News

Capturing nature by canoe at Lake Carpul

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 14:39:00

Canoeing trip participants got first-hand insight into the impact of environmental watering on Murray River wetlands at Lake Carpul, near Robinvale, at the weekend.

About 15 community members from as far as Mildura and Swan Hill took to the water on Sunday on a guided tour organised by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority.
Mallee CMA Communications Officer for Water, Susan Saris, said breezy conditions and cooler weather provided a perfect setting for paddlers to get out on the lake, enjoy the water and spot waterbirds and wildlife.
“We went around the edge of half of Lake Carpul, then up the channel between Lake Carpul and Lake Powell, then across Lake Carpul back to where we started,” Susan said.
“We knew from a previous birdwatching day at Lake Powell that the watering has brought in something like 60 species of birds to the lakes, and we certainly weren’t disappointed on Sunday,” she said.
“Waterbirds, in particularly, were in really good numbers and, of course, canoes are the best way to be able to get quite close to them.”
Hundreds of waterbirds and other species have arrived at Lakes Powell and Carpul since the delivery of environmental flows, with the watering also supporting healthy floodplain vegetation, which is home to important species such as carpet python and bats.
Mildura community member Malcolm Douglas said it was the first time he had ventured into the lakes, despite having driven past on the Murray Valley Highway many times.
“It was amazing to see such an abundance of bird life and especially some species you don’t see all the time, such as Bee-eaters and black swans,” Mr Douglas said.
“But what really struck me most was how much more I understood about the role of environmental watering and the decision-making process that goes on into delivering environmental flows,” he said.
“The research and science behind making the flows happen really impressed me and it’s something I wish more people could learn about and understand.
“I think hearing the information and getting out on the lakes really showed me how important environmental watering is – it’s about sharing our water resources in a way that lets us preserve these amazing wetland ecosystems for the next generations.”

Local resident Neil Waugh, who lives on nearby Belsar Island, said getting onto the lake demonstrated the amazing transformation the watering had created.

“The last time natural flows went into the lake was in the early 1990s, and I drove out onto the lake to take photographs a couple of months ago when it was bone dry,” Neil said.

“It’s hard to imagine that it is the same place because all the bird and plant life that’s there now is just amazing – a delight to see,” he said.