Treasure on our doorstep

Local group Bellarine Landcare have united with a host of local environmental groups to organise a webinar event exploring and elevating the Ramsar wetlands in Bellarine and Geelong.

The Ramsar Convention is an international agreement aiming at protecting wetlands. It was signed in Ramsar in Iran in 1971. Bellarine
Landcare member Sophie Small said the group hoped tonight’s webinar would increase awareness.

“These Ramsar wetlands are really important but a lot of us in the community don’t understand why they are important,” she said.

“We wanted to get together people who have studied them, and people who love the birds, the traditional owners and really get the word out about how wonderful these places are,”

“A lot of the wetlands are adjoined by private land, so a lot of people don’t have access and don’t quite realise the vital importance of places like Lake Connewarre and Swan Bay for migratory birds that come all the way from Siberia every year, which is about 10,000km each way!”

The second instalment of the webinar series to air online tonight will explore topics such as the Orange-bellied parrot, the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal wetlands and how one can protect their land with a covenant.

Ms Small said the event was a group effort.

“The main organisers are Bellarine Landcare Group, Surfcoast and Inland Plains Landcare Group, Field Naturalist Club, Trust for Nature – who work with private land owners to protect the land by way of covenants to ensure ongoing protection and the Wadawurrung. We have supporters too, its been a collaborative affair,” she said.

“It’s really quite amazing when you start listing all the different groups and all the exciting things they are doing.”

The webinar series focuses on the Ramsar sites in Port Phillip Bay and Bellarine Peninsula comprised of six distinct areas including Point
Cook, Werribee/Avalon, Point Wilson/Limeburners Bay, Swan Bay, Mud Islands and the Lake Connewarre area.

Find the event online by searching Ramsar Wetlands: The treasure on our doorstep or the FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/965220664012359/