Grants support coastal volunteers

COASTAL volunteer groups from across the Geelong region have shared in more than $200,000 through the latest round of the Victorian government’s Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program.

Funding will support projects across Victoria that build the capacity of marine and coastal volunteers, improve environmental and cultural values, support community adaptation, and improve ecosystem resilience to climate change.

Grant recipients include:

$10,000 for Southern Otway Landcare Network (SOLN) – Beat the Sweet (Pittosporum) project. This project aims to remove Sweet Pittosporum at Point Hawdon in Kennett River

$7,822 for Torquay Coast Action for stage 1 of their Fishermans Beach Dune Revegetation project

$9,888 for Birdlife Australia’s Communications for Conservation: Effective and safe engagement training project, to provide training for volunteers on hooded plover conservation, and how to effectively raise awareness among beach users across the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast

$10,000 for Shrub Club Community Nursery (auspiced by SOLN) – Learning through the dunes – Apollo Bay Coastal Plant Trail

$10,000 for Marengo Barham Landcare Group (auspiced by SOLN) – Marengo’s Weed Wipeout Warriors, and

$6,860 for Jan Juc Coast Action Group – Clifftop Chronicles: Ecology and Cultural Heritage of the Jan Juc Clifftops.

The Victorian government supports Coastcare Victoria and the local volunteer groups working to protect and enhance Victoria’s 2,000 kilometres of coastline and engage the broader public in coastal stewardship.

The Victorian government says it is building Victoria’s resilience to climate change and is continually improving how the community is planning for and adapting to rising sea levels and more coastal erosion as climate change and more frequent extreme weather events change the way we live.

Support for community projects is vital to help volunteer groups adapt and plan for changes to their local coastal environment.

Funding for the 2024 Coastcare Victoria Community Grants is provided by the$13.6 million VicCoasts program.

Member for Western Victoria Gayle Tierney announced successful applicants for the 2024 grants program last week.

“We are very fortunate to have many volunteers across Western Victoria committed to looking after our vast, beautiful coastline for local communities and the many visitors drawn to these areas,” she said.

“I’m really proud to support the dedicated efforts of these local volunteer groups working hard to protect and preserve our iconic and special coastal and marine environment for future generations to enjoy.”

For more information on the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program, including a list of recipients, head to marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/coastal-programs/coastcare-victoria/coastcare-victoria-community-grants