website up-to-date and informative. Our other committee members continued as usual! Our regular weeding and planting area has moved to the Southern Rd Wetland, as Electric Spur is now thriving after our years of nurturing. We held our Clean-Up Australia Day working bee at the wetlands, and two planting days in July and August were organised by Damien and Sam, the Banyule Council Darebin Creek Rangers. Over 1000 plants were planted; 14 different varieties, the main ones including Carex appressa, Isolepis nodosa, Dichondra repens and Poa labillardieri. The planting on 31 August was on Bush Care Day and we had a great community turn-up, followed by a BBQ. In March the old scout hall in Liberty Pde was auctioned. This was of concern to the Friends, as it was felt that it should be returned to parkland. An active community awareness campaign was launched, supported by Lincoln Kern, who designed a very eye-catching and informative flyer, which we distributed widely. A large turnout at the auction saw the scout hall sell to a couple and their young family. They are now restoring the hall as a residence, and seemingly sensitive to the environment. 3

4 There was some concern through the year about Banyule Council's rezoning of the parkland behind Liberty Pde from Southern Rd to Bell St. The Darebin Creek group Save our Creek was reignited, and communicated with Craig Langdon, our local councillor, and attended council meetings to clarify the situation. A small parcel of the land on Southern Rd will be excised from the parkland and rezoned; the rest has been rezoned to the strictest environmental zoning to ensure its maintenance. National Tree Day was carried out as usual at the Gronn St site in Reservoir, opposite Bundoora Parklands. This area is developing very well, and it is rewarding to see its progress from year to year. During the year we were sad to see Damien Karney, the Banyule Ranger who has worked closely with us for many years, retire due to ill-health. Samantha Forbes, who has worked with Damien for about two years is now the Ranger. We wish her all the best in her role and look forward to working closely with the Darebin and Whittlesea teams. We were pleased to have Katie Roberts, the Darebin Parklands Artist in Residence, attend one of our meetings and explain and display her delightful artworks depicting the creek and the parklands. Our wonderful president Phillip Orth has now moved to New Zealand, where his partner Alex has a new position as a climate scientist in Wellington. We miss Phillip s many skills and great personality, but wish him all the best in his new life. We gave him a painting of the creek by Katie as a thank-you gift and memento of Darebin Creek. We thank the committee for their commitment to the Darebin Creek in 2014, and wish everyone the best for Helen Walker-Cook Financial and Membership Report In 2014 we welcomed nearly 20 new members and had a record membership renewal rate thank you to all! Our first year using PayPal has made it easy for people visiting our website to join. We received a grant from Melbourne Water that has helped cover our administration costs. General discussion Adrian Hotchin and Peter Grenfell initiated a discussion about having a creek-side site that the Friends could be in charge of. It would include planning and education. Our improved membership and finances should help us establish a site. We will hold our 20th Anniversary Celebration on 26 April at the Darebin Parkland, near the Management building. A special meeting will be held to finalise the details. The next General Meeting will be held on 15 April. Sheryl Sibbison 4

Everyone felt encouraged that they had made a difference and swapped stories over morning tea about what they had found.

5 Clean Up Australia Day 1 March 2015 After heavy rain overnight we had a beautiful morning to start our clean-up. There were 24 volunteers who came along to help clean-up along the Darebin Creek, from Bell St to Southern Rd. Everyone felt encouraged that they had made a difference and swapped stories over morning tea about what they had found. Items included a wooden jewellery box with assorted jewellery, a fake gun, wallet containing ID cards, (these items will all be taken to the police), wheels and tyres, a motor (which will be collected later), market umbrella frame, two-litre container marked HCL, dumped fruit and vegetables (found regularly at the site) and much more. Robert was distracted from the clean-up and started weeding when he discovered Montpellier Broom seedlings growing in a site where we had worked with the Bush Crew over a few years to remove it. Shirley came across a Brown snake that she carefully avoided. Samantha from the Banyule Bush Crew reported that we had collected 200 kg of litter; 70 per cent of it was recyclable. Jonathan had a great vehicle for transporting rubbish a modified golf buggy, and Subir used a stray shopping trolley to bring back pieces of metal and other rubbish. Thanks to our members, new members and other volunteers on the day, and of course Samantha, for a successful event. Sheryl Sibbison 5

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Neil s Nurdle survey on the Darebin Creek It was a beautiful morning at the Darebin Parklands on Sunday 8 March for our band of nine intrepid nurdle hunters, both young and older.

7 Neil s Nurdle survey on the Darebin Creek It was a beautiful morning at the Darebin Parklands on Sunday 8 March for our band of nine intrepid nurdle hunters, both young and older. Neil Blake from the Baykeepers group brought samples and explained the purpose of monitoring the location and the number of these pre-plastic pellets often mistaken as food by birds and fish. A rocky bank of the creek provided nooks and crannies where organic matter (twigs, grasses etc.) get washed up and left. Amazingly 30 minutes of fossicking on this relatively small area uncovered about 90 of these small bead-like nurdles. Our youngest nurdle hunter Maalini was one of our most successful hunters. Nurdles 'escape' from plastics manufacture due to their small, light nature. Neil wants to recognise the companies that are taking sometimes quite simple steps to limit nurdle loss as examples for others. He is encouraging groups to monitor the waterways to find areas of concern and document changes. This was a thought-provoking and interesting activity. Thank you to all who attended. The nurdle count survey will be ongoing on the second Sunday of each month at this site. Volunteers are needed for about 30 minutes. Meeting place: near the corner of Smith St and Yarana Rd (the carpark area), north end of the Darebin Parklands. Melways reference: 31 C8. For enquiries contact Peter Grenfell Tuesday Friday on Trevor Sibbison 7

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Bushcare s Major Day Out We now have another event in our calendar for the year. Adrian Hotchin has registered us to participate in Bushcare s Major Day Out on 13 September.

9 Bushcare s Major Day Out We now have another event in our calendar for the year. Adrian Hotchin has registered us to participate in Bushcare s Major Day Out on 13 September. The site selected for this event is going to be a special site for the friends to develop called Wren s Gully. We will inform of more details of the site as the planning gets underway. For more information about the event go to Contacts Adrian Hotchin: President/Events Sheryl Sibbison: Secretary/Memberships Darebin Creek Management Committee Water Pollution (quote drain sign number) Shopping Trolley Hotline Wildlife Rescue Victoria Police Motorcycle Squad Contact Friends of Darebin Creek friendsofdarebincreek@gmail.com Website: Facebook page: 9

News from Friends of Darebin Creek. Upcoming events membership renewals. Platypus Sighting in the creek! March 2017

News from Friends of Darebin Creek March 2017 Upcoming events The friends of Darebin Creek was formed in 1995 to protect, restore and conserve the Darebin Creek and its adjacent parklands as a natural