HAZELMERE’S Helena River is set for a major environmental revival after the Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association (BNAA) secured a $96,940 Community Rivercare grant to restore part of the lower Helena River catchment.

Awarded through the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), the funding will support restoration works along the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) through Hazelmere as part of BNAA’s BoorYul-Bah-Bilya (BBB) program.

The project will focus on weed removal, foreshore revegetation, erosion control and water quality improvements along a section of river which the BNAA said had long been overlooked despite its environmental and cultural significance.

BNAA executive director Francesca Flynn said the funding would help strengthen a broader community-led vision for restoring the lower river corridor ahead of the 2029 Perth Bicentenary.

“BBB is developing a new model for community-led river catchment management to mark the 2029 Perth Bicentenary,” Ms Flynn said.

“Our BBB Rangers are working with schools and community groups to restore the lower river as part of our vision to establish the Mandoon Bilya Riverpark as a key Bicentenary initiative.”

Supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the BBB Rangers team will work alongside volunteers and other Swan organisations during the restoration effort.

The Mandoon Bilya Riverpark proposal aims to reconnect stretches of the lower Helena River through Guildford, Woodbridge, Hazelmere, Bellevue and Helena Valley, linking the Swan River to the Darling Scarp and Perth Hills through restored river corridors and tree-lined walk and cycle trails.

Ms Flynn said the program improves river health and also reconnected people with waterways that had become increasingly disconnected from suburban life.

“While this stretch of river is highly degraded, it remains a significant freshwater ecosystem with big potential for restoration and community connection,” she said.

BNAA chairperson and Noongar Elder Walter McGuire said caring for the river was part of Aboriginal peoples’ cultural responsibility.

“The Noongar people, my people, have lived on this land for millennia,” he said.

“It is our role and responsibility to care for this environment, including the Mandoon Bilya, as the First People of this Land.”

Mr McGuire said the BBB Program was helping restore both the landscape and people’s connection to it.

“BBB is reconnecting the magical essence that this land has for all peoples,” he said.

“This environment is our family, we are part of it and it is part of us…the land, rivers, springs, hills, night sky, daytime sky, sun, moon, stars, rain, lightning, thunder, freshwater, oxygen, clouds, wind, all flora and fauna.”

BNAA recently welcomed the withdrawal of a proposed Hazelmere data centre development near the river, after raising concerns about its potential impact on long-term restoration outcomes and the surrounding landscape.

Ms Flynn said the association was now eager to refocus its efforts on environmental rehabilitation and community collaboration along the river corridor.