What do cultural heritage and floodplain management have in common?

This is just one of the questions the Floodplain Statutory Functions team explored during their visit with Traditional Elder Uncle Bryon from the Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation and his niece Stephanie.

Across the day, the team gained a greater insight from Uncle Bryon about how floodplains have been used historically in the area and continue to be utilised and valued by Aboriginal peoples today.

Through his continued work, Uncle Bryon provides valuable input into new developments while maintaining the integrity of the environment and cultural heritage, in particular within floodplains.

Uncle Bryon has a unique approach; he believes that the way forward is to highlight and showcase the added value that comes with the protection of the environment and cultural heritage including environmental, cultural, social and economic benefits.

One such example of this approach is the maintenance of floodplains in new estates. Not only is this a win for the environment and cultural heritage but it also has social and economic outcomes as it means more green open spaces for current residents and adds value and appeal to potential future residents.

The Floodplain team shared their knowledge of the importance of floodplains from a floodplain management perspective, including how development is planned around the 1% AEP flood event (the one in one hundred year flood event).

" The day identified a number of common floodplain values held in high regard by both the Traditional Owners and the CMA's Floodplain Statutory Functions team." - Geoff Taylor, Floodplain Statutory Manager

The day was a great example of cross cultural knowledge exchange and both parties identified the benefits of working more collaboratively to ensure the best outcomes for floodplain protection, both environmentally and culturally.