[Narrator] What makes Melbourne one of the most livable cities in the world? Is it our culture, our experiences, our people? Or is it our green places? The Greening the Pipeline Project will contribute further to the city's livability by transforming Melbourne's West. The vision is to turn a decommissioned former sewer reserve into a linear parkland to be enjoyed by all.

The Main Outforce Sewer Reserve, affectionately referred to as the MOSS, was built in the 1890s, to address the sanitary crisis at the time, by taking sewage away from the city, to what is now known as the Western Treatment Plant in Werribee.

It's quite amazing, in terms of the rate of growth out here. New suburbs, new housing estates are popping up almost every single week. The Main Outfall Sewer actually used to represent a big barrier between our community. The removing of the fences and opening up the park has really created an opportunity. The inspiration behind the community garden is really to bring the community together. We've tried our best to make it as open and as accessible to as many residents as possible. Every day, you just see more and more people getting out, and it's fantastic to see the area come to life. - One of our four key lenses of learning at this school is about sustainability. For the students will actually see the project happening right in front of them every single day. The students themselves can take action and be empowered to be decision makers, and action takers, sustaining and looking after, not only their school environment, but also local environments outside the school gate. We're very lucky that we have the opportunity to live in such a cultural setting. At this school, we have over 60 cultures represented. Projects like the Pipeline do bring people together.

We know from the research that people who have access to open spaces, and are relatively close to their homes are going to more likely be active. They provide opportunities for people to walk, run, cycle, play. Only about a third of the population of Wyndham residents are actually doing enough physical activity to get a health benefit. The Greening the Pipeline project is really trying to create opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and to hopefully reduce their risks of chronic diseases, such as heart disease.

The extraordinary opportunity we have here is we have this continuous 27km long artefact from the past that is waiting to be reborn.

Some of it is expressed brick. Some of it is expressed concrete. Others have been encased in concrete and filled over the top. Each of those presents an opportunity for developing it in a different way.

It's all about people who will be coming here for interesting events, the community festivals, and ultimately, build their social equity. They're invested in this place, and we believe this park can achieve just that.

[Narrator] The Federation Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians that runs from Werribee into the city. For the most part, it follows the main Outfall Sewer Reserve. - But one of the opportunities is that it's a tourist attraction. I mean, countries overseas have bike paths like this within their communities, which are very popular as tourist destinations. Communities need to be linked through social fabric, and cycling builds communities. Cycling is the best.

[Narrator] The twin effects of rapid urban growth and climate change will place increasing pressure on the need for quality open space. - Trees are really important, in terms of cooling, providing shade, but also, diminishing the impact of strong winds. Accordingly, we are going to have to irrigate. If we wanna maintain a green and leafy side to this side of Melbourne, there has to be at least some irrigation over the warmer months, and to do that, we've gotta make the most, not just with the rainfall we get, but of any water that we can get at all, so recycling, reusing water, but the real benefit of a connected pipeline, a connected pathway, a linear park, is not for today. It's for the future. These spaces are going to prove invaluable in 50 or 100 years time.

[Narrator] The future of Greening the Pipeline looks bright. A section of the MOSS at Williams Landing was transformed into a successful park, to showcase the potentials of this project. But we need more support for the remaining sections. Join us in achieving our vision for Greening the Pipeline, because it is educational, transformational, practical, inspirational, necessary, innovative.