The Blue Carbon Lab is all about using cutting-edge blue carbon research to mitigate climate change, while supporting aquatic biodiversity, economic growth, capacity building, and community wellbeing.
That is why we are pleased to announce our partnership with The Intrepid Foundation on a series of upcoming on-ground projects to restore and protect crucial blue carbon ecosystems across Victoria. These projects- at Swan Bay, Truganina Wetland, and Point Lillias– will involve working with local communities, citizen scientists, and volunteers, and at Point Lillias we are partnering with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC).
Thanks to the support we’ve received from the Intrepid Foundation, we will be able to empower local communities while protecting and restoring native ecosystems and cultural heritage. Together, these works will create healthy blue carbon ecosystems that can store carbon and mitigate climate change. These projects will build on the previous work achieved through the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program.
Get involved
Active communities and citizen scientists are important contributors to our on-ground restoration projects. If you are keen to get involved and get muddy, keep an eye out on Blue Carbon Lab social media pages for the announcement of dates for the citizen science workshops!
You can also support this initiative by donating to the Blue Carbon Lab through the Intrepid Foundation website.
More about the projects
At Swan Bay, we will use low-cost fencing to restore marginal farmland back to coastal wetlands, where farmers end up with an environmental asset that benefits them and the wider community and blue carbon ecosystems return to their work of storing carbon to mitigate climate change. We are partnering with the Bellarine Catchment Network and the Bellarine Landcare Group (BLG) to engage the community and promote the benefits of coastal wetlands.
Read the full blog post to learn more.
Truganina Swamp is a 175-ha wetland of Biodiversity Significance, providing critical habitat for threatened and protected fauna as well as threatened saltmarsh vegetation. However, particular areas of this wetland need restoration due to pressures from a range of urban threats.
With the help of local citizen scientists, Friends of Truganina Wetland (FOTW), and Melbourne Water (land managers), we will undertake both a feasibility assessment to determine the causes of degradation, as well as restoration actions to optimize the recovery of saltmarsh habitat. This project will educate the local urban community about the value of coastal wetlands while also informing on-ground restoration.
Read the full blog post to learn more.
At Point Lillias, we will build on the previous work achieved through the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program, in which the Blue Carbon Lab, Coastcare Victoria and Arthur Rylah Institute worked alongside Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) to perform remedial work at a coastal volcanic plain temperate grassland site within Port Phillip Bay Catchment. This project will address weed management, a high priority threat to the site identified by WTOAC. We will prioritise seasonal weed surveys and weed control actions (spraying and potentially mosaic cultural burn) that will not only protect a large cluster of cultural heritage sites, but also benefit native biodiversity.
Read the full blog post to learn more.
Thank you to the Intrepid Foundation for facilitating these important on-ground works to protect blue carbon ecosystems and mitigate climate change.
