Alcoa River Recovery
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Episode: The Garden Gurus ‘Favourite Gardens’
Neville is on the bank of Oakley Brook a tributary of the Murray River, the major river system in WA?s Peel Harvey catchment and the brook is broken and it needs fixing.
Australia has 180,000 kilometres of rivers and streams and more than 22,000 kilometres are in urgent need of repair. Alcoa has just entered into a three year alliance with Greening Australia for a national River Recovery program.
Neville talks with Alcoa?s Environment and Sustainability Manager, Tim McAuliffe about Alcoa?s goal to help in the huge job of repairing Australian rivers by focusing on practical information and techniques for restoring river health.
To achieve this outcome Alcoa have selected a small number of focus river reaches and aim to demonstrate that they can make a real and lasting difference on the ground. To do this they will need to attract the support of all sectors of the Australian community.
It involves testing and refining the latest research and innovation, actively involving key scientific, community and business partners, secure co-investment to build a greater pool of resources for large-scale restoration and focus the resources on practical on-ground work at community level.
Fairbridge Alcoa Landcare trainees are doing a survey of a relatively undisturbed site. They are looking at the plant species represented as well as checking the stream for possible erosion problems. All of this information will be used to create management plans for this specific area to keep it looking good but also for degraded sites to assist in bringing them back to a better standard.
Diamond Creek feeds into the Yarra River, planting of local sedges and eucalypts are focused on reducing flood erosion. The grasses flop over and reduce gouging by floodwaters and the trees also lay horizontally. After floods subside the horizontal tree stems can be cut and the coppicing re-growth quickly replaces the knocked over portions.
Alcoa will work with landowners and community groups to protect sites where habitat is still intact, stabilize eroding river and stream banks, eradicating weeds such as bridal creeper and willows, rehabilitating natural river habitat by planting trees, grasses and shrubs, fencing water courses and establishing off-site stock water points. Alcoa are also working with local indigenous people to protect areas of cultural significance along Oakley Brook.
Alcoa and Greening Australia have been partners for over 20 years it was only natural that they entered a new three year alliance in which Alcoa is the founding national partner for Greening Australia?s River Recovery program. A key element of this alliance is that Alcoa chairs the Business and Science Leaders River Recovery Roundtable and Alcoa has committed almost $2.5 million over three years to the program.
The River Recovery Program will help in the huge job of repairing Australian rivers by focusing on practical information and techniques for restoring river health.
Episode: The Garden Gurus ‘Favourite Gardens’
Neville is on the bank of Oakley Brook a tributary of the Murray River, the major river system in WA?s Peel Harvey catchment and the brook is broken and it needs fixing.
Australia has 180,000 kilometres of rivers and streams and more than 22,000 kilometres are in urgent need of repair. Alcoa has just entered into a three year alliance with Greening Australia for a national River Recovery program.
Neville talks with Alcoa?s Environment and Sustainability Manager, Tim McAuliffe about Alcoa?s goal to help in the huge job of repairing Australian rivers by focusing on practical information and techniques for restoring river health.
To achieve this outcome Alcoa have selected a small number of focus river reaches and aim to demonstrate that they can make a real and lasting difference on the ground. To do this they will need to attract the support of all sectors of the Australian community.
It involves testing and refining the latest research and innovation, actively involving key scientific, community and business partners, secure co-investment to build a greater pool of resources for large-scale restoration and focus the resources on practical on-ground work at community level.
Fairbridge Alcoa Landcare trainees are doing a survey of a relatively undisturbed site. They are looking at the plant species represented as well as checking the stream for possible erosion problems. All of this information will be used to create management plans for this specific area to keep it looking good but also for degraded sites to assist in bringing them back to a better standard.
Diamond Creek feeds into the Yarra River, planting of local sedges and eucalypts are focused on reducing flood erosion. The grasses flop over and reduce gouging by floodwaters and the trees also lay horizontally. After floods subside the horizontal tree stems can be cut and the coppicing re-growth quickly replaces the knocked over portions.
Alcoa will work with landowners and community groups to protect sites where habitat is still intact, stabilize eroding river and stream banks, eradicating weeds such as bridal creeper and willows, rehabilitating natural river habitat by planting trees, grasses and shrubs, fencing water courses and establishing off-site stock water points. Alcoa are also working with local indigenous people to protect areas of cultural significance along Oakley Brook.
Alcoa and Greening Australia have been partners for over 20 years it was only natural that they entered a new three year alliance in which Alcoa is the founding national partner for Greening Australia?s River Recovery program. A key element of this alliance is that Alcoa chairs the Business and Science Leaders River Recovery Roundtable and Alcoa has committed almost $2.5 million over three years to the program.
The River Recovery Program will help in the huge job of repairing Australian rivers by focusing on practical information and techniques for restoring river health.
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