Darebin Creek, Reservoir - Neil Blake OAM
Hosted by Ben Cullen
Neil Blake OAM has spent decades noticing, understanding and protecting nature in Melbourne’s urban landscape. It was an absolute please to spend time with Neil and learn from his vast experience.
For this episode, we walk a stretch of Darebin Creek in Reservoir that Neil knows incredibly well. Neil is the Port Phillip Baykeeper, founding director of the Port Phillip EcoCentre and, in his own words, a “Tawny Tragic”.
We begin by searching for Tawny Frogmouths and visiting some of the nesting and roosting sites Neil has been watching for years. Along the way, Neil talks about growing up beside the Murray River, following his father into sleeper cutting, and the unlikely journey that eventually led him to become a park ranger in St Kilda.
Our walk takes us through citizen science, urban waterways, microplastics, Little Penguins, local native plants and Imperial Blue Butterflies. Neil also reflects on a lifetime of conservation and why communication, creativity and building relationships with people have been such an important part of his work.
Music has been another thread throughout Neil’s life, and we finish beside the creek talking about how this place has influenced his songwriting. Stay to the end to hear a song written and performed by Neil beside Darebin Creek, with the sounds of the creek as his backing band.
https://www.ecocentre.com/programs/community-programs/baykeeper/