Stream Frontage Management Program

Promotional video describing the Stream Frontage Management Program, with testimonials from past participants.

Speakers

Speaker 1 – S1 (Olivia Vincent, Voice Over)

Speaker 2 – S2 (Debra and Neil Werrett, Toolern Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program, Gisborne South)

Speaker 3 – S3 (Gerard Morel, Waterways and Land Officer, Melbourne Water)

Speaker 4 – S4 (Damien Magner, Stream Frontage Management Program Assessor, Melbourne Water)

Speaker 5 – S5 (Michelle Morris, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program)

Speaker 6 – S6 (Christine Tableau, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program, Ivanhoe)

Speaker 7 – S7 (Local Resident, Stream Frontage Management Program, Ivanhoe)

[White screen with Melbourne Water logo]

S1:OV ‘Melbourne Water proudly celebrates many years of growth, by supporting an array of various activities that enhance life and livability at many local waterways, thanks to community participation in our River Health Incentives Programs. Part of which is represented by our Stream Frontage Management Program.’

[On-screen text: Stream Frontage Management Program]

S1:OV ‘The Stream Frontage Management Program, is designed for landholders who manage a waterway on their property.’

[On-screen text: Debra and Neil Werrett, Toolern Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program, Gisborne South]

S2: NW ‘So in 2007 we joined the Stream Frontage Management Program, with the help of one extra contractor, we basically just started chainsawing, and at one stage we even used a machete to get in and cut the blackberry back. Although that was after it had been sprayed.’

[On-screen text: Before]

S2: NW ‘As you can see in the before photograph, a heavy infestation of Hawthorn and blackberry. Now as you look at it, we’ve got a terrific wildlife corridor. The frogs are in the background. A nice healthy waterway which is what we wanted to achieve.

[On-screen text: After]

S2: NW ‘Here we are at the northern end of our project, and as you can see in the before photograph, that’s how it looked with a huge infestation of willow and blackberry.’

[On-screen text: Before]

[On-screen text: After]

S2: NW ‘And now as you can see, it’s a haven of young seedling eucalypts, and further along a good mixture of trees and shrubs.’

[On-screen text: Gerard Morel, Waterways and Land Officer, Melbourne Water]

S3: GM ‘I’m Gerard Morel, Waterways and Land Officer at Melbourne Water and this project is the Werrett family property on the headwaters of Toolern Creek in Gisborne South’

[On-screen text: Toolern Creek, Gisborne South, Stream Frontage Management Program]

S3: GM ‘Toolern Creek at this particular spot looked a bit ordinary before the Werrett family started working on it. The Werrett family began removing the weeds and planting hundreds and thousands of native plants along the waterway. Melbourne Water helped out by doing some Capital Works here. Removing the bulk of the woody weeds. Now you have this fantastic, almost textbook looking project. These beautiful sparkling pools surrounded by native vegetation like poa grasses and redgums. It’s a terrific sight, and this project is a terrific example of what a property owner can do in p[artnership with Melbourne water. Especially if they’re really knowledgable and motivated like the Werrett family have been.

[On-screen text: Darebin Creek, Ivanhoe, Stream Frontage Management Program]

[On-screen text: Damien Magner, Stream Frontage Management Program Assessor, Melbourne Water]

S4: DM ‘This morning we’re here at the Darebin Creek in Ivanhoe, with Chris and Michelle, who along with many of their adjoining neighbours, have been doing some fantastic work to improve the frontage along the Darebin Creek’

[On-screen text: Michelle Morris and Christine Tableau, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program, Ivanhoe]

[On-screen text: Michelle Morris, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program]

S5: MM ‘Along with my neighbours, we’ve been involved with the Stream Frontage Management Program since 2010, and my role is to coordinate the project.’

[On-screen text: Christine Tableau, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Management Program, Ivanhoe]

S6: CT ‘We started revegetating the bank along the stream where we live’

S4: DM ‘Down here on the lower bank here is what the whole site used to look like, very dense weed coverage from the bottom of the bank heading up. In front of us here we’ve got a site that has recently been sprayed in preparation for planting. On the other side of us here, we have a planting that has taken place, and now this vegetation is on its way.

Here we are at an established site, and we have a range of species here. We have native grasses in the ground storey, establishing for the middle storey. The diversity thats found here is all due to the great work that Michelle has done in choosing the different species to put in.’

S7: LR ‘Best thing about moving here, was about a week after moving here one of the neighbours said hello, and handed me a green bean from their garden. And I said ‘Oh that’s delicious’ and we started talking about gardening, and then they were like ‘come down to the creek, we do these regular working bees’, and it was actually Chris and Richard, and they put me in touch with Michelle. So we started coming down and my kids helped do the weeding.’

S5: MM ‘For me, I knew virtually nothing about indigenous plants before beginning this project.’

[On-screen text: Christine Tabuteau, Darebin Creek, Stream Frontage Mangement Program, Ivanhoe]

S6: CT ‘Martin and Richard and a lot of the other guys are the real quiet achievers because Michelle and I are out there pretty ‘gung-ho’, but in the background, theyre doing a lot of the digging and the hard labour.’

S5: MM ‘So I feel incredibly grateful to be living on the Darebin Creek, and particularly to be part of the project here. I really love nature, and so for me it’s a real opportunity to connect with nature, the plants, the animals, and to do my bit.’

[On-screen text: Stream Frontage Management Program: growth from 1996-2016]

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[On-screen text: 2016]

S1: OV ‘Efforts like this contribute to ongoing weed control, vegetation management, and the planting of over 3 million plants, and the installment of more than 1500 kilometres of fencing along our waterways. That’s similar to fencing from Melbourne to Byron Bay, all which greatly contribute to protecting and improving the health of our waterways and the environment.

Melbourne Water is proud of the projects achieved to date, and we look forward to collaborating with you on future healthy waterways projects.’

[On-screen text: Stream Frontage Management Program: growth from 1996-2016]

[White screen with Melbourne Water logo and contact details]

[On-screen text: For further information and to see if you are eligible for the program call or visit 131 722, melbournewater.com.au]