Mizaan Cooks River Regeneration

Students from the al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences and Human Development, with some of their friends and family members, are restoring an area of native vegetation along the Cooks River foreshore in Sydney’s inner west. This is a good example of a “Bushcare” volunteer project that evolved from the activities and interests of an already established community group.

“I’m in an office from Monday to Friday, so it’s good to get outdoors, plant some trees and give something back to the environment”.
Bilal, Mizaan project volunteer

How the project evolved

The al-Ghazzali Centre’s philosophy is to nurture people with positive knowledge and then facilitate projects where the students can put their knowledge to good use. The Cooks River volunteer project was born out of the Centre’s own “Mizaan” Ecology Program which aims to foster awareness about the value of caring for the environment and being involved in practical activities. (“Mizaan” is an Arabic word meaning “balance”).

This Bushcare project started in 2007 when some of the group members, who already had an idea of what they wanted to do, approached the City of Canterbury. They were looking for a site that would involve restoring a natural area as part of a long term project and that they could do together as a group. A few of the group members, including the Imam, a leader of the community, had been involved with natural area restoration projects in other parts of Sydney (and overseas).

Council staff were thrilled with the idea of working together and provided immediate support to start the project by selecting a site along the Cooks River, preparing it for planting, sending mounds of mulch, plants, jute mat and a supervisor to train the volunteers at the monthly work days. The group worked closely with the council staff from the start to develop a restoration plan for the site.  They also linked up with another local volunteer group, the Mudcrabs, to share knowledge, plan and occasionally work together at their adjoining work sites. The project site is now being transformed from a weed infested and soil eroded cliff face (hardly looking like a river bank!) into a beautiful and thriving habitat for native plants and animals. The site is also much more visually attractive for the local residents who walk and cycle past.

As a separate training activity, some of the volunteers took part in sessions on native bird listening and dawn meditation with staff from Birds Australia and Sydney Olympic Park Authority. Once again, the volunteers found a way to blend an educational activity with their existing commitments and interests. Whilst listening and learning about different native bird calls, the volunteers had their morning prayer time.

Sharing their story

The al-Ghazzali centre volunteers also want to be a source of inspiration within the community by encouraging others to also get involved in environmental projects. Some of the group members have a specific interest in taking short films and photos. After each work day, a short film and project update is posted on the YouTube website (search “Cooks River Environmental and Cultural Partnership”). The group has taken on responsibility for documenting their own project and sharing its progress with others in their community. Many people and organisations have a digital video camera. Filming activities along the way is one easy and effective way of evaluating the progress of a project and sharing the experiences of the people involved.

The Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority (SMCMA) provided a $6000 grant to the volunteer group to buy extra tools, materials, a sign for their site as well as assist with training.. In 2008, staff from the SMCMA were so inspired by the drive and community spirit of this group that they invited the volunteers to be involved in producing a short DVD about their project as a way of promoting the benefits of environmental volunteering. The SMCMA engaged a Sydney based company to produce the DVD and worked closely with the volunteers beforehand to develop the key messages of the film. The filming took place with the volunteers in half a day.

The key message of the DVD Walking Together, Working With Nature is that environmental volunteering can be a lot of fun, whilst also making a valuable contribution to the local environment and community. The 9 minute DVD is a resource for local councils and other organisations to use. The Imam has also showed the DVD to peers in New Zealand! The appeal of the DVD is the peer sharing and education, as the volunteers are telling their story from the heart and encouraging other people to also get involved in their own local area.

“A lot of people wonder.. what can we do? I would say don’t worry if you are only fixing one patch or only planting one tree, it all makes a difference.”
                                     Farah Jan, Mizaan project volunteer

Why this project works well

The volunteers incorporated this environmental project into their existing activities and commitments. It is a project that has enabled them to participate together. Most of the volunteers are friends and family, so getting together once a month at the site is as much a social activity as it is about doing the hands on work. The volunteers have fun when they are working together and will always stop for a morning tea break and chat. 

Being involved in this project links closely with the muslim faith and values of contributing to one’s community. Did they see themselves as “community volunteers” at the start of the project? Probably not. The work that they do is what council and organisations usually regard as volunteering for the benefit of the local community and environment. Volunteering is as much about fulfilling one’s own individual motivations and for these community volunteers, participation in the Cooks River Cultural and Environmental Partnership project ticks both boxes. It is about doing something to restore a “balance” in nature, as well as one’s own physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing.