Good quality produce has many constituents but the Western District has a head start in being blessed with fertile land, located in a temperate climatic zone and, in spite of droughts, comparatively good rainfall. The hard work and skill is in sustaining that quality. Sadly there is no magic wand that can be waved to keep productive land in peak condition and agricultural and natural areas rely on good stewardship for their sustenance and longevity and this starts—literally—at grass roots level.
Care of the land at a very local level is what the volunteer organisation, Landcare, is all about.
Jennifer Morrow was president of the East Otway branch of Landcare and attending one of their conferences at Hall’s Gap when she heard of an annual ‘Healing Walk’, organised by singer-songwriter and Lake Bolac resident, Neil Murray. In 2012 Jennifer was invited to join the walk, and enjoyed the experience so much that she began to think about ways to apply the idea to her own area. Her focus settled on the ‘lifeblood’ of her area, the Barwon River, which has its source just south of Forrest at Lake Elizabeth, follows a large arc inland and meets the sea through the estuary at Barwon Heads.
“As Landcare is entirely voluntary you are always looking for activities that will buoy members interest and keep up the commitment,” said Jennifer when I spoke to her about the walk. “Furthermore, there’s nothing like boots on the ground to really get to know the land.”
However, it was not just a matter of putting on their boots and following the Barwon. Before a step could be taken there was the matter of organisation, not least of which was access to parts of the river and landowner permission and, Jennifer said, this took some time. “We used our connections when we could but in some parts of the way we had no idea as to who the owners were. We were very lucky in the stretch of river between Winchelsea and Inverleigh because the Winchelsea fox shooters, whose responsibility it is to keep the fox numbers in check, knew most of the landowners and come to our aid, but we were not so fortunate along other stretches of the river.
Walking the Barwon River from Source to Sea is the name of a book Jennifer has co-written which describes a walk that was completed over four years walking in the Autumn, starting in May 2014 and finishing April 2017. The walk’s starting point was Thompson’s track in the Otways, just above Forrest which for those who are more familiar with the coast is north of Wye River. From there the river heads north through Forrest, towards Yeodene, on to Birregurra, Winchelsea, and further north to Inverleigh where it meets the Leigh River and then heads east towards Geelong, flowing under the old Pollocksford Bridge then on to Fyansford and Buckley’s Falls. By this stage the walkers had to become paddlers or rafters due to the denial of land access and so left the paper mills at Fyansford paddling under the Geoff Thom Bridge (named after the inventor of Australia’s ubiquitous ute), on to the transformed riverscape around Buckley’s Falls (thanks to the work of Friends of Buckley Falls), and on to the Breakwater and south towards the mudflats of Lake Connewarrre, (now a designated RAMSAR wetland), and finally towards the Bluff and Barwon Heads.
The book is a great read and interspersed with many little gems of historical and geographic information. We share the thrill of seeing several platypus at Lake Elizabeth and we learn of the shelter belts across the floodplain near Birregurra but not along the river itself which leaves the river open to livestock. We hear names of early explorers and squatters that now have an every day familiarity in the area: Thomas Austin ( of rabbit fame), the Dennis brothers, Thomas Armytage and William Roadknight.
Beautiful photographs guide the reader along each stage and provide an idea of difficulties when the intrepid group had to take to the water. The twitchers in the group provide sightings and descriptions of birds along the river—from Peregrine Falcons in the Barrabool Hills to black swans on Lake Connewarre—and we learn that there are areas where the Barwon River’s health is “not as it should be, with …oxygen levels …around 50% compared to the 100% needed for a healthy river system.” We also learn of farmers who with great persistence and tenacity embark on huge weed control programmes and plant thousands of trees to protect from erosion. Along the way we also encounter the various ‘Friends of’ groups who are working hard to restore areas of the River and coast.
It is a book to encourage and to enthuse. I ask Jennifer whether she thinks that it would make a difference as to appreciation of our countryside if in Australia we had the bridle paths and rights of way as there are across the UK. “Definitely”, she replies, “as they make the countryside more accessible”. Perhaps it comes back to the ‘boots on the ground’ again and it might encourage ‘less litter on the ground’: less takeaway packaging and cans left for Landcare volunteers to collect. There were 65 walkers participating in the 176 kms, (22kms paddling) and 92 land owners who gave access to their properties and assisted the group. There are many areas that are accessible to all and helpfully the book lists such places.
Finally, an ongoing legacy of the walk, apart from the book is the formation of Friends of the Barwon, defined as a “…catchment wide network…working to protect and restore the long-term health of the Barwon River and its tributaries …”. This group to whom proceeds from the book will go was launched with the book. For further information you can email:-friendsofthebarwon@gmail.com and start walking.
Copies of Walking the Barwon River from Source to Sea by Jennifer Morrow & Peter Greig are available from the Landcare office in Main Street, Birregurra and from Cowlick Bookshop, Murray Street, Colac.
And finally, around Australia Landcare groups regularly engage in a range of activities aimed at understanding the local area, monitoring changes and the environmental and ecological health of the local environs. Volunteers (from urban and rural areas alike) with an interest and commitment to the local region carry out essential land conservation work be it on farmlands, natural or public lands, with the aim of contributing to the maintenance of the ecological health of their area. As a first step contact landcare.org.au Get involved!