Towards a Swimmable Birrarung: Launching our Fields of Action report

As the Swimmable Birrarung project moves into the Organising phase of Regen Melbourne’s SOIL framework, a new report outlines the Fields of Action underway for the river in 2024 and beyond. 

In case you missed it, the Swimmable Birrarung was just the subject of a sizable media frenzy. From The Herald Sun to Sunrise, the river project was beamed into the living rooms and phone screens of an estimated 18 million people all over the country.

This is the result of decades’ worth of work by actors up and down the river, and our focus now is on harnessing this moment to take tangible action in service of our river. Which is why we’re excited to share our Swimmable Birrarung Fields of Action report, which spells out how, why and where we’ll be activating the river in the months to come. 

Over the last two years, hundreds of people and dozens of organisations have begun convening around this Swimmable Birrarung initiative. Building off a long history of care for this river, we have created a clear orientation, began organising more effectively, and built a set of collective insights. Together, we are now co-creating a portfolio of tangible projects (or leverage points) designed to accelerate the transformation of the river system.

This report is both an update on the journey to this point, and it is also a warm invitation for us all to get involved using our skills, our experiences and our knowledge in service of the Birrarung | Yarra River. All content in this report builds on the contributions of many individuals and multiple organisations we’ve been working with over two years, and all credit belongs to alliance partners working on this initiative.