Climate action in spades

LOCAL families will gather at Ocean Grove Main Beach this Sunday, April 2 with buckets and spades in hand to take part in Sandsculpting family competition, bringing local families together as part of a community call for urgent climate action.

The free community event run by Australian Parents For Climate Change Bellarine branch (AP4CA) is taking place following the latest warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of a “rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future”.

Local organiser and Ocean Grove resident Jacqui Dunn hopes this weekend’s event can spark conversations between residents about what they love about the planet and any solutions available to reverse the effects of climate change.

“Our kids’ future depends on how our political leaders respond to climate change now,” Ms Dunn said.

“We want our political leaders to commit to making decisions that put our kids’ safety first, not fossil fuel profits.

“We know parents on the Bellarine, Surf Coast and Geelong care about climate change and the impact it will have on their kids’ lives, and we hope we can get that message out on April 2.”

National Community Organiser and Ocean Grove resident Laura Grufas said Sunday’s event was appropriately located at the main beach of the coastal town.

“The Ocean Grove beach is an ideal place to witness first-hand the impacts of recent extreme weather, with the flood waters from the Barwon River turning our blue ocean into brown polluted water, dead fish washed up and bacterial foam lining the shore for over four weeks.

“This, accompanied with obvious sea erosion and inundation on the shores paints a picture of the urgency now to act.

“We are so well placed as a region to secure the economic, health and social impacts of renewables, we need our political leaders to support and fund that vision for our region and to stop safeguarding big polluters.

“Ironically we had to postpone this event in November last year because of the pollution on the beach caused by the floods upstream. Climate change is affecting our community already.”

Sunday’s Sandsculpting competition begins at 10am.