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Over three weeks in September, the second-ever Riverfest took place along the banks of the Birrarung River. Organised by the Yarra Riverkeeper Association, Regen Melbourne was privileged to play a role. Here, Charity Mosienyane reflects on an incredible celebration of Melbourne's life force.
The Yarra Riverkeeper Association's (YRKA) 2024 Riverfest ran for 3 weeks (1–22 September) with over 40 community-hosted events attended by over 2,000 people.
Each event was organised by different actors within the Birrarung ecosystem, including local First Nations groups, community groups, local councils, water authorities, government entities and local businesses. The festival demonstrated the love, commitment and care for the Birrarung from a diverse group.
As strategic partners, we've been working with YRKA since the beginning of the year to leverage collaborative opportunities and curate three events for the festival program.
Sports + Waterways: A Ripple Effect
We co-hosted this event with Annabel Sides (Green Planet Sports), gathering over 30 representatives of Victorian sports organisations to workshop how sports can play a role in the climate resilience journey of waterways.
With increasing extreme events, less snow means less alpine water running into the Birrarung – directly impacting irrigation for sports fields and water availability for swimmers, rowers and kayakers.
Actions suggested included developing route maps to sporting events highlighting the river's stories, establishing funding frameworks for environmental stewardship, and exploring a water theme for an AFL round during World Rivers Day month.
Swimmable Cities: Come on Melbourne!
Our second event was an online session co-hosted with Matt Sykes (Regeneration Projects), celebrating transformation stories from Copenhagen, Metz, Berlin and Sydney.
Marshall Blecher (MAST) shared stories of rediscovering urban swimming in Copenhagen. "Swimming in the harbour is what now defines summer in Copenhagen," he said.
Leanne Niblock from Sydney Water shared how a swimmable Parramatta River has transformed how the organisation manages waterways. Swimmability has enabled collaboration across sectors to activate new swimming sites.
Common themes: people used to swim in urban waterways until industrialisation made this impossible; an enabling legal/political/governance environment is required; swimming champions are needed to push through the vision; urban swimming can change a city's identity and how government invests.
Urban Water Safety for Kids
Our final event was co-hosted with Life Saving Victoria (LSV) and sponsored by Patagonia at MPavilion, tailored to water safety in urban waterways. Most of us have lost the art of safely swimming in rivers. If we want to realise the vision of a Swimmable Birrarung, we need to learn how to do this again.
Riverfest 2024 was a resounding success. From source to sea, plenty of fun was had, a lot was learned, and hopefully more people found ways to reconnect and contribute to the river.
