Environment Victoria lauds local campaign successes

A PAIR of community groups in the Geelong region have been lauded by Environment Victoria for their highly effective advocacy for causes.

OCEAN (Otway Coastal Environment Action Network) and its friends and supporters and the Little River Action Group and Grassy Plains Network were both winners in the “campaign impact” category in this year’s Community Environment Awards.

Based along the south-west Victorian coastline, OCEAN is a grassroots community group with a focus on stopping seismic blasting and new gas development in the Otway Basin.

It was formed by members of the community who share an intrinsic connection to the coastal and marine environment, starting from Ocean Grove and extending along the coast to Portland.  OCEAN campaigns against seismic blasting as the first step in new offshore gas development, which is highly damaging to the marine environment.

Its strategy is to both raise awareness of the destructive practices of seismic blasting and gas development through community engagement and information nights, as well as mobilising communities to oppose these practices through rallies, marches, paddle-outs and voicing their concerns to local representatives.

The group was central to the recent campaign win that saw energy data company TGS withdraw its application to conduct seismic blasting in search of gas across a 7.7 million hectare area in the Southern Ocean.

The Little River Action Group formed to protect the Green Wedge Zone (Western Plains South) and surrounding area of Little River from inappropriate development and to maintain and enhance the area’s native flora and fauna.

The Grassy Plains Network advocates for the protection of grasslands across Victoria, including flowering meadows and the plants and creatures that call them home.

Both groups played a key role in opposing a plan by Pacific National to build a freight terminal on 550 hectares of grasslands on the edge of their small town in Melbourne’s west.

The groups successfully challenged the project on the grounds it would have destroyed the ambience of their town by having freight and heavy machinery activities round the clock, and after ongoing community pressure, Pacific National eventually did not proceed with the development.

Environment Victoria said it was “delighted and proud” to recognise the six recipients, which had all done remarkable work in their communities to protect nature and diversify the environment while working with very limited resources.