Josh Smith and his Co-Exist Hobart group are making waves in climate action, with a focus on restoring the platypus habitat along New Town Rivulet.
Thanks to a $7,500 grant from the City of Hobart’s Youth Climate Action Fund, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Co-Exist is engaging young people in a hands-on environmental project to revitalize the rivulet.
This initiative ties into the broader goals of the City of Hobart’s Climate Ready Hobart Strategy, which sets out ambitious objectives to combat climate change.
The strategy, endorsed by Hobart City Council, outlines a vision for zero emissions by 2040, with a 70% reduction in community emissions by 2030. It also prioritizes building resilience to climate-related disasters like bushfires, floods, and heatwaves.
The New Town Rivulet Platypus Project is part of a larger effort to empower youth to take climate action, with the project aiming to not only restore the habitat but also educate students about their local environment.
The group’s work includes organising rubbish clean-ups, identifying invasive pests, planting native species, and conducting baseline surveys to monitor changes over time.
Five local schools are involved in the initiative, partnering with Nipaluna Nursery to ensure the native flora is re-established along the waterway.
“We kind of work around the ethos that you don’t protect what you don’t know,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s about introducing kids to their backyard and the wonderful opportunities we have.”
He said the project’s focus goes beyond immediate restoration, involving long-term efforts to protect the area.
“We’re going to be following through the whole project from start to finish.
“We’ll be doing some weed removals, rubbish clean-ups, and surveys on the flora and fauna, including water bugs, and continuing to monitor the rivulet’s health.”
The New Town Rivulet faces significant challenges, especially in more urbanised areas where stormwater runoff and pollution have degraded water quality and biodiversity.
Mr Smith said the lower sections of the rivulet closer to the Derwent were more built-up, with issues like higher housing density, warmer water, and reduced tree cover contributing to the environmental decline.
“There’s a number of pollutants in the water coming from that runoff, which has led to less biodiversity and more rubbish,” Mr Smith said.
Smith believes the project can inspire future generations to take an active role in environmental stewardship.
“Starting young is just as important as learning English or maths — it’s something we interact with every day, and knowing the challenges it faces is vital for our role in its renewal.”