Doing something for Merri creek

Today was another one of those days where something inside you screams for you to get out and get some sun in your eyes, hair and on your skin. I have been in Melbourne for a bit more than nine weeks now and every sunny day is an opportunity to explore my new neighbourhood, Fitzroy North. My new wheels got some practice along Merri creek, which flows not far from my new place. I have been looking around to get involve with anything to do with this creek after riding its banks last week and feeling sorry for the state this creek is in. All the trees and riparian vegetation were covered with plastic bags, bottles, foam, and other detritus while its bottom was littered with bottles, shopping trolleys and large concrete blocks. It broke my heart. Today was exactly the same along the ride I took upstream of St. Georges Street. Large pipes vomit their nauseous mixture of runoff from the streets, littered with detritus people are too lazy to keep for five minutes until their path crosses a bin: it is so much easier to just throw it on the ground or out the window (now this I just don’t get, why throw your crap outside - Is your car so precious it cannot handle an empty coke bottle or an empty pack of cigarettes?). These pipes carry with them all heavy metals and other toxic chemicals mixes from cars exhausts, breaks, oil etc. And all this goes straight into the creek, the Yarra and the bay. It also amaze me that people will enjoy spending time in the parks along its bank but will be happy to leave all their detritus behind them, in the hope that it will disappear by magic before they come back to enjoy the park again. So I guess all this is to say that I asked myself: can’t we do more? Can’t we organise more than one ‘clean up day’ per year? Can’t we reduce the amount of road runoff entering these creeks? Can’t we actually fine people who litter without care? After a bit of research I found the website Friends of Merri Creek (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fomc/) which seem to be exactly what I was looking for: clean up days every months, activities, community education etc. So for anyone interested in doing something for Merri creek, join in!