The Stony Creek Rehabilitation Plan (2019-2029) identifies long term and sustained actions that span recovery to active rehabilitation of the creek and its surrounds.
Background

As the caretaker of Melbourne’s waterways, we understand how valued Stony Creek is to the local community, and how passionate people are about its recovery and rehabilitation - which is why we involved the community to create a plan.
The local community contributed their ideas, aspirations and priorities to support the long-term rehabilitation and future protection of Stony Creek. Their insights, values and recommended actions were used to create the plan.
The draft plan was publicly released in early July 2019 for a four-week period to seek feedback from the community. Comments were used to prepare the final plan to ensure it aligns with community expectations, values and aspirations. The final Stony Creek Rehabilitation Plan was officially launched on 8 September 2019.
Download the plan
Report on actions since 2019

The first annual report card for the Stony Creek Rehabilitation Plan is available, providing an update on the status and progress of actions since 2019. A significant amount of work has been undertaken by Melbourne Water, Maribyrnong City Council, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and the local community to rehabilitate and protect Stony Creek.
The report card includes progress on many important projects including on-the-ground works, new infrastructure, education activities, improved water quality monitoring and more resourcing.
The actions progressed in the past year lay a solid foundation for the progress of the Plan and bringing the community’s vision for Stony Creek to life, and all agencies are committed to continuing to work with community to achieve this.
Download the report card
More information on our work with partner agencies to restore and enhance Stony Creek can be found at:
- Stony Creek recovery to rehabilitation
- Stony Creek recovery (Maribyrnong City Council)
On-the-ground projects
The following map includes achievements delivered in the Stony Creek area, with projects detailed in the table below (see corresponding reference numbers). A full list of achievements are included in the 2019-2020 report card.
Project (map reference) |
Details |
---|---|
Melbourne Water regular weed management | Weeds are controlled on a regular and ongoing basis through Melbourne Water’s and Maribyrnong Council’s programmed maintenance regimes. Some of these locations targeted are in the areas adjacent to Matthews Hill Reserve and Hyde Park Reserve. |
Weed control and tree planting area | Weed control is being carried out between Paramount Road and Francis Street as part of a revegetation and frog pond project. This project commenced in April 2020. |
Melbourne Water regular litter removal | Melbourne Water regularly collects litter in the areas of Spotswood and Yarraville along Stony Creek. |
Friends of Cruickshank Park planting project | The Friends of Cruickshank Park group was awarded a Communities Environment Program Grant for a Junior Park Rangers Community Planting Project. The project will establish 3000 indigenous plants across two sites in Cruickshank Park. |
Community clean up activities (1) | There are regular community clean up activities at Matthews Hill Reserve. |
Community Clean Up Australia Day event (2) | A event was hosted on Clean Up Australia Day, where local residents collected rubbish along the Creek at Sara Grove, Tottenham. |
Planned Frog Bog options (3, 5, 8) | Frog bogs are planned to be delivered in the first half of 2021. Some location options include near Park Avenue in West Footscray, in Cruickshank Park, Yarraville and near the McNish ‘Dinosaur Park’ Reserve, Yarraville. |
New shared pathway footbridge (4) | The Cala Street footbridge in West Footscray was completed and open to the public in May 2020. |
Community planting event (6) | A community planting event was held at the Stony Creek Rehabilitation Plan Launch at Cruickshank Park in September 2019, with more than 500 indigenous plants established. |
Nesting boxes installed in Cruickshank Park (7) | 20 nesting boxes were installed in Cruickshank Park with funding obtained through the West Gate Tunnel Project. |
Community information stall (9) | The Friends of Stony Creek hosted a stall at the Yarraville Festival in February 2020 where the group distributed information, sold books and plants, and answered local residents questions on health of Stony Creek. |
Other relevant plans and policies

The Stony Creek Rehabilitation Plan is consistent with agency policies and strategies including Melbourne Water’s Healthy Waterways Strategy (2018-2028), Maribyrnong City Council’s open space plans including the Stony Creek Future Directions Plan, and EPA Victoria’s policies and guidelines. Follow the links for more information:
- Healthy Waterways Strategy
- City of Maribyrnong Open Space Strategy (via Your City, Your Voice community engagement site)
- Tottenham industrial fire: environmental monitoring (EPA Victoria)
Contact us
Phone: 131 722
Email: [email protected]