Dog owner education in Darebin Parklands

The other day, as we were walking in Darebin Parklands, we came across this great sign.

We try to be as careful as possible in obeying the regulations in this park, because we remember the terrible times, years ago, when there was such a horrible fight about dogs using the area.

We never forget that although this is a fabulous place to walk with Penny, it is not a dog park as such. It is a wonderfully reclaimed area of native flora and fauna and a credit to the visionaries who first thought of doing so, and to the hard ongoing work of the Darebin Parklands Association. 

The sign has some amazing facts about how many dogs use the park. No wonder it's necessary to make sure we all respect the various facets of this area: human recreation, dog exercise, native animal habitat, native flora regrowth, water quality and water life. There would be many more aspects, but I can't think of them right now. Oh, yes, the spiritual healing trail, a most important feature. A few years ago I attended a smoking ceremony that was very beautiful and spiritually uplifting.

alligator weed and dogs

What has alligator weed got to do with dogs? As far as I know, nothing. That's why Penny stayed at home when I went to a talk given by ranger Matt Strong on the noxious Alligator Weed, which has made its appearance in the Darebin Creek.

On Friday 20 February I posted about this weed, thinking it was already in Darebin Parklands, where we walk most days, but I was spotting the wrong water plant. The government website says;

Alligator weed Alternanthera philoxeroides is an Argentinean plant that was first reported in Australia in the 1940s and has since spread along the east coast. If not controlled, the weed can completely cover the surface of water bodies and wetlands, affecting native flora and fauna and agriculture.

Matt said it has the potential to be disastrous in Victoria but it's not prevalent in our park yet. His advice to anyone who thinks they've found the plant is to report it to the rangers, but not to touch it, because it reproduces from any little bit. Here's a picture of it.


(I found this photo at the New Zealand site of Environment Waikato and I believe the picture was copyright free for non-commercial use.)

The main distinguishing features of the weed are the fact that two leaves come out at the same spot on the stem and that there are white flowers near the top. The flowers are really a little cluster of flowers and to me they felt quite spiky when Matt passed a plant around the meeting.

I guess Penny and I should keep our eyes open when we walk next time. I wouldn't want this plant to smother our lovely creek.

dogs swimming in local creeks

Sometimes Penny still swims in the Darebin Creek on hot days, but lately the water level is low and there is a horrible weed growing in the creek. I think I've seen it in the Merri Creek, too. I guess that it's Alligator Weed, because Darebin Parklands ranger Matt Strong is giving a talk about this weed next Tuesday in the parklands environment centre.

With temperatures due to be high again soon, it's great if dogs can swim, but there aren't many places to do it nowadays. We usually walk once a week at Gardiners Creek, but lately that creek's water has become very polluted and everyone who walks there has to keep dogs on lead for fear they jump into the water.

For many reasons I wish it would rain - to water our farmers' crops; to freshen our gardens; to bring our creeks and rivers to life; to put moisture into the air so fires won't kill us, our pets and our bush creatures.

But not heavy rain yet...we don't want all that fire-fighting foam to wash into the dams.

working together in Darebin Parklands

Penny sniffed our legs when we got back from the Darebin Parklands today, checking where we had been. She was probably wondering whether we would head back with her, but she was out of luck. We were worn out from all our work there and she'll have to wait till tomorrow to see how many native plants we put in this afternoon.

However, one lucky dog came walking past during the afternoon and of course I took the chance to slack off and say hello.



Every time I go planting in the park I learn something new. Today I reckon I saw the best garden implement ever. Peter, the park ranger, has made a contraption that goes on what I think is a chain saw motor. It has an auger on the end of a metal pole - and it digs holes in hard, dry ground! Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe it - with drought an ever-present reality, gardening has become more back-breaking than ever it was in the past. (And, sad to say, I'm not young any more.)


After the working bee (or should I be more modern and call it 'park care day'?) there was a party to celebrate thirty-five years of community action by the Darebin Parklands Association.

It began with a welcome by Uncle Reg Blow, an Aboriginal elder, member of the Darebin Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Council and facilitator of the Darebin Parklands Spiritual Healing Trail. (It was his son who led the group of pilgrims around the spiritual healing trail on 11th July).It was a highlight of the afternoon listening to the thrum of the didgeridoo against the whisper of eucalypt leaves and the chatter of rainbow lorikeets.

On a more mundane note, another highlight was the dee-licious cake that was the centrepiece of the celebration party.

dogs and building bridges in Darebin Parklands

Penny stayed at home today while her humans went down to her favorite spot - Darebin Parklands, our wonderful urban bushland area.

We weren't there literally to build bridges; we were actually planting native flora, as we've done before. But, given the distressing argument that's still going on, about the future of off-lead dog-walking in this area, the day was also an exercise in bridge-building.

If you were to look at this picture, you would see a community co-operating to achieve wonderful outcomes for the future.



However, amongst the people working alongside each other there were very different viewpoints about the future of the Parklands.

Some want dogs limited to an area that I consider inadequate and destined to cause enormous conflicts. They think dogs are a danger to the habitat values they've worked for over the years.

Others believe this is an unreasonable reaction to the presence of off-lead dogs in the park and want a wider-ranging area for off -lead walking.

All too often I've heard the saddest word of all used in this argument. The word is they.

In my opinion there's only one word that really counts - we. We all love this area with a passion and that passion is the fire that keeps us all fighting to see out viewpoint win.

But when the decision-making process is finally complete and our local councils hand down a ruling, it will be time to work together, as we did today, to continue to protect this wonderful open space for our future and that of generations to come.

dogs and planting in Darebin Parklands

Today Penny and I went to have a look at how the baby grasses are growing in Darebin Parklands.













It was the first time Penny had seen them, because she stayed home while her humans were planting poa grasses along the edge of the creek last Sunday.















It was enormously satisfying to work with others to plant hundreds of native plants and know that they will add to the variety of flora in this beautiful spot. Many of the people who worked that day walk with their dogs in the park, so they will enjoy seeing the plants grow. (Let's hope that the hot summer weather doesn't begin too early this year, so the plants can get a good start.)

Each little plant had a handful of water crystals beneath it, which should keep them going for a couple of months.


After they went into the lovely sandy soil, we mulched around them.
































For some of the volunteer 'gardeners', it was their first experience of planting in this wonderful park. I hope it will be the beginning of a long-term involvement. I've just been looking at a fascinating presentation about the history of the Darebin Parklands Association and I can only say how I admire the work that has been done so far.