RES Creek to Community
In late 2024 and early 2025, Yanco Creek and Tributaries Advisory Council Inc. (YACTAC), in partnership with RES Australia and Jeithi Jerilderie Aboriginal Corporation, hosted vibrant community events under the Creek to Community banner. Designed to inspire environmental stewardship, build cultural understanding, and restore local habitat, the events were held along the Billabong Creek in Jerilderie and engaged schools, volunteers, and community more broadly.
RES Creek to Community activities brought together a cross-section of the Jerilderie community, including students, teachers, Aboriginal representatives from the Jeithi Jerilderie Aboriginal Corporation, RES staff, land managers, ecologists and local government collaborators. These events created space for intergenerational learning, sharing of local knowledge, and building trust between groups with a shared interest in their love of the Billabong.
Creek to Community event - December 2024
Held at the Jeithi Cultural Centre (formerly The Willows) on the Billabong Creek, this afternoon brought together community members and volunteers for a hands-on restoration effort:
Activities included:
- Planting over 100 native plants along 150 metres of creek frontage.
- Seed ball making using clay, potting mix and native seeds from Murray LLS seedbank.
- A group discussion focused on habitat restoration, the cultural importance of eel-tailed catfish, and personal stories of life on the creek in the 1970s-80s.
Creek to Community event March 2025
This event focused on education and ecology, engaging 37 St Joseph's Catholic School students and 14 adults in a day of discovery of the Billabong Creek.
Highlights:
- Ecologist Dan Hutton led hands-on sessions with fyke nets, revealing aquatic species such as eastern long-necked turtles, native fish, shrimp, yabbies - and even a rakali.
- Students explored and learned about species that live in their creek.
- Creative learning through activities like eel-tailed catfish crafts, Haiku poetry and making seedballs.
- Cultural knowledge woven through the day's learning.