Finding ways to ensure the creek, and its plants, insects and animals continue to flourish
This an important part of the Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek project, under the focus area of biodiversity... Which is also really important for our own health and well-being, recreation and culture, too.
Wait... bio-what?
Try our quick biodiversity pop quiz to test your knowledge, or learn more in the frequently asked questions on this page.
Four sites we're focusing on in Phase 2
Click on the pins on this interactive map to learn more about the four sites we're focusing on to enhance biodiversity and habitat connectivity.
We’ve identified four sites important to the long-term health and sustainability of the creek and its community.
These project sites were selected through a collaborative process including community feedback, a deliberative community panel and stakeholder workshops, all supported and guided by ecological technical investigations, geomorphologists, engineers and waterway managers. In choosing these sites, the aim is to enhance billabongs, wetlands and meanders, improve habitat and connectivity, increase natural amenity and reduce pollution.
Click on the labels below to learn more about the four sites.
The Bushy Park wetlands are located on Parks Victoria land in Glen Waverley. The project aims to revegetate this section of the park near the existing bird hide and provide more shading along the main path near the wetland entrance.
Existing values
- Bird hide
- Parks Victoria revegetation works
- Existing open space and site lines
Outcomes
- Enhanced biodiversity
- Improved amenity
- Community education
With a number of natural billabongs near where the Dandenong Creek Trail boardwalk crosses Dandenong Creek from Koomba Park to behind the Morack Public Golf Course, this project focuses on enhancing these existing billabongs and connecting with existing work nearby, including the dwarf galaxias drought refuge habitat constructed as part of Phase 1, weed control and biodiversity enhancement plantings.
Koomba Park is part of the Dandenong Valley Parklands and is home to numerous species including sugar gliders, powerful owls, echidnas and native birds. .
Existing values
- Community group planting areas
Outcomes
- Enhanced biodiversity
- Community education
This project focuses on transforming Dandenong Creek upstream and downstream of Colchester Road in Kilsyth South reinstating some of the natural features of the creek and in doing so enhancing biodiversity and improving amenity.
A package of works is proposed which can be broadly broken into three categories:
• Waterway transformation works
• Weed control and revegetation
• Creation of additional trails and amenity improvements
Existing Values
- Swamp paperbark trees
- Swamp skink habitat
Outcomes
- Recreational opportunities
- Improved amenity
- Cooling
- Connecting people with waterways
The site of interest is the VicRoads land bounded by Bungalook Creek, Dandenong Creek, and the Belgrave train line. This section is adjacent to the section of the Dandenong Creek which was daylighted as part of the EODC pilot program.
There is an area of approximately 1.3ha that requires weed control and revegetation.
Existing Values
- Frog hotspot
- Rare and endangered flora present
- Wallabies
- Indigenous meeting place
- Heritage values (large oak trees)
Outcomes
- Native vegetation corridor
- Enhanced biodiversity
Improving biodiversity in Dandenong Creek
Healthy habitats make it easier for plants, animals and insects to thrive. Healthy habitats provide more food, water and shelter, as well as a safe place to breed, and they are also really important for our own health and well-being, recreation and culture.
To understand the health of a freshwater habitat such as Dandenong Creek, we’ve been looking at things like vegetation, water temperature and quality, sediments, logs and so on in the creek and its billabongs, wetlands and meanders. Through these investigations we also know that loss of habitat, through urban and agricultural development, pollution, and increased stormwater, is the main reason for reduced biodiversity in Dandenong Creek.
That is why, during Phase 1 of the project, we reinstated some of the creek's natural waterflows, enhanced remnant billabongs, revitalised wetlands, and encouraged native fish species such as the threatened Dwarf galaxias and Yarra pygmy perch. Developing a sustainable population of these threatened species is critical for improving the creek’s aquatic ecosystem.
And it’s also why our focus for phase 2 of Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek is biodiversity and pollution reduction.
