Episodes

Hey humans! In this episode, we zoom out to a landscape scale and hear from two of the people working to restore the river's health and support the many species that rely on it. At the core of this is a question about how we continue to support the wellbeing and health of a growing city as we protect and restore the health of our most important neighbor. Because what is good for Birrarung is good for all, right? In this episode, we heard from: Sarah Gaskill, Service Lead Water Resources and Comp...

Hey humans! In this episode, we speak with some of the organisations and communities putting the ambition and ideas introduced in our first three episodes into practice. Specifically, we explore the idea of a swimmable urban river, the restoration of one of Birrarung’s billabongs, and the big question of how we overcome our own differences to achieve common goals. In this episode, we heard from: Charity Mosienyan, lead convenor of the Swimmable Birrarung Earthshot at Regen Melbourne . You can fi...

Hey Humans! In our third episode of Living with Birrarung , we’re zooming out to the global Rights of Nature movement to explore how this movement emerged and where Birrarung fits in this wider picture. 2017 was a huge inflection point in this movement but it also represented decades of groundwork from Indigenous groups and local communities. In this episode, we heard from: Dr Erin O’Donnell, from the Melbourne Law School and member of the Birrarung Council . Elke Nicholson, from Environmental J...

Hey Humans! In our second episode of Living with Birrarung , we’re zooming in on the people and powers that led to the creation of the Yarra River Protection ( Wilip-gin Birrarung muron) Act 2017 that recognised Birrarung as one, living and integrated entity. This episode examines the relationship between settler-colonial and Traditional Owner law and how Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo (the Yarra Strategic Plan 2022-2032) and the Birrarung Council that emerged from the 2017 Act are trying to ...

Hey humans! In our first episode of season one, Living with Birrarung, we're diving straight into the question of what it means for a river to be alive. Birrarung was recognised as "one, integrated and living entity" in Victorian legislation in 2017. Since then, the ripples of that recognition have become waves that continue to influence policy, governance, community action, and our relationship with the river today. In this episode we heard from: Uncle Andrew Gardiner, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung El...