About Us
About The Friends of Kororoit CreekThe Friends of Kororoit Creek (FOKC) was formed in 1999 with a grant from Monsanto to Brimbank City Council for newsletters and plantings. Special acknowledgement and thanks must go to Jason Summers, at that time Parks Conservation Officer for Brimbank City Council, who was responsible for creating our Group. Unfortunately Jason has moved on but the Group still has a strong link with the Conservation Team at Brimbank City Council. Brimbank City Council holds a complete mailing list of interested people and volunteers, together with members of the FOKC who all receive a bi-monthly newsletter. This list includes church groups, girl guides, scouts, schools, community groups and some from the corporate sector. The Group went into partnership with Waterwatch activities later that year and have been testing sites on a semi-regular basis. Our database was originally co-ordinated by Victoria University, St Albans until November 2003. In the earlier days the Group was successful in having a local tip stopped from pumping water directly into Kororoit Creek. All waters now have to be treated before discharge. We continue to monitor the Kororoit Creek and report any concerns immediately to Melbourne Water. On 30th October 2000 the Group became incorporated. We were very proud to be finalists in the City West Water Community Awards in 2002. We have 16 kilometers of the Kororoit Creek in Brimbank out of a total length of 81 kilometers. Our Group has planted thousands of river red gums along the riparian edge of the Kororoit Creek, along with many more thousands of local indigenous plants into reserves and escarpment areas dotted along the banks of the creek from Opie Road St Albans to Somerville Rd West Sunshine. We have in the past had a group formed to propagate native species for planting in the area and one or two members continue with this on a smaller scale. Clean Up Australia Day is an annual event we participate in annually with dozens of bags of litter, rubbish, trolleys collected on the day at various sites. In 2006 Brimbank City Council formed ‘Brimbank Friends Agreements’ for individual sites within the Group which has resulted in clear guidelines being established and enabled these sites to determine and carry out their own individual activities as well as supporting Brimbank City Council with Community Plantings. Groups formed so far –
We are looking forward to forming more Friends Agreements in the future. In late 2007 we celebrated the long awaited appointment of the Kororoit Creek Catchment Coordinator to oversee the Kororoit Creek Regional Strategy 2005-2030 which is a long-term strategy to protect, manage and improve access to a 40km stretch of Kororoit Creek from Toolern Vale, north east of Melton, to where the creek enters Port Phillip Bay in Altona. In September 2008 we were thrilled to have ORICA Limited become the Group’s major supporter and with funds received from Orica, Bunnings Sunshine, Citipower, Powercor, Landcare Australia, Kororoit Creek Catchment Co-ordination Project and Le Mans Deer Park Toyota and Brimbank City Council launched our very own ‘tool trailer’ fully equipped with built-in barbeque for our various activities during the year. During 2010 and 2011, our members have been stalwarts of community planting days helping with the regeneration of bushland at various points of the creek. With the terrific rains at the end of 2010 and start of 2011, weeding has become a major focus to help our existing plantings prosper. By restoring Kororoit Creek we are aim to create a linear corridor of native vegetation for wildlife to visit and settle in the metropolitan area. In turn, more of the community will be able to learn and enjoy our local environment. The escarpments, the bush, and the wonderful unexpected peaceful vistas of this creek make the effort even more worthwhile. The Group has a strong membership of keen volunteers dedicated to the restoration of the forgotten beauty of Kororoit Creek. |