Category: Surf Coast Shire

Environmental protection from the next generation of coastal innovators

Environmental protection from the next generation of coastal innovators

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On Wednesday 5 September, around 160 students from five local schools gathered in Torquay to learn, work-shop ideas and celebrate coastal conservation at the annual Coast Guardians Forum hosted by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee.

The year 9 students from Northern Bay College, Surf Coast Secondary College, Geelong Lutheran College, Lorne Aireys Inlet P-12 College, and Sacred Heart College had a day of guest presenters, exciting activities and prizes as part of the Great Ocean Road Coast’s award-winning Environmental Education Program. Read more →

Make your selfie a safe one

Make your selfie a safe one

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Living in the world of smartphones and selfies, there is a constant desire to take the perfect pic for every moment.

At Great Ocean Road Coast, we’re trying to make your memory of the Great Ocean Road a safer one, which is why we are seeking your feedback on what to do at the Memorial Arch site in Eastern View.  Read more →

Take care around Surf Coast cliffs

Take care around Surf Coast cliffs

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Pedestrians and beach users are encouraged to take care near cliffs along the Surf Coast following heavy rain in winter and spring.

Great Ocean Road Coast Committee, Parks Victoria and Surf Coast Shire Council said the start of summer was a good opportunity to remind community members and visitors about cliff instability.

Read more →

Push for community to aid pest effort

Push for community to aid pest effort

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Foxes are highly adaptable, resilient and cunning pests that prey on both native wildlife and livestock and are considered a threat to 14 species of birds, 48 mammals, 12 reptiles and two species of amphibians.

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A fox caught was spotted using infrared cameras in September last year. Foxes have been known to take shelter in coastal vegetation and around homes.

These predators have been declared ‘established invasive animals’ by the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, and a single fox can consume thousands of native animals every year.

You can help to deter the predatory pests and support Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) and Surf Coast Shire Council fox control efforts by removing potential food and shelter sources from your property.

Surf Coast Shire Council Mayor, Cr Rose Hodge, said foxes were opportunistic, meaning people could easily unwittingly feed or shelter the pests.

“Within our coastal environments and around our homes, there is an abundance of food available for foxes,” Cr Hodge said.

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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has played a significant role in the decline of ground-nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles. Photo: Vanessa Pike

“We can all help reduce these food sources by minimising the amount of food left outside, particularly overnight, by covering compost, ensuring rubbish bins are fully closed and cleaning up fallen fruit regularly.”

GORCC Environmental Projects Coordinator Alex MacDonald said homeowners should remove structures around their property where foxes may seek refuge or shelter including woody weeds such as boxthorn and blackberries, rubbish piles and old machinery.

“Fencing off rock piles, building materials, hay bales, woodpiles, and underneath houses will also help reduce hiding places foxes can live in,” she said.

GORCC and Council are working together to reduce fox numbers on the coast, with GORCC leading intensive on-ground eradication efforts and monitoring programs in coastal areas with Council funding support.

Council also runs separate fox eradication initiatives on land it manages as part of its annual pest plant and animal programs.

“Fox control requires an ongoing effort and our best chance of reducing numbers on the Surf Coast is for communities and land managers to work together,” said Ms. MacDonald.

Foxes are a particular threat to local, beach nesting Hooded Plovers, with the predators thought to have been behind the disappearance of multiple chicks, eggs and adult birds over the past two years.

“Point Impossible, Point Roadknight and Moggs Creek are being particularly targeted as these sites are known Hooded Plover breeding zones,” said Ms. MacDonald

For more information on pests on the coast and how you can help visit www.gorcc.com.au or www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au.

How do you help deter foxes and pest animals around your home? Let us know in the comments below. 

 

 

Take 3 to keep our coast healthy

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Illegal littering constantly threatens the Surf Coast and you can do your bit and participate in a clean beach initiative to ensure a healthy coast for all.

