Return to the River by VirginiaOverell

RETURN TO THE RIVER

Acknowledgment of Country We acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria’s land and waters. We acknowledge their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

Birrarung

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m ( Woiwaurrung )

coexist, collide, converge in complexity

i bik (Wo lum Nil

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o urn (W gbam an

o n d Creek

ng) rru au oiw (W

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r ri

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s nd sla nI ma olo st S a e e to th path ration er - mig ingﬁsh red K Sac )/ g run ur W jab (D

(Wo iwau rru ng)

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in reb Da

Creek

ul l

yrnon rib

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l Mu

rs ine

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koo o oyong t (W

r aur oiw un

from fr esh w ater to

the oc

ean and back ~ the life c

ycle of the Shortﬁnned

Eel

Virginia Overell 211 446

The Birrarung as a single living entity To understand the Birrarung as a single living entity is a powerful mindset change. Broadening the reach of this understanding could have profound impacts on the river, the ecosystems its supports, and the mindsets of the people whose lives its waters wind through. Within this project we are working to repair the profoundly sick inner urban reach of the Birrarung. This will have a compounding effect. As the landscape heals so will people’s relationships to it. On this site we are limited in our capability to return significant land to the river in the short term. Instead we are proposing a series of interventions that work to open the suburbs back to the river and raise its profile. People, the river and its lands should

be a relationship of reciprocity and relationality. Our strategy is to seek out opportunities in between the concrete dominated landscape. These interventions are just the beginning – a foot hold in, to unpick the outdated grey infrastructure from within.

“The river cannot care for itself. The health of the land is the responsibility of the Wurundjeri people - whose health in turn resonates with the health of the landscape.” - Uncle Bill Nicholson

Greening Green St

- planting in private sites - share Wurundjeri knowledge - ground in localised sense of place

Liminal spaces

- activate with art trail - convert carparks to parks - increase habitat

Pedestrian bridge

Birrarung edge platform

- echoes historic river path - habitat under structure - floating wetlands

- celebrate the crossing - inviting gateway - slow and spacious - native grass plantings

Phytoremediation

- remove heavy metals - reduce runoff to river - educate on road pollution

Pedestrian path

- separate from bike path - allow for slower pace

Wiradjuri and Kaurna Gardens

- climate adaptive seeds - resilient plantings - Indigenous knowledge exchange

Muyan Festival

Gathering space

- celebrating Barak’s wattle - symbolise elders - embed cultural landscape

- for Indigenous creatives to skill share on Country

WSUD street trees

- increase canopy cover - cool the streets - increase amenity - reduce runoff to river

100m

RETURN TO THE RIVER SITE PLAN 1:2000 Legend 1m contour

Existing trees

Muyan plantings

Grassland plantings

Proposed pedestrian path Existing bike path Existing gravel areas

Existing open space Existing riparian vegetation Existing liminal green space Carpark for potential greening

Wetland plantings Wiradjuri Garden Kaurna Garden

Phytoremediation plantings

The site centres on the point where the railway crosses over the Birrarung and the freeway that has imposed itself to the rivers north. The area is typified by high impervious surfaces, low canopy cover and traditional grey infrastructure that has removed the rivers lands to the north leaving a hard, infertile edge.

Proposed green rooves

Pedestrian bridge River’s edge platform Gathering Space Stairwell Stairs

This axis represents a pervasive fragmentation between north south east west and more broadly people, the river and its lands. This document details a few of the key strategies undertaken on site.

The river and its lands We are proposing incremental steps that at first symoblise the river missing lands – as a way of building a cogent argument for more systemic future changes to the edge conditions. These steps are the entry point – that demonstrate ﬂoating wetlands

habitat ropes encourage algae and macroinvertebrates

ﬁsh habitat in platform foundations

the logic of what is gained as we start to return lands to the river and to reaffirm the river and its lands as an interconnected whole to which we are also inextricably linked as people. The original river condition was much narrower but was channelised post invasion for industry that saw the river simply as a transport corridor or drainage infrastructure. By building this platform echoing the rivers historic path we are symbolising the violence that has been perpetrated on the river.

