Welcome to Rapid Creek Landcare Group

Larrakia country

The Rapid Creek Landcare Group acknowledges the Larrakia people as traditional owners and custodians of Gurambai. Gurambai is the Larrakia name for Rapid Creek and means elbow, referring to the shape of the creek at the saltwater end, towards the mouth of the creek. Larrakia people know that long time Darwin residents also call this creek 'Freshwater', the Larrakia name for all freshwater is Karoewa.

Rapid Creek

Rapid Creek forms the only significant freshwater system in Darwin. It supports rich and varied wildlife in paperbark swamps, woodlands, pandanus communities, riverine monsoon forest and mangroves. This special place is under constant threat from: weeds, in particular Gamba grass; destructive, arson lit, late dry season wildfires; water pollution; inappropriate development; and vegetation clearing.

The Landcare Group

Getting hot, sweaty and muddy in the Top End’s build up is all part of the job for the Rapid Creek Landcare Group. With our families, friends and the wider Darwin community we plant local natives in the lead up to the wet season to create wildlife habitat in the Rapid Creek catchment. Our crowning glory is at The Spit, on Parks and Wildlife land near Rapid Creek’s mouth, where we have turned a wasteland infested with weeds, covered with litter and dumped items, and used for illegal vehicle hooning, into a paradise of flowering and fruiting native plants providing homes for masses of birds and other wildlife.

Formed in the 1990’s the Group has carried out projects throughout the catchment. The revegetation work has also happened in the monsoon forest lining Rapid Creek on City of Darwin land, at Yankee Pools where various land tenures collide, and along the Darwin International Airport’s Gurambai Trail. Tree planting events and big rubbish clean ups engage large numbers, and our core members work tirelessly throughout the year to maintain sites with weed management being the main focus.

The Group is the trusted voice of the community; we advocate for good management of Rapid Creek by working with stakeholders, and raising awareness more widely, to implement the Rapid Creek Management Plan. When necessary, we mount campaigns against actions threatening the Creek, this is when hundreds of supporters come out of the woodwork. Achievements include: creating 100-150 metre wide conservation zoned buffers along the Creek; restricting vehicle access to the Creek’s edge; stopping a sewer main being trenched through the heart of the monsoon forest where the rare Rufous Owl lives; and halting a proposal to remove mature trees along the Creek in the name of flood mitigation.