It’s World River’s Day!

This article was written by our year 10 work experience student from Georgiana Molloy Anglican School

Here in Augusta Margaret River, rivers are an important part of our landscape, community and biodiversity, and are much more than water flowing through the land.

The Margaret River (Wooditjup Bilya) flows for around 60km through the region, and to the Wadandi people it is the heart of Wadandi Boodja, with cultural connection that goes back countless generations. Wooditjup holds deep cultural significance to the Wadandi people, and it is a meeting place between land and sea. Its name, culture and stories are part of a living connection to Country that continues today.

The Blackwood River (Goorbilyup) is another important river in our region. It is the longest continually flowing river in the South West, winding for around 300km before reaching the Southern Ocean in Augusta. For hundreds of thousands of years, Goorbilyup and its surrounding waterways have been important places for Aboriginal people, providing food, water and important cultural connections. 

Our rivers are also lifelines for the environment, and are habitat to many native species including fish, frogs, waterbirds, rakali, and many more. Healthy rivers also support healthy vegetation, wetlands and groundwater systems. To help keep our rivers healthy you can: 

•    Stop fertilizer use in summer and winter and avoid applying before heavy rain to reduce fertiliser run off. You can also choose native plants which don’t need fertiliser. 
•    Only use low-nitrogen or phosphorus-free fertilisers 
•    Wash your car on the lawn instead of the driveway so soapy water doesn’t flow straight into storm drains 
•    Never dump lawn clippings or unwanted garden plants into local reserves or bushland to prevent invasive weeds 
•    Always bin your rubbish and collect stray plastics 

Thanks for helping keep our rivers clean and healthy!