Wetlands purify water by removing harmful nutrients. They also are places of great biodiversity for flora and fauna. 

Orange, as we know is a place where constructed wetlands perform both of the above functions. Below is a description of two constructed wetlands I have recently visited.

The Wonga Wetlands were originally an ecosystem of lagoons and billabongs situated near Albury on the Murray River, which fed them through extensive spring flooding. 

With the construction of the Hume Dam, this flooding regime was interrupted, causing the floodplains and billabongs to dry out, causing degraded vegetation and destroyed breeding habitats. 

In 2000 it was decided to attempt to restore the wetland's  natural water flows and to rehabilitate its previously flourishing ecosystems. 

The restoration was achieved through the implementation of Albury’s award-winning Waterview waste water treatment facility. 

During the drier months, when natural wetlands dry out, the wastewater is used to irrigate plantation timber. 

During the wetter months when inundation naturally occurs, the wastewater is redirected to the wetlands. This process allows recreation of the natural hydrological cycle required to keep the wetlands functioning in a healthy, natural way.

The Wonga Wetlands are a must see for anyone visiting Albury.  They are a great example of tourism as a by product of environmental rehabilitation, through which is created an opportunity to extend environmental awareness to a wider audience.

Just out of the East Gippsland town of Bairnsdale lies Macleod Morass. 

This is a deep freshwater marsh, forming an extensive wetland on the local Mitchell River floodplain. 

The wetland is a lowland area saturated with moisture and regarded  as a natural habitat and breeding ground for birds (including migratory birds), mammals, snakes, frogs, macroinvertebrates and aquatic vegetation. 

Intervention was necessary because of the degraded condition of the wetlands due to pollutants, adjacent saleyards wash down waste, adjacent municipal tip and storm water, loss of the wet-dry cycle, increasing salinity and introduced pests such as the European carp.

Because of these concerns it was decided in 2001/2002 to help nature deal with these environmental problems by  enhancing the wetland through the construction of cells which could recreate  the  wet-dry process and  encourage cleansing function while at the same time actively restricting the pollution flowing into  the morass. 

The result was that the natural function of the wetlands is now restored , recreating a thriving ecosystem which provides habitat for hundreds of species of birds, frogs, fish, insects, reptiles and mammals. 

McLeod Morass is now recognised internationally as a Ramsar registered wetland. It is home to 150 species of birds, which can be observed from the two bird hides and the board walk which traverses the morass. 

Wonga Wetlands and McLeod Morass are  a tribute to local communities, who have seen fit to enhance and restore their wetland environments to create havens for wildlife, pleasure for tourists and awareness of the value of wetland habitat.