Dr. Kylie Soanes

Reconnecting with urban waterways

People – Nature – Places

This research will help identify actions that support biodiversity and human-nature connection in urban waterways. How can we improve the condition of our urban creeks, rivers and wetlands so that they support native wildlife? And how can we make sure that this increases opportunities for people to experience local nature?

The trial floating wetlands project along the Birrarung-Yarra River showed that an ecological intervention to improve wildlife habitat could also lead to enormous community engagement and support. This project will look for ways to realise that potential, identifying 1) the kinds of actions that can enhance habitat and increase opportunities for human nature contact, 2) where these actions should go, and 3) how to get them done. There’s a specific focus not just on protecting places that are already in good condition, but on enhancing the value of spaces that are currently degraded or underused.

This is a new project and we’re keen to establish networks with local governments, community groups, and other key stakeholders who manage, protect and love our urban waterways. Please get in touch if you think this project could be useful to your work, or if you’d like to learn more about it. More details will be added here as the project progresses.

Contact: Dr. Kylie Soanes, The University of Melbourne ksoanes[at]unimelb.edu.au

Project status: Current (June 2024–2025)

Partners: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action

Invitation to participate

As part of this project, we are collecting information from community members and practitioners to better understand the range of actions currently used to promote human-nature connection in urban waterways, and the public response to these actions. 

Building a database of case studies

We are compiling a database of projects that have aimed to enhance the ecological and social value of urban waterways. By collating projects into a publicly available database of case studies, we hope to showcase the range of actions possible, the outcomes, the challenges and solutions. If you have a project you’d like to list, you can learn more about contributing here.

Community perspectives

We will be conducting interviews with community members who live near, or engage with, an existing project (e.g. the Yarra Floating Wetlands project) to learn more about your perspectives on nature actions in urban waterways. To learn more about the interviews click here to read our Plain Language Statement, or register your interest in participating using the form below.