On 2nd February 2024 and again at a Special Council Meeting on 12th February 2024 the Edwardes boat house was discussed in Darebin City Council chamber..

At these meetings a motion was passed to either progress towards finding a commercial operator to occupy the Boathouse or refurbish it as a community space.

The Friends of Edwardes Lake, Friends of Merri Creek, Friends of Edgars Creek, Merri Creek Management Committee, Darebin Hard Rubbish Heros, Darebin Repair Café, Transition Darebin and the Rezzadent are standing in partnership to advocate for the boathouse to become a community space.

Currently the ground level of the boat house is being used to store equipment to look after the lake, ride on mowers, boats, planting supplies, hand tools and booms for emergency water pollution response. It also serves as a break room for Darebin employees who service the lake.

We have created a proposal to be presented to Darebin City Council, Nathan Lambert (Labor member representing Preston and Reservoir) and Ged Kearney ( Federal Member for Cooper) that keeps the current function of the boat house, but also allows for the first floor to become a community space.

The proposed community space would include an entry foyer, one large meeting room, one smaller meeting room, a new kitchenette, flexible furniture to suit all community needs, a parents room and unisex toilets. The outside of the building would also transform with a new paint job in a nature based colour palette to reflect the surround bushland environment, replacement of the handrail on the balcony, a nature-based mural on the wall of the building and the creation of an outdoor meeting space (with elder permission it could be referred to as a yarning circle) surround by a meadow of indigenous wildflowers planted by the Reservoir community.

The could be a space where meetings for Darebin’s advisory committees are held, a place where Darebin gardens for wildlife volunteers could host workshops, meetings and training. Committee meetings for friend’s groups could be conducted. It could be home to a community hub for rehoming, reuse, repair, recycling. It could be a place where workshops are held for learning of new skills and obtaining new knowledge. A space for bush kinder and parents groups. A space for yoga, dance and exercise classes. A home for makers markets and local artists to showcase their work. A space for the Rezzadent to plan their next issue. A place for all of our community.

Many people ask we what my dreams and hopes are for this waterway. We hope that we never have another algal bloom that results in the black water event causing avian botulism. The last botulism outbreak in 2007 killed 100s of birds. We dream of never seeing litter floating in the water that volunteers are often tasked with collecting. We dream of a space that is a sanctuary for our native wildlife and a place for our community to connect with nature and reset from the stresses in their life. We hope for a community that respects and protects our local biodiversity. 

We do not dream of a commercial operation, nor a restaurant, nor a café. 

Reservoir deserves a place for the community to grow and be revitalised, we do not do that with a café, we do that with a community space. 

What is certain if we not to stand up and ensure the boat house becomes a community space and instead becomes a commercial operator we will face;

• A lost of a community asset north of Bell Street
• A negative effect on wildlife
• Noise and light  pollution from commercial operator
• Additional pressure on a waterway with water quality still on a knives edge, El Nino weather over the next few years will prove to be challenging
• Wildlife in further stress that already has poor and concerning habits with expecting food from humans – Humans have bad habitats of feeding wildlife a café or restaurant will make it worse
• More litter issues - The Friends of Edwardes Lake collects a recorded 30,000 piece of litter each year, this does not include daily litter walk conducted by volunteers
• Problems with waste management of a commercial operator - Even the most sustainability operator needs to manage waste
• Increased pest species such as rats, foxes and displaced cats attracted to  waste management of a commercial operation

For those of you that are pondering about whether a café or restaurant might be nice idea in this space, I ask you to take a moment to consider whether travelling 500m to the already established local pubs, restaurants, cafes, breweries and ice creameries is much of a sacrifice to provide Kevin (the resident Black Swan) and his fellow wildlife have a safe, clean and quiet place to call home

To view the full proposal click below to view our website;

https://www.friendsofedwardeslake.org/a-vision-for-kevin-the-boat-house