Works are under way to boost Shepparton’s platypus population and improve waterway habitats.
Photo by
Kathy Jones
Goulburn Valley’s platypus population is receiving a much-needed boost, with the Platy Patch habitat restoration project celebrating its first birthday.
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The Platy Patch Project, a $24 million statewide initiative, is being delivered by the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority with support from RiverConnect and Greater Shepparton City Council.
It focuses on improving platypus habitat health along the Goulburn and Broken rivers and Seven Creeks within the urban areas of Shepparton and Mooroopna.
Research by the Arthur Rylah Institute, DEECA’s leading ecological research centre, identified low platypus numbers across the three waterways, with urbanisation and flooding cited as key drivers of habitat decline.
The authority’s river health projects manager Lincoln Wellington said works were now well under way.
“Platypus need reliable surface water and flow, stable banks to burrow, intact streamside vegetation and instream woody habitat,” he said.
“That’s what our works are focusing on, which will hopefully get them back and get them to thrive and populate.”
On Seven Creeks, near its confluence with the Goulburn, 6500 native seedlings are being planted across about 25 hectares of degraded streamside vegetation.
The first planting round began this month after dry conditions caused delays, with further stages planned for spring and the following autumn.
Along the Broken River and sections of the Goulburn, weed control works covering 40ha are set to begin shortly, delivered in partnership with Waka Walla, the construction arm of the Yorta Yorta community.
Project works include the placement of large pieces of timber in riverways, providing habitat for platypus.
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Contributed
In the Goulburn River itself, 100 large timber pieces have already been placed at several sites north of Shepparton to create instream habitat, with a further 100 to follow.
Mr Wellington said sourcing and placing the timber had presented practical challenges.
“It’s a little bit hard with the Goulburn to get access to place the large wood, and trying to get hold of large wood pieces can be tricky,” he said.
“They need to be a certain size to stay in place, especially with the fluctuations of different flows.”
Mr Wellington said the project was also expected to benefit native fish, with Murray cod, silver perch and trout cod all set to gain from improved river conditions.
The full scope, 40ha of weed removal, 25ha of re-vegetation and 200 large timber pieces, is hoped to be completed ahead of the project’s March 2028 close date.
As the project enters its second year, community members are being encouraged to participate in the Look Out for the Platypus campaign.
Mr Wellington said sightings were valuable to the project’s broader monitoring effort.
The project is jointly funded by the Federal Government’s Natural Heritage Trust under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, the Victorian Government and Melbourne Water.
Platypus sightings can be registered with the project here.
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