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Port Phillip and Westernport CMA
Welcome to latest newsletter of the Port Phillip & Westernport CMA 01-May-2012
 
 

In this issue

Upcoming events

Mornington Peninsula Land Management Expo - Sunday 20 May

2012 Grow West Community Planting Day - Sunday 15 July

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Historic group action mounted to boost the Maribyrnong River environment

Minister for Environment, Ryan Smith MP with PPWPCMACEO, David Buntine

An unprecedented multi-million dollar project promises to revitalise Melbourne’s Maribyrnong Valley.

Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith MP, launched the $3.6 million project on 25 April while visiting the river and meeting with project partners.

The initiative, which brings together 10 government and industry bodies as well as an estimated 200 local landholders, is the largest-ever collaborative environmental project in the Maribyrnong Valley.

Project co-ordinator Tim Bloomfield from the PPWCMA said the collaboration is a vital ingredient for the success of the project.

“The Maribyrnong is a jewel but has often been overshadowed by the Yarra River. The Maribyrnong needs substantial tender loving care and this project will deliver it,” Mr Bloomfield said.

“It has been a feat to get 10 partners working together on this. It is a great chance for the Maribyrnong to get back on track and shine again”.

PPWCMA Chief Executive Officer David Buntine thanked the Victorian Government, local Councils and all partners for their involvement in the project.

“We are genuinely excited to be in this partnership to rejuvenate the Maribyrnong.  Our role is to initiate and foster collaboration between Government and communities in the management of natural resources and the environment, so we are proud to have helped pull this Maribyrnong project together,” Mr Buntine said.

“Our role as co-ordinator is very satisfying because we can see the whole is going to be greater than the sum of the parts.  Having all of these organisations working together will produce better outcomes for the Maribyrnong and the community than if we each worked alone.”

The project will fund fencing along the river, revegetation, rabbit and weed control and planning for a multi-use trail from Brimbank Park to the Organ Pipes National Park.

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Local Yarra Valley charity donates $300,000 to protect wildlife

Yarra4Life Project Coordinator Adam Shalekoff with Peter Hannford, Manager of the Judith Eardley Save Wildlife Association

The Judith Eardley Save Wildlife Association Shop has donated $300,000 to protect the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and Leadbeater’s Possum in the Yarra Valley.

The shop, which has been located on the Maroondah Highway in Healesville since 2000, was set up by Peter Hannaford at the bequest of his late wife, Judith Eardley. Judith loved animals all her life and after spending many years helping people as a psychotherapist, Judith had hoped to spend her retirement helping animals.

Peter Hannaford, Judith’s husband and Manager of the Judith Eardley Save Wildlife Association said:

“For threatened species such as the Helmeted Honeyeater and Leadbeater’s Possum to survive we need to protect, improve and increase the amount of habitat. The Yarra Valley has some significant remnants of native habitat from pre-European settlement but these are now degraded and fragmented.”

The Judith Eardley Wildlife Association has donated the money raised to the Yarra4Life program.

The donation will fund landowner grants to create a biolink between the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve and Kurth Kiln Regional Park.

Landowner grants help with the cost of internal fencing, revegetation, weed control and pest animal control on private properties. These natural bush areas form biolinks providing food, nesting, breeding and roosting sites for endangered species.

Find out more about the Judith Eardley Save Wildlife Association.

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Whitehorse Creek Biolink - a vital piece in the Grow West jigsaw

The PPWCMA, via the Grow West program, will partner with Rowsley Landcare and Melbourne Water to deliver a new biolink along Whitehorse Creek in Melbourne’s west.

This land is strategically important from an environmental perspective as it abuts Werribee Gorge State Park.

Grow West and Moorabool Shire have had a wildlife corridor biolink program in place for four years, designed to link Lerderderg State Park to Brisbane Ranges National Park via Werribee Gorge State Park.

Helena Lindorff, Environmental Projects Co-ordinator for Grow West said:

“We will revegetate 35 hectares of land and protect a further 71 hectares of remnant vegetation.”

Biolink projects protect biodiversity by providing safe movement of native fauna, assist in adaptation to climate change as well as community and capacity building.

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Prioritising research for Westernport

Over the last 200 years, Westernport’s environment has experienced major changes including vegetation clearance, swamp drainage and the expansion of agriculture, industry and residential areas.

