Improving river health

By Meg Kennedy

Thousands of native plants are set to be planted across East Moorabool river, making part of a project to improve the native vegetation and river health of the area.
Revegetation works are currently occurring on over 90-hectares of riparian land by the Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group and the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority – with 75,000 trees, shrubs and grasses to be planted in the Moorabool catchment alone by June 2020.
The project is funded under the State Government’s Water Group Investment Frameworks (VWGIF) for water restoration within the Barwon Basin, which encompasses he Moorabool catchment area.
CCMA Project Manager Anthony Byrne said the project has been in Moorabool since 2016, and the “works are to improve the health of our waterways in the region, reducing sediment and agricultural run-off into rivers, improving water quality and aquatic habitats and to support biodiverse landscapes,” he said.
Trees planted in the area include the native drooping She-oak, Messmate, Swamp Gum and Candlebark.
Mr Byrne said the CCMA is “working with our Landcare partners and directly with landholders to complete riparian enhancement works on 128 hectares of riparian land.”
Riparian land is situated on the banks of the river, equating to 22km of waterway frontage under management.
“This will help manage weeds and pest animals and excluding domestic stock to improve the health of our rivers in the region.”
Funding for future projects is set to be available from June 2020.
If any landholders located along the West Moorabool, East Moorabool or Moorabool Rivers are interested in being involved with the project, contact either Anthony Byrne at [email protected], or Jennifer Johnson at [email protected].