Get in touch with your local group

to meet new people and share your

knowledge and appreciation of our

local plants and animals.

By being part of a Friends Group you

will help the environment in Brimbank

by working in your local waterway,

parks and conservation reserves.

You can also have your voice heard

by assisting Council and other public

land managers with their policies and

works planning.

You can give as much or as little time

as you want - from a one off activity

such as a planting or a Clean Up

Australia Day to becoming a regular

volunteer or committee member.

As a student you can come along to

gain valuable work experience.

All groups are ‘not for profits’ and

contribute many hours to our local

community and environment.

Groups welcome new members and

share their skills and knowledge with

others in the community.

The Albion & Ardeer Community Club

is an incorporated association made

up of local residents working towards

a healthy and happy neighbourhood.

We aim to promote and improve the

health, education, recreation and

environment of the Albion and Ardeer

community through events, activities

and programs. We provide a forum for

action regarding issues that affect our

local community.

The group is working in conjunction

with The Albion EcoLiving Centre.

The community garden has

undergone some changes and a

recent addition is a demonstration

wicking bed.

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With the support of Brimbank Council

and the State Government the Kororoit

Creek Neighbourhood House Association

deliver a Neighbourhood House program

at the Centre. In addition they offer

environmental education programs

promoting sustainable living.

With a focus on environmental

sustainability, the centre offers a range

of programs and activities, as well

as space for the community to meet,

collaborate and learn.

The Group works in conjunction with

the Albion Ardeer Community Club

collaborating on projects such as the

community garden at the rear of the Centre.

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These Gardens had a close

connection to the former Sunshine

Harvester Works and are on the

Victorian heritage register. The

Friends’ activities vary, from running

planting days, historical walks and

an annual festival, to selecting trees

and making submissions to the local

council. We meet monthly at the

Presbyterian church in the Gardens

or council library. Come and join the

group, even if you are not a gardener.

All new members are very welcome.

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The most significant species in the

grasslands are Striped Legless Lizard

, Spiny rice-flower

,

Button Wrinklewort

, Fireweed

, and a colony of

Thelymitra orchids discovered in 2011.

The three reserves are remnant

natural temperate grasslands,

managed by weed control and

biomass reduction. We are primarily

interested in the protection of the

Grasslands, the Striped Legless Lizard

& other threatened species.

Friends of Iramoo acknowledges the

traditional and ongoing association

of the Traditional Owners – The

Wurundjeri People, with Iramoo.



They are actively involved in on

ground work within grasslands.

They work with endangered plant

species, try and reconnect habitat

corridors, and advocate for further

protection of grasslands from

development.

Native grasslands are made up of a

community of plants containing native

grasses and a variety of wildflowers.

What we can see in grasslands varies

from season to season – the best

show is during spring when many

wildflowers are in flower.

Prior to 1750 the Victorian Volcanic

Plains [Natural Temperate] grasslands

covered 10% of Victoria – now less

than 0.01% remains. They are critically

endangered and nationally protected.



JONES CREEK

RESTORATION GROUP

The group aims to work with the local

community who use and are potential

users of the areas immediate to

Jones Creek, including the Gladstone

Street Wetlands (Jones Creek Water

Treatment System) situated at the

northern end of Cairnlea.

Jones Creek is a highly modified

tributary of Kororoit Creek. The creek

begins in St Albans and flows through

residential and industrial areas before

joining Kororoit Creek in Ardeer.

Significant areas of indigenous

grassland still exist along parts of

the creek and provide habitat to the

endangered Striped Legless Lizard.



Kororoit Creek is one of the major

waterways for Melbourne’s west. It

is 80 km in length, with the upper

catchment starting in Sunbury.

Flowing south it passes over the

volcanic lava plain of western

Melbourne. The creek runs into Port

Phillip Bay at the Altona Coastal Park.

The creek corridor provides a habitat

for endangered species such as

the Growling Grass Frog and the

Striped Legless Lizard, as well as

internationally recognized migratory

birds at the saltmarshes of the creek

mouth.

FOKC help to protect areas of high

environmental quality from further

loss, encourage the revegetation of

degraded areas and restoration of the

natural creek corridor.



From its industrial roots the river has

become an important and valuable

community asset.

Our on ground projects, working with

Brimbank City Council at Caroline

Chisholm Reserve and Sydenham

Park in Keilor.

FMV collaborated with council on the

Brimbank Habitat Connectivity Plan

2018-2023.

FMV vision to protect the Keilor and

North Sunshine Escarpments as open

green public spaces that provide FMV

further opportunities for consultation

with council and major developers.

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The park was proclaimed as a National

Park in 1972 due to its unique geological

features – a spectacular example of

basaltic columns, and named because of

their resemblance to a pipe organ. The

Pipes are up to one metre across and are

hexagonal in cross section, rising to 20

metres in height.

Achievements include successful

reintroduction of sugar gliders and

the natural return of a range of bird

species, kangaroos and wallabies to

the area.

The group also participates in the

protection of several other significant

flora and fauna reserves in the Keilor

Plains area.

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A once neglected creek now has a

green corridor, providing habitat for

birds, microbats, butterflies and small

reptiles. Residents enjoy the sounds

of birds and frogs as they walk or

cycle along the shared path.

Our native fish and frogs are

threatened by the rapid polluted

runoff from freeways and local roads.

FOSC continues to collaborate with

local residents, councils, Melbourne

Water, Vic Roads and EPA to find

ways to slow the flow of polluted

stormwater into our creek. If the high

flows continue the creek will loose the

last of the native creatures that still

live in its water.

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The source of Stony Creek is in the

St Albans area, flowing through

Sunshine, Tottenham, Brooklyn,

Footscray West, Yarraville and

Spotswood. It meets the Yarra River

at the mangrove fringed Stony Creek

Backwash, next to the Westgate

Bridge.

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Aboriginal occupation in Brimbank is

evident in the form of many scattered

artefacts particularly along waterways.

Scar trees, fish and bird traps and

significant Aboriginal occupation sites

are also plentiful within our local area.

The large number of artefacts and

significant sites found within the

municipality highlights the area’s

long and extensive occupation by

Aboriginal people before European

settlement.

Over 150 registered Aboriginal

archaeological sites exist within

Brimbank, the oldest artefacts found

are over 30,000 years old.

A number of Aboriginal archaeological

places are located in Brimbank Park.

An Information Centre located in the

park includes an Aboriginal cultural

display and provides maps and

walking trails to help visitors discover

the parks natural and cultural heritage.

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This booklet was produced by

the Environmental friends groups

of Brimbank assisted by funding

provided by Brimbank City Council.