IT is a huge weekend coming up at Port MacDonnell as Holdfast Limestone Coast Inc offers a raft of activities on offer to celebrater and educate about seaweed.<\/p>\n
The Seaweed Art Exhibition, featuring works from a Seaweed Painting Workshop earlier this month, will be open at Salt Caf\u00e9 & Bar, with the opportunity to vote for your favourite work.<\/p>\n
Friday and Saturday will see an 8.30am Tai Chi on the Beach session at Squeaky\u2019s Beach, followed by guided beach walks on both days from 9.30amm<\/p>\n
Things get micro from there with Dr Alecia Bellgrove and Sally O\u2019Connor running a Friday workshop involving checking out seaweed under a microscope, as well as creating your own algae bookmark, with further workshops on the program on Saturday, with Faith Coleman heading up more microscope sessions.<\/p>\n
The beach walks and education sessions continue on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Arguably the centrepiece of the weekend program is the movie screening of White Rock at Port MacDonnell Community Complex on Saturday 28 March from 5pm.<\/p>\n
Featuring acclaimed filmmaker and environmental advocate Damon Gameau, White Rock connects science, policy, and sustainable seafood to reveal a path forward for the hidden environmental crisis unfolding in Australian waters\u2014the longspined sea urchins destruction of the Great Southern Reef.<\/p>\n
Longspined sea urchins (Centrostephanus rodgersii) have transformed once-thriving kelp forests into lifeless barrens, impacting 2000 km of Australia\u2019s coastline from southern New South Wales to Tasmania.<\/p>\n
Scientists warn that without immediate action, these degraded ecosystems will struggle to recover, endangering fisheries, biodiversity, and marine industries.<\/p>\n
Professor Maria Byrne, one of Australia\u2019s leading urchin experts, said if this were happening on land, people would be demanding urgent action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the science, we have the solutions\u2014we just need the government to act,\u201d Professor Byrne said.<\/p>\n
A petition for federal funding for urchin management has been gathering momentum, with thousands of Australians already signing to urge government action.<\/p>\n
Dr Scott Bennett, marine ecologist and co-founder of the Great Southern Reef Foundation, said restoring these reefs wasn\u2019t just an environmental necessity – it\u2019s an economic and cultural opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the right intervention, we know that kelp forests can recover rapidly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Following the screening of White Rock, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A with Dr Alecia Bellgrove, Zoe Brittain, Dr Faith Coleman and Uncle Ken Jones to discuss the issues raised in the documentary.<\/p>\n
Holdfast Limestone Coast Inc. spokesperson Sally O\u2019Connor from said they want to share this film with the community to show how vulnerable our coastal ecosystem can be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope we do not experience the same devastation in our kelp forests,\u201d she said. \u201cThe film illustrates some warning signs our fishermen, divers, surfers may come across.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other highlight on the weekend program is the \u2018Fruits of the Sea \u2013 A Hands On Cooking Experience\u2019 on Sunday from 12noon under the guidance Zoe Brittain, from Deakin University.<\/p>\n
\u2018Seaweed. A Celebration\u2019 exhibition will also be unveiled on Friday night at the Hangar Gallery at the Mount Gambier Regional Airport from 6pm.<\/p>\n
For more details on all the events head to the Holdfast Limestone Coast Inc. website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IT is a huge weekend coming up at Port MacDonnell as Holdfast Limestone Coast Inc offers a raft of activities on offer to celebrater and educate about seaweed. The Seaweed Art Exhibition, featuring works from a Seaweed Painting Workshop earlier this month, will be open at Salt Caf\u00e9 & Bar, with the opportunity to vote […]<\/p>\n