City secures $200,000 Riverbank grant

The City of South Perth will receive a $200,000 Riverbank grant to upgrade deteriorating river walls and create a swan habitat on the South Perth Foreshore between Coode and Ellam streets. 

The majority of this funding – allocated as part of the state government’s $1 million Riverbank Program – will go towards construction of a small off-shore vegetated island to encourage black swans back to the river. 

Black swans were once abundant throughout the river system, however their numbers have diminished significantly in recent years. 

The City has been liaising with bird experts to design and place the island, to be located in the river adjacent to Lake Douglas in order to take advantage of the nearby freshwater lakes, existing sedges and small population of black swans.

This project delivers the following strategies outlined in the South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan: 

• Develop the lakes node as a swan breeding habitat
• Enhance and encourage the flora/fauna of the lakes.

The state government’s Riverbank Program aims to improve the condition of shorelines and enhance biodiversity, infrastructure protection and social amenity values in the Swan Canning Riverpark.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions administers the Riverbank Program grants through an annual, competitive process with open expressions of interest.

Eleven projects have been awarded a total of $424,821 under the program's grants scheme for 2019/20.

The remaining $575,179 is for priority projects in the Swan and Canning rivers and will contribute to The Nature Conservancy's ‘Restoring the Iconic Swan’ project to help seed mussel reefs and create native animal habitats in the Swan River.

City of South Perth Mayor Sue Doherty was pleased the City was successful in obtaining this funding. 

“Protecting our flora and fauna is incredibly important, and I thank the state government for providing funds to get this project underway,” Mayor Doherty said. 

“Our residents and visitors love seeing our swans, which are currently nesting around the City, and we want to ensure generations to come can experience the beautiful environment and wildlife we have in our area.”

The project is expected to be completed within two years.