How neighbourhood connections are restoring the River Torrens

The River Torrens may count itself lucky as it winds its way through Cudlee Creek. Here, a small group of committed neighbours are proving that by working together they can have a greater impact on their patch of earth – or in this case, creek line. 

At Cudlee Creek, three adjoining landholders from three adjacent properties have joined forces to deliver a coordinated revegetation project spanning 1.25 kilometres of the river corridor - Ashlee Wilton and Danny Mathew, Zipporah and Amos Maina, and John Stanley and Polihronia Kosmadopoulos. Their shared vision is simple yet impactful: restore the health of the river by tackling invasive weeds and re-establishing native vegetation.

By improving plant diversity along the riverbanks, the project aims to build wildlife habitat, stabilise soils to reduce erosion, and lower fire risk. Over time, these efforts will help rebuild a more resilient and biodiverse ecosystem.

The group successfully applied for Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu’s Grassroots Grants program as a collective, allowing them to scale their projects. Pooling resources has enabled them to engage professional contractors for mulching and weed spraying, laying the groundwork for the next stage - planting native tubestock this winter.

Senior Stewarship Officer Will Hannaford said the project is a strong example of what can be achieved when neighbours work together. 

“By aligning their goals and sharing the workload, they’ve accelerated progress that would have been much harder to achieve individually,” he said. 

“It’s a reminder that meaningful environmental change often starts at the local level with people willing to collaborate for the benefit of their land and community.

“They’re committed to ongoing maintenance, building on previous revegetation work to ensure lasting outcomes for the river and surrounding landscape.”