Cash to care for coast

THE BELLARINE community and environment are set to benefit from funding for local projects to help raise awareness and protect the coast.

Friends of the Bluff, Ocean Grove Primary School and Breamlea Coastcare will receive a grant for their individual projects through this year’s state government’s Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program.

Friends of the Bluff will be able to fund the group’s Living on the Edge Reimagined initiative.

Following establishment of Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary in 2002, Friends of the Bluff, Barwon Heads developed the Living on the Edge website, which has been valuable to raise community awareness of the marine sanctuary.

The new ‘reimagined’ project, almost two decades later, will ensure that the website continues to meet its purpose by restoring full functionality to the website.

The Friends will also update content after consultation with local community, schools and with agency partners and traditional owners’ groups.

Ocean Grove PS’s Coastcare grant will go towards its Ocean Plastic Pollution Education and Prevention Strategies project, which is part of its Resource Smart Schools Program.

The project will address waste management in the coastal area with the aim of reducing student and community impact on the natural environment.

The project includes incursions focusing on ocean pollution, plastic pollution prevention strategies including waste management and waste repurposing; and an onsite recycling collection station.

Breamlea Coastcare is also among this year’s community grant recipients and will use the funds for a project to “foster saltmarsh habitat in the Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve”.

The project will address the invasive weed threat to the saltmarsh with the aim to engage as many residents as possible in understanding and implementing a solution.

Western Victoria MP Gayle Tierney said the region was home to so many passionate volunteers who are committed to caring for our magnificent coast and making a difference in their local communities.

“We’re proud to recognise their hard work through the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program, and support their efforts to protect and preserve our coast for future generations to enjoy,” she said.

“I congratulate the successful groups on their initiative and commitment to our environment and encourage others in the electorate to access the range of grants programs offered by the government in the future.”

Funding for this year’s Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program has been made available through the state government’s Sustainability Fund and Victoria’s Great Outdoors.