From Place, For Place

The Darebin Creek (Wurundjeri Country) in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia is an integral wildlife corridor flowing through agricultural, industrial and urban spaces before feeding into the city’s main river, the Birrarung. Biodiversity loss has accelerated since colonisation, with key habitat for native species lost due to land clearing, pollution and introduced species. The Creek relies on community participation in landcare activities to protect and regenerate native habitat, but the demographics of the existing volunteer group do not reflect the broader community. Craft workshops blur categories and combine knowledge types in ways that activate the five pathways to nature-connectedness (beauty, sensory contact, emotional connection, meaning/ metaphor and care), and people who are more connected to nature are 72% more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviours. Engaging, creative workshops can introduce new audiences to landcare. In collaboration with local ecologists, organisations and council, 19 nature-connectedness workshops were designed and delivered to residents of Darebin and surrounds. Using “weeds”, green “waste” and plants of abundance, community members handmade over 30 habitat augmentation structures to support native pollinators, native fish and small woodland birds, each contributing to broader systems health. These images are of the prototype structures for small woodland bird refuge, made by Sarah. Photo credit: Graham Alderton