Areas cut into the platform provide an opportunity for protected floating wetlands or aquatic plantings, creating respite for fish and providing water filtration. Beneath the platform various habitat structures are installed; ropes for algae growth and pylons with hollows provide refuge for aquatic life, fish and macroinvertibrates.

1:200 0

10m

GATHERING SPACE, SOUTHERN BANK PHYTOREMEDIATION PLANTING, NORTHERN BANK The northern edge of the river has been severed from its lands by the freeway infrastructure which snakes parallel to the river. These phytoremediation planters aim to turn this harsh edge into an opportunity - making explicit the polluted runoff that runs directly from road to river. The plant palette focusses on hyperaccumulators of Zinc, Lead and Copper. Educational panels will ‘daylight’ the process, while an data visualisation will be used to show just how little of this runoff these planters clean - signalling the need for bolder action to mitigate the intense damage the freeway is causing the river. Zn

1:100

2.5

A small pavilion on the southern banks is placed beside a rare point in the urban reach of the river where the banks gently slope down - allowing us to touch the river. The space is for use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives as a space to have workshops, host exhibitions or events and skill share on Country. The sloping roof curates two views - one angled down framing the Birrarung, and one angled up through the louvres framing the sky. The harsh infrastructural northern bank is obscured. This can be adapted as conditions change and soften across the river.

Climate resilience

Maybal is used widely for many purposes from resin for waterproofing to edible basal shoots and

KAURNA AND WIRADJURI GARDENS Two small areas are planted out; one with species endemic to Dubbo and one with species endemic to the Adelaide Plains.

An augmented reality app will be developed for the precinct with traditional custodians and community

Predictive modelling shows that Melbourne’s climate will be more similar to that of Kaurna or Wiradjuri Country by 2070.

At these gardens you can scan the plants to access information on their use and significance, find recipes and videos, and link to Aboriginal run nurseries to purchase plants of your own.

Using seed collected from these regions we will be creating a resilient garden grown from preadapted plant genotypes ready to thrive in a hotter, drier climate This is an opportunity for education about the indigenous cultures of other regions and about the potential for the traditional knowledge of the oldest continuous living culture to inform climate change adaptation strategies.

Sculptural commissions by Kaurna and Wiradjuri artists will delineate the garden spaces, grounding them in context The development of these plant palettes would be an Aboriginal led co-design project with community members from Kaurna and Wiradjuri Country.

Cues-to-care-for-Country To broaden the reach of understanding the Birrarung as a single living entity we need to embed indigenous knowledge into the everyday experience of the river. Destinations and events should be tethered to a broader recentred identity that moves far beyond the settler colonial myth instead looks to Elders, celebrates symbiosis, seasonality and prioritises eco over ego. The Muyan (Silver Wattle) is the first of the wattles to flower. It is sometimes called ‘Barak’s Wattle’ because at the time of his death on August 15th, 1903 at Coranderrk the Muyan were in full bloom. The Muyan is often thought to symbolise elders. The Muyan festival would centre these stories embedding them into a cultural landscape with an explosion of yellow blooms. The profusion of hazy flowers are reflected in the Birrarung

acting as connector between land, water and sky and signalling the changing seasons. Woven into these interventions are ‘Cues-tocare-for Country.’ They aim to reorient how non-indigenous Australians see the river and its lands by amplifying Indigenous knowledge of place and relationship to Country and embedding this into the day to day experience of the urban environment. The health of the river and its lands relies on a commitment across private and public realms and indigenous and non indigenous communities. As Uncle Bill said ‘the river cannot care for itself.’

