Improving the health of urban creeks
Bringing waterways and communities to life and protecting native species through water-sensitive urban design
Transforming urban waterways to support native ecosystems and community wellbeing.
Healthy Land & Water is leading the delivery of two urban waterway restoration projects in Yeppoon and Mackay.
The two projects are funded by the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchment Program and will deliver a waterway naturalisation intervention in Yeppoon at Lex Semple Park and in Mackay at Woodlands Reserve Precinct Park. Both projects aim is to improve water quality, restore riparian habitat condition and connectivity, build and enable local community stewardship of the project sites, and enhance urban green space for the benefit of local native species and the community.
The projects also aim to build community stewardship of local waterways through a collaborative co-design approach using the Living Waterways framework. By bringing together diverse stakeholders like planners, landscape architects, engineers, and local residents, the co-design approach creates a shared process that recognises community expertise and fosters a deep emotional connection to local environments. This method generates a sense of ownership, enabling communities to become active participants in protecting and maintaining their water assets, ultimately transforming environmental conservation into a community-driven commitment.
What we are doing
Bringing waterways and communities to life.
These projects meet the objective of the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program which supports projects that:
- Improving riparian areas, stream banks and aquatic habitats, to benefit native species including threatened species, or aquatic areas of significance.
- Improved water quality, water in the landscape, and waterway connectivity to benefit native aquatic species including threatened aquatic species, or aquatic areas of significance.
- Improved urban green and blue space, including improved community access to nature, improved water quality to benefit public health, and increased shading to help reduce urban heat-related impacts due to climate change.
Measuring success
These projects aim to:
- Empower communities to restore and protect their local waterways through innovative, collaborative approaches.
- Rehabilitate degraded drainage channels into naturalised ecosystems in Yeppoon's Lex Semple Park and Mackay's Woodlands Reserve Precinct Park.
- Revegetate creek banks with native species and create wildlife corridors with habitat augmentation structures.
- Monitor improvements to habitat condition and wildlife utilisation by tracking and monitoring activities.
Why these projects are important
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As Urban environments increasingly challenge our natural ecosystems, impacting biodiversity, water quality, and community well-being. Healthy Land & Water, through its Water by Design initiative and the Living Waterways framework is activating urban waterways and greenspaces to protect and restore environmental values and improve community health and wellbeing. With our extensive community networks and environmental expertise, we will work with local partners to engage communities in restoring and protecting critical urban waterways. The projects are applying a place-based approach to urban waterway management that values holistic, integrated, nature-based design solutions that deliver lasting environmental, social, and economic benefits. They will help local communities understand and participate in ecosystem restoration, creating lasting environmental and social benefits for urban and regional communities. |
Project snapshot
| Project name: | Improving the health of McCreadys Creek, Mackay Improving the health of Fig Tree Creek, Yeppoon |
| Project manager: |
Mackay - Chelsea Kluske, Healthy Land & Water |
| Timing: | June 2024-April 2026 |
| Project funding and partnerships | These projects are funded by the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, with the support of the Mackay Regional Council, Reef Catchments and Livingstone Shire Council. |
| Related articles |
Bringing waterways and communities to life through water-sensitive urban design |
Project collaborators
These projects are funded by the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, with the support of the Mackay Regional Council, Reef Catchments and Livingstone Shire Council.
