great swamp regenerative park

The Great Swamp that once was, yet now unrecognizable due to its linear canals, asparagus farms and paddocks, has only fragments of its remnant melaleuca swamp remaining, rendered unrecognizable in just 200 years of urbanisation. Rising sea levels and continued urban and agricultural development over the next 200 years will further diminish the remnants of the swamp, making this region once again unrecognizable to the people of today. 

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REALMstudios worked with the Monash Urban Lab commissioned by Healesville to Phillip Island Nature Link Inc (HPNL) as part of a larger project on bio-link corridors. This study presents a provocation: a vision for a new park – The Great Swamp Regenerative Park – for one of Victoria’s largest floodplains as a first step in generating debate for a consistent, long-term plan that aims to repair and protect this fragile environment that will be under significant pressure over the next 200 years, as it gradually transforms due to changing climatic conditions. 

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The study is framed across three time frames and proposes a staged approach that includes a central role for the custodians of this Country through a joint management process between Traditional Owners, government agencies and community bodies.