Diona Victoria's Litter Pick-Up Day: Local Initiatives Aid Merri Creek
ESG Alignment
Participating in a litter-picking initiative at Merri Creek to clean the local environment, promote sustainability, and engage with community conservation efforts.
SDGs: 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 15 (Life on Land)
Joining Forces for a Cleaner Creek
Last week, a small group from our Victorian team joined Julia Cirillo from Friends of Merri Creek and Tash Pace from the ACF (Australian Conservation Foundation) to pick up litter at the Strettle Wetlands and surrounding areas.
“The team spent 3 hours picking up litter in surrounding parks, streets and bushland in the rain and cold to collect over 1000 litter items and over 30 kilograms of rubbish. Some of the rubbish we picked up can be recycled but unfortunately most can’t; including 400 food wrappers, 200 polystyrene pieces and 100 pieces of solid plastic, mainly bottle tops,” said Laura Phillips, Community Relations Advisor.
Connecting with Nature and Community
“After we finished collecting rubbish, Tash led a short nature walk through the wetlands where we were able to observe some incredible fungi, trees and birdlife. The team remarked on how fulfilling it is to give back to our local communities and connect with nature at the same time.”
Merri Creek flows for about 60km from the Great Dividing Range north of Wallan, through Melbourne’s northern suburbs to join the Yarra River in Abbotsford. The Friends of Merri Creek are a volunteer organisation that has played an active and passionate role in helping rehabilitate the Creek from a weed infested drain to bushland haven. Most litter is washed from the streets by rain, down drains to the creek, where it collects on rocks, reeds, grasses, and tree branches polluting and degrading the local environment.