The Waterway Management Twinning Program is finding new ways to stay connected in these times of COVID 19!
One of the activities we really enjoy in the Twinning Program is visiting the waterways that are special to us. Unfortunately, with many of our Twinners in lockdown, this is not possible, so Tamara Boyd, one of our wonderful Alumni, came up with the idea of ‘virtual river tours’. We are delighted that Trent Wallis (another of our great Alumni) stepped up to take the first tour, and a few weeks ago, our current Twinning Program participants thoroughly enjoyed a trip down the Barwon River. As Trent takes us on a journey from the upland section of the river through forest, open agricultural land, cities, wetlands, and finally the point where the Barwon meets the sea, it is clear how much he cares for this wonderful waterway.
The Barwon river and the catchments it flows in, are strongly connected to the Wathaurung and Eastern Maar People. The river received it’s name from ‘Barre Warre Yulluk’, which means the great river (yulluk) that ran from the mountains (barre) to the ocean (warre). The name Barwon is derived from parwan meaning ‘magpie’ or ‘great wide’. With this virtual tour, we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future.
We thought others might appreciate the trip too, so here it is for you to enjoy.
Trent prepared this talk to share his experiences of and perspectives about the Barwon River, the opinions expressed are his own and not those of his employer. He participated in the 2018 Program and was a mentor to Jenny Emeny from the Warrnambool City Council, the photo below shows them at our field trip to the Winton Wetlands. You can read their story here.
More Twinning Stories…
From mentoring and collaboration, to understanding your ‘why’ and sharing a laugh, our Waterway Management Twinning Program stories are a recollection of experiences and learnings from those delivering on-ground Victorian riparian restoration projects. We encourage you to browse and enjoy these stories.