Positive action on the Derwent–Be a wetland hero!

What’s special about the Derwent River? 

Living in Hobart, the Derwent River is part of our everyday life – most of us see it every day, we walk or drive alongside of it and use bridges to cross it. It’s special is because it is a mix of fresh river water from the upper estuary, and tidal seawater from the ocean. Maybe you have felt this when you stand on the edge and smell the brackishness of the water. Being connected to the ocean and yet sheltered and secluded, the Derwent is a special sanctuary for animals that need this protection in their juvenile stages when they’re vulnerable. Plus, we have species in the Derwent that are specifically adapted to living here and nowhere else. These species rely on us to do our bit and look after our waterways, keep our impact as low as possible, so that they can thrive. We also have migratory birds that rely on one of our types of local wetland – the saltmarsh – to feed. Some of them go on amazing journeys every year and fly over 15,000kms to their breeding sites in Alaska and Siberia. 

That sounds like there’s plenty of habitat and biodiversity – why would our local wetlands be threatened? 

Wetlands aren’t always seen as the superstars that they are, but perceived as smelly, boggy places that aren’t attractive or valuable. This has led them to being converted and stripped of their value. In Hobart, saltmarshes have been converted into tips, claimed for industrial areas and others are degraded due to grazing from rabbits and livestock, weed invasion and the impact from motorbikes and cars. This means we’re left with fewer, isolated wetland sites along the estuary that need looking after. 

How can I help? 

And this is where you come in and can be a hero for our local wetlands! Our goal is to rehabilitate the existing wetlands along the Derwent, and re-establish them where they have been removed but are staging a comeback! And this is what it looks like practically: we rehabilitate sites by hand-weeding, clearing, cleaning-up and maintaining local natural areas. We remove invasive weeds and give native vegetation a chance to catch up, thrive and provide food and habitat for species that rely on them. When we re-establish coastal ecosystems, we prepare the site by weeding and clearing, and then comes our favourite part: planting natives, and coming back a few months later to check on them, and see our impact. 

But that’s not all: you can also learn about our local wetlands through guest speaker sessions, workshops and expert talks that we hold regularly, often on the sites where we’ve done work previously.  

Everyone is welcome at our volunteer events, and we can guarantee you’ll learn something new, recharge while working in nature and getting your hands dirty, and meet a like-minded, friendly bunch of fellow volunteers. Check out our upcoming events and take action for the environment, and be part of building back habitat in your local natural areas. 

Revive our Wetlands is supported by Chevron Australia.