Long-time champion of the Werribee River, John Forrester is retiring from the Werribee River Association (WRA) in October after more than 30 years of service.
Spending his early years in the country near Warrnambool, he led an active lifestyle in the outdoors where his love of the environment grew naturally.
John’s journey in Werribee began in 1981, when he moved to the area with his wife for employment opportunities.
Joining the WRA in 1993, he has undertaken many duties across advocacy, education, research and volunteerism.
Since its inception, the WRA’s lifeblood has been the dedication of its volunteers. However, there came a time where they decided it was time to enlist professional support.
“It became obvious that we just can’t do this on our own- there’s not enough of us,” he said.
“That’s all you can do if you’re a volunteer organisation. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of time and a lot of support from partnerships.”
This saw the WRA affiliate with the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, an international network of environmental organisations that work to protect bodies of water across the globe, in 2015.
The new direction saw John become the first ever Werribee Riverkeeper, a position in which he was allocated funding in a professional capacity.
The WRA not only brought him closer to the river, but the community.
“Probably the highlight was the people and the linking together and giving me a sense of belonging to the community,” he said.
Jaidyn Kennedy
