Strategic Weed Management
The Yarra corridor in Abbotsford has been colonised by highly invasive weeds after 150 years of land clearance, degradation and neglect. They’ve thwarted natural regeneration and ad-hoc replanting efforts.
If the river corridor is to rehabilitate successfully, we must eradicate noxious species and control others with coordinated, long-term management. We’re tackling this through weeding and monitoring progress on a rotating basis across selected areas.
This is the foundation for long-term weed management.
Document:
Strategic Weed Management Tool
Planting Program
Our planting program is anchored in the ‘3 Rs’ of bush rehabilitation: retention, regeneration and revegetation.
Extreme ecological degradation in this part of the Yarra corridor means we are prioritising revegetation. The terrain’s resilience means we are able to combine this with retaining and supporting existing vegetation and encourage regeneration, while gradually restoring land.
Strategic planning and management
We're committed to fostering intergenerational stewardship of our riverlands. This will ensure a cycle of continuous care that doesn’t regress into neglect. We’re doing this with innovative approaches based on best-environmental best practice. To achieve this, we are serious about strong governance, management and communications, with continuous improvement for the organisation.
'Rubbish tip to Riparian Corridor' Abbotsford Riverbankers Strategic Plan
Our strategy is anchored in our mission to help transform the degraded Yarra riverlands in Abbotsford into a healthy, resilient and biodiverse part of the river corridor for the benefit of Nature and the community alike.
2022-23 Calendar of activities
If you're a Riverbankers team member, click on the calendar link below to check what you'll be doing, so you can prepare, or let us know if you'd like to be part of one of our projects. *Note: this is a living document. Check regularly for updates.
2022-23 Calendar
Our calendar gives you a snapshot on our activities across the year. Plus it shows you how we map our strategic goals to our yearly activities.
The program is adjusted regularly to accommodate factors such as flash flooding, pandemic, drought, structural work on the Main City Trail and fluctuations in team numbers.
Mark and Map: Citizen Science
Abbotsford Riverbankers are putting the neglected western bank of the Birrarung Yarra on the national map. Riverbankers studying conservation, land management and science have linked their studies and professional trajectory with our mission and works for the Yarra.
Other Riverbankers friends have supported this work and we’ve harnessed their expertise and interest to help us ID plants, animals and fungi and map them on Australia’s databases.
Our mapping work is critical evidence for ecological healing in highly urbanised riparian corridors under strain from human movement and development. And it’s about a whole community of floodplains people better understanding and protecting our urban riverlands.
Bird Survey
Putting bird life in the Yarra corridor in Abbotsford on the national map for the first time, our recently completed 12-month bird survey measures bird species richness and abundance on the river’s western bank within the area managed by Abbotsford Riverbanker. Conducted by Committee member April Newton as part of her RMIT Diploma studies, the survey provides critical baseline data and recommendations for long-term rehabilitation and management.
The survey was supported by Jonathan Tickner, a Melbourne-based bird photographer known popularly as the Merri Creek Wanderer. Jonathan brought superb bird identification and photography skills.
The bird survey report is a terrific read, and surveying will continue on an informal basis for the near future.
Bird Survey Report
Become an Abbotsford Riverbanker member
Help transform the Yarra River in Abbotsford into a thriving river corridor