The City has dredged silt and clearing litter and alien vegetation from the Silverglade wetlands.
Andre Blom, chairman of the Friends of Silverglade Greenbelts, said alien vegetation had overwhelmed the wetland in the past two decades, making it hard for fish and water birds to flourish.
Meanwhile squatters had frequented the area, and a fight between two of them about three months ago had resulted in a bush fire, he said.
The wetlands had been cleaned in only five days at the end of July, Mr Blom said.
“It is such a pleasure to walk along the wetlands and to see life in the water returning while listening to the birds,” he said.
Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for water and waste, said the cleaning had entailed the removal of alien vegetation, litter, bulrushes, and silt.