From a scientific research perspective, there has been limited research into environmental impacts on Westernport since the Shapiro Report originally commissioned in the 1970s.

However, a new report: “Understanding the Western Port Environment”, jointly funded by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne Water and the PPWCMA, seeks to highlight the continued pressures on Western Port, identify gaps in knowledge and prioritise areas for further research. 

Rhys Coleman, Waterways and Wetlands Research Manager with Melbourne Water led the project.

With little recent research into Westernport, more information was required to determine priorities from a research, policy and management perspective.   Deeper knowledge delivers better policy delivery and management of this key environmental asset.

The report identified three key ecosystem components for Westernport:

  • Aquatic vegetation (such as seagrasses and mangroves) to support species habitats,
  • Ecosystem processes and nutrient cycling to maintain the condition of Westernport,
  • Iconic species including fish, birds and mammals.


Priority areas for further research include:

  • Understanding the movements of water, sediments and nutrients in Westernport
  • Investigating the relationship between water quality and habitat forming water plants
  • Understanding the relationship between habitat plants and biodiversity, particularly in relation to fish.


For more detail, access a pdf of the full report here.

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Community consultation for healthy waterways

Melbourne Water

Melbourne Water is seeking community input to a Healthy Waterways Strategy and the Stormwater Strategy that will guide the management of waterways and stormwater from 2013 onwards.

The Healthy Waterways Strategy replaces the current Regional River Health Strategy when it expires in 2013. The Healthy Waterways Strategy will guide investment and actions for healthy rivers, estuaries and wetlands. Activities include vegetation management, environmental flows, habitat enhancement and working with communities.

The Stormwater Strategy is closely linked to the Healthy Waterways Strategy.  It will focus on the management of stormwater in rural and urban areas to protect and improve ecosystem health of waterways and bays over the same period. It will see Melbourne Water working with others to achieve multiple community outcomes for stormwater management in relation to liveability, alternative water supply and public health.

Melbourne Water is seeking input to these draft strategies and will hold community consultation during May and June 2012.

There are a number of ways to get involved:

Online: 
• Comment online via forum, survey and email from mid-May.

In person:

• A series of eight community workshops will be held across the Port Phillip and Westernport region.  View workshop dates and register your interest here.

For further information or if you would like to be added to the invite list please email Melbourne Water's Healthy Waterways Team .

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Local climate change seminars welcomed by landholders

L-R Tracey Curro, Graeme Anderson - DPI, Penny Whetton - CSIRO, Nick Dudley - West Gippsland CMA, Patrick Francis - owner of Moffits farm in Romsey

The PPWCMA recently hosted a series of seminars designed to help local landholders adapt their land management practices to a changing environment.

The seminars, held in Ringwood and Pakenham, were attended by a mix of full and part-time farmers and featured presentations by the Department of Primary Industries and the CSIRO.

Facilitated by Tracey Curro, former 60 Minutes journalist and Al Gore Climate Change Ambassador, the seminars explained the influences on local weather, the future for the local climate and steps landholders can take towards keeping rural land healthy and productive.

Attendees appreciated the local focus with farmer case studies proving popular.  Comments included:

“It was useful to receive climate information specific to this region as well as broader Australia. It was great to get local farmer info. Well done.”

“The knowledge of the presenters was great and then to follow it up with a farmer who was successfully using these practices was great.”

“Appreciated the opportunity to be updated on the Carbon Farming Initiative and related issues."


Presentations from these Climate Change seminars are now available to download from the PPWCMA website.

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Celebrating champions in coastal conservation

Award winners with Minister for Environment, Ryan Smith MP

The PPWCMA congratulates all the finalists and winners of the 2012 Victorian Coastal Awards for Excellence.
 

The award ceremony was hosted by the Victorian Coastal Council at the Melbourne Museum on April 26. Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith MP, presented nine awards to individuals, groups and organisations for their volunteer work.

PPWCMA CEO David Buntine said:

“These awards are a  great opportunity to recognise the achievements of dedicated people who work hard to protect and enhance our beautiful coastal environments. It was fantastic to see so many of the winners from the Port Phillip and Westernport region.”

For further information on the event visit the Victorian Coastal Council's website.

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