The Birrarung is known as the upside-down river. The perception for many is that mud is dirty – the dirtiness within the river, however, is purely man-made. E. coli bacteria and chemical run-off pollutes the river, while the silt does not cause degradation.

The river’s current collects everything that falls on its surface. Leaf litter, seed pods, bugs and creatures dance their way downstream, all quietly relating to one another. Whether it be a boulder, or a tree’s branch, these objects influence the river’s path.

The water minor boatman, a micro water insect who lives on the river’s surface, is a sign of a healthy Birrarung. With a scream as mighty as a whale relative to their body size, these small creatures carry nitrogen from one water body to another.

Birrarung is referred to as the ‘river of mist and shadows’. This layer shows how fog and mist are as important as the rain. Shadows shift with the river’s current, portraying the river’s strength.

The layer of wind, shows that here – where three winds meet – wind connects Birrarung to its surroundings, carrying threatened river red gum flowers to propagate nearby, food for animals to feed and leaf litter that eventually becomes rich topsoil along the river’s edges.

The mythology of the Birrarung, includes stories of underwater creatures, River Red Gum mothers dancing on its edges and the mother trees who have witnessed the river and its changes over time.

This layer depicts the collection of human artefacts mapped by the designers during many site visits; tin cans, glass bottles, old CD’s, dog refuse, fishing line, hazard tape and toy unicorns. This waste represents a lack of knowledge about the Birrarung and how we are connected to it.

The Birrarung is a living entity whose water coarse changes and shifts over time. The river needs six times its current width to exist as a healthy network. Here, all fences surrounding the Birrarung are removed and property is given back to the river, rather than the river being handed over as property.

Birrarung should be the first of many waterways to be understood as a living entity. In the future, regardless of size, waterways will be understood to be as important as human occupation. Far more enticing than being treated as a great Australian drain.

Birrarung interfaces with many water bodies. How can we name its associated Country to position it as a central and vital living system?