The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) is partnering with Surf Coast Shire to organise a beach clean-up as part of the Take 3 initiative on the 29 November in Lorne.

Surfcoast Shire's Cr David Bell together with GORCC's Georgie Beale encouraging beachgoers to take 3 pieces of rubbish when they leave the coast this summer.
Surfcoast Shire’s Cr David Bell together with GORCC’s Georgie Beale encouraging beachgoers to take 3 pieces of rubbish when they leave the coast this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The message behind ‘Take 3′ is simple – a visit to the beach should involve swimming, lying on the sand and rubbish collection – and asks people to pick up three pieces of rubbish every time they leave the beach.

Surf Coast beaches are among some of the most beautiful in Australia and GORCC encourages the community to get behind this initiative, ensuring our coast remains healthy for all to enjoy.

GORCC Coastal Reserves Manager Rod Goring said rubbish dumped illegally on our beaches and coastal reserves causes harm to the environment and also threatens coastal flora and fauna.

“One problem is that a large amount of household waste is often disposed of in public bins provided for beachgoers.”

“Not only is this illegal, but it causes overflow and litter on our beaches that is not only visually horrible but threatens coastal flora and fauna and the marine environment,” Mr Goring said.

GORCC Conservation Supervisor Georgie Beale said litter, including fishing line, poses danger to beach nesting birds and other coastal and marine wildlife, and urges beachgoers to do their bit and keep our coast clean.

“Marine debris, particularly plastic, has a disastrous impact in our oceans and on marine life with some of the dead seals and birds washing up on the coast have swallowed or been strangled by plastic bags, fishing line, bits of nets and other rubbish.”

“With breeding season underway for our precious Hooded Plovers, it’s especially important we don’t leave rubbish lying around as Hoodie’s can become easily entangled in fishing line on the beach, and we’ve seen this happen in the past.”

“Visitors to the Surf Coast are encouraged to embrace the Take 3 initiative by picking up three pieces of rubbish as we leave the beach,” she said.

Beachgoers are urged to use the bins provided on the grassed foreshore areas and adjacent to sand areas to dispose of rubbish.

“By doing your bit and disposing of rubbish, you will be contributing to a healthy coast for everyone to enjoy,” Ms Beale said.

For information on the beach clean-up contact Georgie Beale on 0417 523 463

For information on the Take 3 initiative visit www.take3.org.au.

This article appeared in the Surf Coast Times Green the Coast column

Related blogs:

107Rubbish dumping still a threat to our coast
1362014657_KABwhitebackground Deal with waste responsibly

Rip Curl team up to transform coast

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Rip Curl employees have teamed with local community groups for the annual Rip Curl Planet Days, held since 2000.

GORCC Conservation Superviser Georgina Beale with volunteers at Rip Curl Planet Day last year.

The concept celebrates Rip Curl’s commitment to the environment by providing the necessary attention and resources for significant coastal management strategies on the Surf Coast.

Over two days the company commits the time of all staff from the Rip Curl International head office in Torquay.

Rip Curl CEO and Planet Day participant Stephan Kay shows his support of the company’s involvement.

“It really gives me a sense of achievement and pride to see the transformation of the coastal foreshore that’s occurred as a result of the efforts of our staff helping the volunteer community groups.

“I love seeing plants and regenerated sections of the coast that Rip Curl employees have worked on when I’m going for a surf or walking the cliffs,” Mr Kay said.

Under the guidance of local representatives from environmentally responsible groups, Rip Curl employees generally tackle any task that ensures the ongoing sustainability of strategic locations along the Surf Coast which could include:

  • Planting trees
  • Eradicating foreign species threatening local plants and
  • Implementing water saving strategies.

The teams are guided by local representatives to work collectively on projects threatening the local coastal area including:

  • The Surf Coast Shire
  • The Great Ocean Road Coastal Committee (GORCC)
  • Parks Victoria
  • Surfers Appreciating the Natural Environment (SANE)
  • Torquay and Jan Juc Coast Action groups and
  • The state government Department of Sustainability & Environment.

