First Friends of Dandenong Creek: 2021 Winner – Healthy environment
First Friends of Dandenong Creek is the Community Champion award winner in the Premier's Sustainability Awards 2021 – Healthy environment category. Short film – The Eels of Dandenong Creek
First Friends of Dandenong Creek's short film, ‘The Eels of Dandenong Creek’, aimed to create awareness of how pollution has eliminated a large portion of the short-finned eel.
By highlighting insights about the eel, and its importance to Australia's indigenous nations, the film sought to raise the profile of this species and educate the wider community around the consequences of pollution.
First Friends was supported by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation and Living Links, engaging several experts who were able to advise on key messages associated with the story of the eels and their life cycle.
With education at the forefront of their thinking, First Friends was able to bring together a story that discusses how the actions of urban society have impacted the eels – a species many were unaware of. Since production, the film has been viewed over 29,000 times and is used as an educational tool for local schools.
The film is but a starting point for discussions around the inappropriate use of insecticides around homes and how they will find their way into our waterways.
