The Merri Creek is a waterway which flows into Melbourne, Victoria. It begins in Wallan (north of Melbourne) and follows a southerly route, eventually joining with the Yarra River which flows into Port Phillip. Wallan Creek, Mittagong Creek, Taylors Creek, Malcolm Creek, Aitken Creek, Curly Sedge Creek and Edgars Creek are tributaries of the Merri Creek.
The creek flows through, or forms a part of the borders between the suburbs of Wallan, Kalkallo, Donnybrook, Craigieburn, Wollert, Epping, Somerton, Campbellfield, Lalor, Thomastown, Fawkner, Reservoir, Coburg North, Coburg, Preston, Thornbury, Brunswick East, Northcote, Westgarth, Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill and Fairfield before meeting the Yarra River just upstream of Dights Falls.
Since European settlement, the lower reaches of the creek have been seriously degraded by human activity. In the early history of Melbourne, numerous quarries were established along the creek to extract bluestone for the construction of many of the city's buildings and paving for roads and lanes. These quarries in time became rubbish dumps. Numerous environmental weeds, such as prickly pear and weeping willows, invaded the banks and stormwater from suburban streets drains directly into the creek bringing rubbish and other pollutants.
In recent decades much has been done to remedy the creek's condition. Patches of remnant native flora still remain along the creek, and through weed control and ecological burning their quality has been improved. Much native vegetation has been replanted by the blank">Merri Creek Management Committee and the volunteer group Friends of Merri Creek. In recent years, _Melbourne Water has been involved in a willow control program to improve water flows and allow for the revegetation of sites with indigenous plant species. At times of low flow, water is sustained in the Creek through treated outfall from the Cragieburn sewage treatment plant, blank">http://www.mcmc.org.au/2004-05.MCMC%20Annual%20Report.pdf. Water quality has proven insufficient to allow repopulation by _Platypus. This is thought to be because toxicants in sediments in the Creek have reduced macroinvertebrate productivity to the point where there is insufficient food to feed a population of platypus. The toxicants are mainly heavy metals and greases which originated in industrial areas in the catchment.
The Merri Creek Trail shared pathway has been established along the banks to take advantage of the improving environment. With the return of native vegetation has come the return of native wildlife, including Kookaburras, Kingfishers, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, Echidnas, frogs and reports of platypuses in the northern regions.
Management of the waterways of the Merri Catchment is guided by the Merri Creek and Environs Strategy, available from MCMC. A review of the strategy commenced in 2006.
Each year, at the CERES Community Environment Park, on the bank of the creek, the Return of the Kingfisher is celebrated in a community festival.
Merri Creek is abundant in edible plants for those trained to identify them. Edible species include dandelion, dock, fennel, jerusalem artichoke, numerous brassicas, blackberry nightshade, sorrel, catsear, sowthistle, nettle and many others. Great care in identification should be taken when harvesting fennel and other member of the Apiaceae family, as Poison hemlock has been found growing in some areas of the creek.
