Waterway Health

A major geological feature of the Barrabool Hills is the Barwon River. The middle reach of this significant waterway in Corangamite meanders its way across flood plains and along steep escarpments at the base of the Hills north facing slopes to join the Moorabool River at Fyansford before it reaches the urban confines of the City of Geelong. It then  escapes the manicured lawns and rowing courses to enter the significant Ramsar Wetlands of Lake Connewarrre and finally passes mangrove forests at Barwon Heads to its mouth on the northern edge of Bass Strait.

With its proximity to so many significant sites, the middle reaches of the Barwon are very precious and much of the work that the Barrabool Hills Landcare community has done over the last 25 years has either directly or indirectly focused on supporting land managers to improve waterway health and build riparian biolinks along the river and other watercourses that eventually feed into it, such as the Merrawarp Creek and Waurn Ponds Creek.

The  main programs we have focused on include:-

Protecting the bed and banks

Minimising erosion

Efficient water use