Made by filmmaker Paul Bell, the short film, shows an uplifting story of community, local government, indigenous rangers and a community group working together to spruce up a neglected walkway and stormwater drain. Kandy Curran, the Project Manager of the award winning Roebuck Bay Working Group said, Communities can be fragile and if a popular walkway becomes degraded, people stop using the area. This project, led by the Roebuck Bay Working Group, Shire of Broome and Parks and Wildlife Service Yawuru Rangers has delivered a win-win on all fronts.
“The McMahon walkway has now got a beautiful bush tucker trail growing vigorously between the footpath and stormwater drain - which has been cleared of litter, prickles, weeds and garden waste. Moreover, Roebuck Bay is cleaner, with less litter and nutrients flowing through the stormwater drain into the embayment when it rains. The Shire of Broome and Parks and Wildlife Service Yawuru Rangers have done an outstanding job. Together, they have helped hundreds of children from local schools plant Kimberley natives beside a walkway and stormwater drain, and in so doing, restoring habitat and community pride in a popular recreational area. As well as the native plantings, the footpaths have been repaired, the plants reticulated and mulched and the area control burned.
To ensure the walkway and stormwater drain are kept clean and green, the Roebuck Bay Working Group developed this short film to show in the schools that participated and to the wider community. In addition, fridge magnets have been delivered to homes surrounding the McMahon walkway in Cable Beach Estate. What we are hoping to see is community ownership of the walkway and over time, the stormwater drain colonised by the native plants, which will slow and absorb the nutrients. If successful, then this community driven project can be replicated in other stormwater drains to reduce pollutants entering Roebuck Bay. Nutrients feed the blue-green Lyngbya blooms that have been worsening in Roebuck Bay over recent years, so projects to reduce stormwater drainage impacts on Broome’s beautiful coastal waters are good news.
The RBWG extend our thanks to the Western Australian government for providing the two year State NRM Community Action Grant for this worthy project..
