By Delia Paul
PhD
Stitchers from all over the Maribyrnong River catchment have made embroidered patches featuring micro-invertebrates — tiny freshwater creatures — to form a triptych of quilts highlighting the need for better care of our rivers.
The project draws attention to aquatic health threats from pollution, climate change, over-allocation of freshwater, and emerging impacts from hyperscale data centres.
The quilt project is the brainchild of artist-educator Angela Clarke, co-executive officer at the Maribyrnong River and Waterways Association (MRWA). “Back in 2024, we had a stall at the Lancefield Agricultural Show, where we displayed sculptures of micro-invertebrates made by Jos van den Berg. People were fascinated,” she recalls.
“At the same time, we were fascinated by the beautiful quilt work depicting nature in the art show. We put these two fascinations together and the idea of a community quilt was born.”
MRWA is a community-based organisation advocating for the health of rivers and creeks in the Maribyrnong River catchment. The quilt project, says Clarke, has been a way for people all over the catchment to express care for our waterways.
“We knew from experience that arts-based political projects can be very powerful,” says Clarke. “So, we took this project across the catchment and the idea took hold.”
Working with embroiderers and guided by Seabreeze Quilters, Clarke has developed embroidery kits and patterns for eight different micro-invertebrates. The biologically accurate representations were inspired by the work of scientist Dr Robert Walsh, whose website, Australian Waterlife, depicts many micro-invertebrate species.
The quilt’s centrepiece is an embroidered map of the catchment, crafted by expert quilter Maxine West.
The decision to feature micro-invertebrates, usually only visible through a microscope, may seem quirky, but is grounded in science. Micro-invertebrates live in rivers, lakes and wetlands. They are a food source for fish and other aquatic animals, and perform important ecosystem functions, for example, by eating decomposing plant matter.
Environmental conditions such as salinity, turbidity, and pesticide contamination can diminish their populations. As a basic link in the food web, micro-invertebrates are a vital sign of river health.
Clarke initiated the project through a Maribyrnong U3A workshop series and then took the project on the road throughout the catchment. More than 200 people have taken part in community stitching events.
Embroidered patches were contributed from Maribyrnong, Altona, Niddrie, Essendon, Sunbury, Gisborne, Bolinda, Romsey, Lancefield and further afield. Groups from the Native Fish Association, Greater Western Water, RMIT University, and local councils too have participated.
At community stitching events, participants were invited to reflect on a simple but profound question: “What would it mean to bring ourselves back into good relations with water?”
“Guided by First Nations leaders, we saw conversations unfold about water, belonging and care,” says Clarke. “This is happening at a time when the Maribyrnong River is under increasing pressure. The river is one of Victoria’s most flow-stressed waterways.”
In the lead-up to the Victorian State election in November, MRWA is calling on the State Government and its Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to deliver on long-standing promises to safeguard the Maribyrnong.
Since 2006, DEECA’s Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy has promised the Maribyrnong an environmental entitlement allocating 7 gigalitres of water annually, but this target has never been met, Clarke explains.
MRWA is asking the new government to deliver on promises, return water to the creeks and streams, and make sure that data centres currently being built use only recycled water.
“This quilt alone cannot restore a river,” says Clarke. “But perhaps it can restore something equally important: our capacity to notice, to care, and to act together.”
Made from 138 individual submissions, the Unseen Creatures quilt triptych can be viewed from September 9-12 at the Victorian Quilters Showcase taking place at the Craft & Quilt Fair Melbourne Exhibition Centre, South Wharf, Melbourne. After that, the quilt will be exhibited in libraries, community spaces and local festivals across the catchment.
