Environmental projects win big

TWO local coastal environmental projects have won awards at the 2020 Victorian Marine and Coastal awards last week.

The Barwon Estuary Project won in the Inspiring Community Engagement and Education category and the City of Greater Geelong won the Leadership in Climate Adaptation and Resilience for their Living Shorelines project in Portarlington.

The Barwon Estuary Project is a community education program using a mix of scientific and creative art activities to promote and embed environmental stewardship in the local community.

The Marine and Coastal Council website describes the area as “an extraordinary mix of lake, swamp, salt marsh, sea grass, mudflats, moonahs, mangroves and moonsnails”.

According to project leader Margaret Griffith the award was particularly special after a tough year.

“It’s a great sense of recognition, which is really important, particularly for a volunteer group, to know that the community and the government are behind what you’re doing is very encouraging and this year we really need some encouragement, like everybody else. It’s quite ironic to get the award for community engagement in a year when we haven’t been able to do much community engagement at all.”

While COVID lessened some community engagement, the project work with schools and artists around the estuary has continued to permeate through the community.

According to the Marine and Coastal Council website, the innovative Living Shorelines project in Portarlington built an artificial reef to combat the eroding and receding beach.

The reef reduced wave energy resulting in controlled water movement during strong tidal events. Beach and foreshore habitat has been restored and the reef has attracted sea creatures like muscles and starfish.