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Walker Swamp: The mission to restore an Australian wetland
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In the shadow of Australia s Grampians National Park lies Walker Swamp, a once-thriving wetland that was artificially drained and farmed for over a century.
But it is now welcoming new life once more, after a huge restoration project.
Its revival is one message of hope amid so much grim environmental news, ecologists tell the BBC.
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Ecologists buy 1,000-acre blue gum plantation and transform it into wetland it once was
SunSunday 7
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SunSunday 7
The abrupt form of Victoria s Mount Abrupt looms behind the new swamps.
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It was 2016, Mark Bachmann was stumped.
He and his team of scientists were three years into transforming a huge tract of agricultural land into the wetland it once was, but had no idea how their small, regional, not-for-profit could negotiate the final step: to buy 1,000 acres of commercial blue gum plantation.
That was when he spotted the platypus. I drove out after a big flood to see how our two trial swamps were looking, I d just taken a few steps off the road and saw a black thing moving up along the bank of a deep drain, Mr Bachmann said.