Since Rip Curl initiated this annual community project in the year 2000, over 80,000 plants indigenous to the Surf Coast have been put in across the region between Point Impossible and Bells Beach/Southside.

Thanks to ongoing, year-round maintenance by the local groups, areas previously worked on have flourished, with a better than 80 per cent long-term plant survival rate.

Rip Curl Planet Day will be held on 25 & 26 October. For more information or to get involved contact Mark Flanagan on 03 5261 0176 or 0408 619 929, email mflanagan@ripcurl.com.au

Learn more about coastal environmental volunteering in our region.

Who does what where?

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The forum provided an opportunity for coastal volunteers to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the various land managers and government agencies involved in caring for the coast.

COAST ACTION/COASTCARE

Coast Action/Coastcare supports community volunteer groups involved in caring for Victoria’s coast.

This role encompasses:

  • coordinating volunteers for coastal projects
  • funding projects through the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants program
  • providing boundaries for volunteers
  • facilitating volunteer achievements, and
  • communicating and sharing ideas to provide connections between the different volunteer groups, projects and stakeholders.

The agency fulfils an important public education role on several levels:

  • linking coastal management policy to communities
  • helping to find a role for the public in coastal management
  • communicating current coastal-related issues, and
  • educating the broader community (e.g. children, schools, visitors, businesses) about caring for the coast.

Coast Action/Coastcare also contributes to community capacity building by providing various education and training programs for volunteers and the general public. These include occupational health and safety, leadership, first aid, community forums, field days, workshops and the annual Summer by the Sea summer holiday program.

Provided by Matt Fox, State Coordinator, Coast Action/Coastcare

GREAT OCEAN ROAD COAST COMMITTEE

The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee manages 37 kilometres of Crown land foreshore reserves along the Great Ocean Road between Point Impossible (east of Torquay) and Cumberland River (west of Lorne).

Its responsibilities as a land manager are focused on looking after these reserves by:

  • protecting the sensitive coastal environment through weed eradication programs and other activities
  • building and maintaining an A to Z of coastal facilities, assets and infrastructure – from artwork to zebra (pedestrian) crossings
  • controlling commercial and other activities on the reserves through the issuing of leases, licences and permits, and
  • contributing to the area’s overall amenity in various ways, such as removing rubbish from beaches and foreshore areas.

The committee also operates caravan parks in Torquay and Lorne, and manages the leases for two other privately operated parks at Anglesea and Cumberland River.

The income generated by the parks funds the committee’s coastal management work with additional income, mainly from State and Federal Government grants, supporting the delivery of various capital works and improvement projects.

Much of the committee’s work is undertaken in partnership with other coastal land managers, State Government and local community volunteer groups who contribute much valuable time and effort to caring for the coast.

Provided by Richard Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Great Ocean Road Coast Committee

PARKS VICTORIA

Parks Victoria is responsible for managing a wide variety of parks in Victoria as well as the recreational management of Port Phillip Bay, Western Port and the Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers

Specifically, the estate includes:

  • 45 national parks
  • 13 marine national parks
  • 11 marine sanctuaries
  • 3 wilderness parks
  • 25 state parks
  • 30 metropolitan parks
  • 60 other parks (including regional and reservoir parks)
  • more than 2,000 natural features reserves and conservation reserves
  • 10,412 formally registered Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, and
  • more than 2,500 non-Indigenous historic places.

These assets total more than four million hectares (about 17 per cent of Victoria) – total area of parks and reserves.

As land manager, Parks Victoria’s responsibilities include:

  • preservation of natural eco-systems
  • Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural heritage protection
  • access and visitor facilities
  • fire management, and
  • education and interpretation.

Funded by the State Government, the organisation comprises locally-based rangers, as well as planners, environmentalists, scientists and managers working at both state and local levels,

Provided by Frank Gleeson, Ranger in Charge – East Otways, Parks Victoria