Concrete drains and polluted streams in Australian suburbs will be transformed into thriving creeks and wetlands for plants and animals, including the iconic platypus.
The Australian Government is backing 57 projects that are breathing new life into urban rivers thanks to a $108 million investment.
“We want to leave nature better off for our kids and grandkids – and that’s why we’re restoring rivers and waterways in our suburbs with a $200 million investment,” Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said.
Conservation projects are co-funded and delivered by First Nations groups, community groups, governments, natural resource management organisations, universities and water corporations.
“Nearly half of all nationally listed threatened animals and a quarter of our threatened plants are in urban areas, home to 96 per cent of Australia’s population,” Plibersek said. “And with so many native plants and animals reliant on our rivers, creeks, wetlands, and estuaries, protecting and restoring the health of our waterways is essential.”
Thanks to a $2 million boost, more than 3 hectares of native oyster reefs in Sydney’s Georges River estuary will be restored. Overfishing and disease have decimated the oyster population. However, the Nature Conservancy will work to revive colonies that provide shelter and habitat for fish, filter water, and prevent coastal erosion.
A $9.6 million investment will better protect rivers in Victoria that are home to platypus and threatened species. The Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action will clean up stormwater’s damaging impacts and improve water flows at 14 river ecosystems.
With a grant of over $416,000, Murdoch University will remove carp and goldfish from wetlands in and around Perth to draw back native fish populations.
The Friends of Lane Cove National Park will receive $376,500 to blitz invasive weeds and rehabilitate the Lane Cove River corridor in Sydney, home to the White-bellied Sea Eagle, Glossy Black Cockatoo, and Long-nosed Bandicoot.
The new round two projects are part of the Government’s $200 million Urban Rivers and Catchments Program. Dozens of projects have already been announced under round one.
“This critical funding is good news for native wildlife and the community – improving the quality of the urban spaces we all share and love,” she said.
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