Tag: Department of Sustainability and Environment

Whale watching season underway

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A whale breaching at Logans beach in 2010. The photo has been provided by M.Watson, DSE, 2010

The 2011 season for Southern Right whales has commenced and the majestic creatures can now be spotted gliding along the southern coastline.

Southern Right whales migrate from sub-antarctic waters, where they feed during the summer months, to the southern coastline of Australia to breed during winter.

Senior Natural Resource Management Officer Mandy Watson from the Department Sustainability and Environment (DSE) monitors the whales.

“They come here to give birth and raise their calves, presumably because it’s warmer and there is more shelter for them.” said Ms Watson.

“They also come into the shallower waters to protect their calves from predators such as Killer whales and sharks.”

There have been two reported sightings so far this season, the first on May 10 at Logans Beach in Warrnambool and the second in Ocean Grove on May 16.

Simon Branigan Victorian National Parks Association Marine and Coastal Project Officer, said there would be many opportunities to view the whales from the Surf Coast as well.

“Driving along the Great Ocean Road is a perfect way to see whales in their natural habitat, a very special experience.

Split Point Lookout in Aireys Inlet, built by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee in 2009, features a special cliff-edge design, allowing for an unhindered view of the passing whales.

The platform is just one example of a number of spectacular viewing locations in the region.

“There are a number of lookouts and viewing platforms for drivers to safely pull over and observe the whales,” said Mr. Branigan.

Whale watchers can identify Southern Right Whales by their distinguishing features.

Unlike other whale species they don’t have a dorsal fin; they have short square pectoral fins and a distinctive v-shaped blow rather than a single plume.

They are large fat whales with a rounded heads, strongly arched mouth lines and can grow up to 18 metres long.

The whales are black in colour with some irregular white patches on their underside and white growths called callosities on their heads, which people often mistake for barnacles.

Sightings of Southern Right whales can be reported to mandy.watson@dse.vic.gov.au or by calling (03) 5561 9961 or 0408 302 421.  

This story was written by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee and published in the Surf Coast Time’s Going Green Column.

New network to protect Otways

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Community conservation groups and natural resource management agencies are uniting in a mission to protect and enhance biodiversity in the Otways.

The Otway Community Conservation Network (OCCN) aims to reduce the threat of weed species on native bush in the Otways, and raise awareness of the impacts of weeds in the community.

The OCCN is a joint initiative by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Parks Victoria and the OCCN steering committee includes representatives from a range of natural resource management agencies.

The Otway Community Conservation Network Steering Committee

DSE Forest Officer Craig Clifford says DSE and Parks Victoria welcome the establishment of the OCCN, which is funded by the Australian Government Caring for our Country Program.

“By supporting community conservation groups, increasing coastal community awareness and acting as a link between communities and agencies, the network will play a key role in protecting the rich biodiversity in the Otways,” he said.

Project facilitator Luke Hynes says need was identified for an integrated approach.

“Many groups were already working on controlling these two species in the area, however a lack of coordination was impeding the process,” he said.

Mr Hynes will be working with community groups and agencies to tackle biodiversity issues in the region a concentrated, collaborative effort.

“The initial focus is to remove and control Boneseed and Bridal Creeper – two weeds of natural significance,” he said.

Mr Hynes says this year’s work will include the creation of a comprehensive map of all the Boneseed and Bridal Creeper infestations in the Otways.

“It is anticipated this map will be vital in identifying key infestation areas and where best to direct our efforts,h” he said.

The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) Conservation Supervisor Georgie Beale works regularly with community conservation groups to control weeds and is a representative on the OCCN steering committee.

“GORCC will be assisting to guide the network in respect to weed infestations on GORCC managed land and assisting to ensure an effective approach,” she said.

The OCCN is looking for people who want to be involved in native bush restoration, including landholders with Boneseed and Bridal Creeper problems, community members passionate to take action or corporate organisations that want to volunteer their time.

For more information and to see how your group or organisation can benefit please contact Luke Hynes 0406 113 438 or luke@beaconecological.com.au.

This story was written by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee and published in the Surf Coast Time’s Going Green Column.

Coast care conversations and stories

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On a sunny winter’s day at the end of August, around 50 people gathered for conversations at the Fairhaven Surf Life Saving Club.

People from community groups and government agencies who are passionate about our coastal environment spent the day sharing stories and their ideas for the future.

I was privileged to help the Coast Action – Coast Care team at DSE design and facilitate the event. Matt, the state manager of the program, does a great job at nailing the purpose of the forum.

The Harvest

My friend and colleague Chris Corrigan has re-shaped my approach to the design of these events. Chris says “Don’t just design a workshop … design a harvest”. By harvest he means …

“There is no point in doing work in the world unless we plan to harvest the fruits of our labours. Harvesting includes making meaning of our work, telling the story and feeding forward our results so that they have the desired impacts in the world.” Source – Chaordic Stepping Stones from the Art of Hosting website

And more recently … “Just as important as designing the process for participatory engagement is the imperative to be clear what you are harvesting from the effort. Harvesting refers to taking what has value from the process.” Source – Recent thinking on Participatory Engagement

And so for this volunteer forum I encouraged the hosting group (Jess at DSE, Gail at GORCC) to plan for a harvest so that we could continue the conversation with the workshop group and people beyond.

Here is one example of something we created to share and carry forward …

Another way of sharing (and better understanding) the fruits of our labour was to ‘blog about it’.

Rather than create a boring pdf report that no one would ever read, we committed to writing a series of blog posts that summarised what emerged from conversations and group activities.

Here are the links to various posts written on the GORCC Blog … (and great work here by Gail Chrisfield of GORCC and Jessica Brown of DSE to bring this to life!) … these are mostly a collection of stories that were shared and explored by group members and now open for anyone to read and comment on.

And these blog posts came from a process (at the end of the video clip) we used called Jumpstart Stories – where participants share stories with each other and select the most compelling to communicate forward …

Guest blog post by Geoff Brown, Tangent Consulting