Melbourne Water have developed a litter prevention toolkit to spread the “Bin it or Bring it Home” message and prevent litter from entering our waterways. This toolkit incorporates insights from local councils, litter advocacy, community and animal welfare groups, highlighting the urgent need to understand how urban littering affects our waterways and the biodiversity that […]
Friend or foe – telling wattles apart
Five types of fern-leaf (bi-pinnate) wattles are commonly found in North Central Victoria.Two of these, Cootamundra Wattle and Early Black Wattle, are introduced from New South Wales. Both can invade bushland, compete with local plants and alter habitat. This is a useful guide for students with photos to help them differentiate between species understand that […]
Eltham Copper Butterfly – endangered species
The nationally endangered Eltham copper butterfly (ECB) is a small butterfly with bright copper colouring on the top of its wings, and an amazing story. Thought to be extinct in the 1950s, it was rediscovered in the 1980s and is totally dependent on a three-way relationship between the Notoncus ant and sweet bursaria plants to […]
Putting rakali on the map in Melbourne
This online map pulls together all rakali records for the greater Melbourne region sent to Atlas of Living Australia in the last 30 years. The map is a project of Dr Kylie Soanes and her team at the University of Melbourne. You can report a sighting of rakali via the Australian Platypus Conservancy website to contribute […]
Australian Platypus Conservancy website
The platypus is one of the world’s most remarkable animals. The Australian Platypus Conservancy is working hard to unlock some of the key scientific mysteries which still surround the species, and also conducts a wide range of conservation programs and environmental education initiatives. Check out their website for lots of useful information about platypus and rakali, report […]
River Detectives and Junior Landcare
This video made by Junior Landcare shows how the River Detectives program can add value to a sustainability curriculum and tie in with other like-minded programs such as Junior Landcare, ResourceSmart Schools, etc. Made at Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception PS, a long-term River Detectives school in Melbourne.
The travels of fish video
Freshwater catfish are known for staying close to home but this one, now proudly named ‘Wanda’, proved an exception. After being tagged in Gunbower Creek by the North Central CMA, Wanda was later detected more than 140km away in the Loddon River. This remarkable journey shows how connected waterways and fishways are helping native fish […]
Bush tucker plants
A bush tucker garden is a great way to embed cultural perspectives into a school and have discussions about the native plants that provide food, fibre and medicine. Nalderun’s list for central Victoria
Food webs in our waterways fact sheet
Upper Murrumbidgee WaterWatch have developed this useful resource to explain the role of producers, decomposers and consumers in the aquatic food chain.
Waterbug who, what, where and why fact sheets
Upper Murrumbidgee WaterWatch have created four fantastic waterbug factsheets packed with colourful illustrations and information; Who are the waterbugs? What does a platypus eat? Where are the waterbugs? Why are waterbugs so important? The above and other factsheets can be found by clicking on the heading for this listing.
