Group paddles hard to clean up Moorabool River

THE Friends of the Barwon (FOTB) took to the water for Clean Up Australia Day earlier this month.

A small, but enthusiastic group of six paddlers entered the Moorabool River at Fyansford in kayaks and canoes to collect plastic rubbish trapped in the reeds along the banks of the river.

Tackling the problem from the water proved to be the only way to get access to this rubbish.

FOTB is a catchment-wide network of groups and individuals working to protect and restore the long-term health of the Barwon River and its tributaries.

The March 2 event was FOTB’s second annual Clean Up Australia gathering, with the location chosen because of the difficulty of clean up and the inevitable fate of the rubbish if not removed quickly.

“The rubbish we collected was predominantly plastic tree guards and stakes that have most likely washed down the Moorabool River from revegetation sites further upstream; probably following flood events,” FOTB clean-up co-ordinator Liz Hamilton said.

“Left in the river, this plastic would have eventually broken down into microplastics as it made its way down the Moorabool, then into the Barwon River before going out into our estuaries and ocean.”

FOTB stated its clean-up was a timely reminder that revegetated sites using plastic guards must be revisited to ensure that any tree guards are removed as soon as plants are robust enough to withstand browsing, and thus prevent the creation of a rubbish problem.

Plantings along waterways should also ideally use biodegradable guards due to the potential risk of them washing or blowing into waterways.

FOTB thanked everyone who helped out on the day as well as the Environment and Waste Management teams at the City of Greater Geelong, who helped with the organisation and collection of rubbish and recycling.

For more information about FOTB or to get involved, head to friendsofthebarwon.org.au