Geoff Mitchelmore is a mild-mannered former industrial chemist, not given to profanity, but even he admits that 16 years ago, the Kororoit Creek at Altona North was "a shithole".
It was an industrial wasteland of shopping trolleys, car wrecks, builders' rubble and weeds, a playground for motorcycle riders, drug dealers and snakes.
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How do you turn a '****hole' into paradise?
Kororoit Creek in Altona North was once described as an industrial wasteland, now the area is home to 145 species of birds.
"I wouldn't let my kids come down. It was dangerous," he said.
The waterway had been a drain since colonial times, used to to dump abattoir blood, oil and other chemical nasties.
A new book tells how in 2001, Mr Mitchelmore and a few dozen other volunteers formed Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek (FOLKC) pledging to create "an inviting corridor of green".
They seem to have succeeded.
Sights from the 'before' photos, such as the moonscape in front of the Toyota plant on the creek's western bank, have been replaced by lush, wooded vistas.
Benches in quiet glades overlook gum trees, wattles and native reeds lining the creek.
Then ...
Now ...
Photo: Daniel Pockett
Turning things around was hard graft. Rubbish had to be bulldozed and trucked out. Weeds were poisoned by the thousands.
There were floods. Feral goat and rabbit invasions. In 2004 one discourteous visitor flattened 300 saplings with a four-wheel drive.
But the folk from FOLKC are a hardy mob. They've planted about 60,000 trees along an eight-kilometre stretch, made 20 kilometres of paths and installed benches and picnic tables.
The number of bird species along the creek has soared from 60 to 145.
They helped persuade nearby companies such as Toyota, Mobil and Toll to donate money, equipment, and even land, worth millions of dollars.
On Sunday, National Tree Day, volunteers will plant 2300 more plants near Blackshaws Road, and the book, called Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek, will be launched.
A bend of the creek in the new lush park.
The first 2.5 kilometres of a new Lower Kororoit Creek cycling trail will be opened, too.
Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson said the trail is one stage of an eventual path that will connect to Caroline Springs to the north, Port Phillip Bay at Altona, and "the broader cycling network of greater Melbourne".
Mr Mitchelmore, 76, who is at the creek almost every day, says the park is under-used but the trail will help attract people to it.
Remembering what the creek looked like 16 years ago "sends a shiver up my spine".
"It's just so different," he said. "We never could have imagined we could have made such a difference in such a short time."
He says it's his legacy for his six grandchildren, aged two to 17.
"It's for them to have pleasure with in the future," he said.
"It wasn't a place where you'd take anybody, but now it's somewhere to celebrate and enjoy the environment."