The size of the rubbish problem in our oceans is often highlighted in global campaigns, but riverine flooding during last October’s floods, and since, has emphasised issues the Goulburn Valley faces.
RiverConnect is an initiative designed to reinvigorate residents’ relationship with the Goulburn and Broken Rivers, and Allison Trethowan is an education officer with the group.
She says recent floods have led to an alarming amount, and types, of rubbish being shifted down the river system.
“In terms of rubbish, it’s moved a lot of rubbish around in the river environment and there’s spots where there’s things sitting up in trees that we get out there and we try to clean it up, but can’t safely get up the tree,” she said.
“So we’ve got all this, you really see how much rubbish has moved down the river by seeing what’s hanging in the trees in some spots.”
Ms Trethowan attended Greater Shepparton City Council’s No Time To Waste day on Thursday, July 6 at the McIntosh Centre.
She said the message of the day was that “all roads” lead to the rivers in terms of rubbish and chemicals.
“Anything that gets washed into those stormwater drains, whether it’s your rubbish, the oil from your car, the weed seeds from your garden, it all goes into the river,” Ms Trethowan said.
“It’s really important to be talking to the younger generation, because it instils good practices in them right from the start, and then they start telling off their parents — and that’s even better.
“You can’t look at the face of a young child that is worried and saying, ‘What are you doing?’ without doing something about.”
Ms Trethowan said RiverConnect was a partnership of agencies and volunteer groups, including the Greater Shepparton City Council, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and Indigenous groups, that worked to protect the river system and help residents re-engage with the waterways.
“We’ve built everything so that we look away from the river, we ignore it, and historically, and probably currently, we dump a lot of our trash in it,” she said.
“It’s just a dumping place because water carries everything away and so we haven’t cared for the rivers as much.
“What we (RiverConnect) really try to do is get people out there enjoying their time there, they can see where there’s damage and they start to think, ‘Well, maybe we can all do something to try and improve on this’.”