SELECTED REFERENCES Bagust, Phil and Lynda Tout-Smith (2010). The Native Plants of Adelaide. Kent Town, Wakefield Press. Bertram, Nigel, and Catherine Murphy. 2019. In Time with Water : Design Studies of 3 Australian Cities. UWA Publishing. Bernasconi, Amelia and David Claughton. 2020. “Indigenous grains grown in northern NSW deemed ‘commercially viable.’ ABC Rural. https://www.abc.net.au/news/ rural/2020-11-08/indigenous-grains-industry-commercially-viable-for-northern-nsw/12855160 City of Melbourne. (2019). Yarra River - Birrarung Strategy. https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp. au.prod.app.com-participate.files/6515/7542/1939/ Part_1_Yarra_River_Birrarung_Strategy_LOW_RES.pdf City of Playford (2011). Wild Food and Traditional Usage Species of the City of Playford. https://cdn.playford. sa.gov.au/general-downloads/Brochures/CS-200310-_ Wild-food.pdf?mtime=20200310141210 City of Yarra. (2019). Cremorne: Creating a Future Vistion Issues and Opportunites Paper. https:// vpa-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019.11.18-Cremorne-Issues-Opps-Report-FINAL-1.pdf CSIRO. (2021). Climate Change in Australia: Climate Information, projections, tools and data. https://www. climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/ Greening Australia (2020) Establishing Victoria’s Ecological Infrastructure: A Guide to Creating Climate Future Plots. https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GA0012_Climate-Plots-Document_SMALLER-SINGLE.pdf Hromek, Michale. Aboriginal Design Principles. Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct , Wiradjuri Country. https://shared-drupal-s3fs.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws. com/master-test/fapub_pdf/000-Wagga/Aboriginal+Design+Principles.pdf Indigenous Archtiecture and Design Victoria, Design Institute of Australia and Deaking University - Institute of Koorie Education. Australian Indigenous Design Charter. https://www.design.org.au/documents/item/216 Koori History. 2017. “Wattle (Acacia) and its many uses.” Koori History. http://koorihistory.com/wattle/ Khoddami, Ali et al. 2020. “Native Grains from paddock to plate.” Institute of Agriculture, The University of Sydney. https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/ documents/faculty-of-science/research/life-and-environmental-sciences/sia-native-grains-paddock-to-plate. pdf

Melbourne Water. 2018. “ZAM-WSUD Handbook.” CRC for Water Sensitive Cities. https://www.clearwatervic.com. au/user-data/resource-files/zam-wsud-handbook---withattachments-30-8-18.pdf Museums Victoria. 2021. “Eastern Kulin Seasonal Calendar.” Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre. https:// museumsvictoria.com.au/bunjilaka/about-us/eastern-kulin-seasonal-calendar/ Pascoe, Bruce. 2014. Dark Emu. Broome: Magabala Book Aboriginal Corporation. Presland, Gary. 2008. The Place for a Village : How Nature Has Shaped the City of Melbourne. 1st ed. Museum Victoria Publishing. State of New South Wales. 2008. “Wiradjuri Plant Use in the Murrumbidge Catchment.” The Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority. https://archive.lls.nsw.gov. au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/495261/archive-wiradjuri-plant-use.pdf State Government of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning. 2016. Protecting the Yarra River (Birrarung) Discussion Paper. Yarra River Protection Ministerial Advisory Committee. https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/18993/ DELWP0032_YarraRiverProtection_v22_web_lowres.pdf State Government of Victoria. 2017. Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017. https:// www.water.vic.gov.au/waterways-and-catchments/protecting-the-yarra/yarra-river-protection-act Taylor, James (2019). “The South Australian menu has always been seasonal.” Edited by Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi. City Mag. https://citymag.indaily.com.au/habits/plateand-cup/kaurna-food-culture-tarntanya-adelaide-stretches-millennia/ The University of Melbourne. 2021. Burnley Plant Guide. http://www/bpg.unimelb.edu.au

Virginia Overell 211446 ABPL90430 Design With Country, 2021 All images contained within by the author