Beachgoers and dunes at risk

It might seem like fun but playing in sand dunes can not only destroy these areas but can be dangerous. Coastal conservationists are sending out the message- stay safe and keep out of the dunes! Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) Coastal Projects Manager, Mike Bodsworth said running and jumping on dunes could be great fun but caused serious damage [...]

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Fighting Furry Ferals

  Rabbits in the region are on the rise as the problematic pests gorge themselves on an abundance of lush feed following a wet summer. Caleb Hurrell, Pest Management Officer from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says rabbits cause a range of impacts on the wider landscape.  “Impacts include overgrazing of native vegetation, displacement [...]

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An Underwater World In Decline

Imagine you are in a forest and life is teeming around you.  The forest canopy stretches metres above and as you look up into the filtered sunlight a myriad of lifeforms can be seen living in their sheltered forest home.  No, it’s not a tropical rainforest; it’s an underwater world of Giant Kelps (Macrocystis).  The [...]

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Connections make light work of coastal erosion

As a small group comprising only five to six volunteers at the time, Anglesea Coast Action was pondering the problem of how to find the resources needed to control erosion in a popular coastal reserve. The group had developed a solution that involved lining a stormwater drainage channel with rock, which sounded simple enough. Implementing [...]

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Our coast’s future in good hands

It may be stating the obvious but the future of our coast – and indeed our world – lies with the adults of tomorrow, being the young people of today. What a delight then to see eager and enthusiastic Torquay College students hard at work and play down at White’s Beach this week as part of the Dune Edu-Action program. The program’s focus on learning by doing sees the students undertaking a range of activities aimed at protecting our coast’s increasingly vulnerable dunes. Perhaps it was a similar program that planted the seed during their past primary school days for current students from Deakin University and Gordon Institute of TAFE to take the lead in creating a new coastal volunteer group in Ocean Grove. These enterprising young adults are hoping a film night at 7.30pm on Thursday 5 August at the Ocean Grove Chicken Shop inspires other locals, young and old alike, to join them in looking after their patch of Victoria’s beautiful coastline. It’s so heartening to see local young people taking such active roles in caring for the coast. It reassures us that the future of our coast – and indeed our world – is in good hands!

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Let’s work together to protect coastal biodiversity

The United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity this Saturday, 22 May, aims to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues across the globe. On a more local level, GORCC, local coastal volunteer groups and many others have for some time been working hard to raise awareness of the need for everyone to do their bit to protect our coast’s precious biodiversity from threats such as weeds, litter, erosion, pest animals, climate change, fire, development, dog poo, etc. Download our latest webclip to find out more.

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Beauty and the Beast: Managing the Coast Along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road

The coast is what inspires and motivates the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee. There is nothing like a quiet day in the office managing the beauty and the beast of the coastline along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. It requires a mix of skill, courage, patience and a thick skin. There are plenty of challenging issues like summer visitor numbers, growing populations, dogs on beaches, infrastructure upgrades and commercial activities in a time and place of climate (and community) change. Collaboration across boundaries with community groups, government agencies, other land managers and the general public is critical to success, but often easy to say and hard to achieve. We all have to do more to achieve a sustainable coast and community.

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