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 WaterRead more
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Historically natural coastal wetlands were converted to pastureland to maximize available farming area along Victoria’s coast. However, these coastal pastures limited the lands profitability due to the difficult growing conditions, invasive weeds and waterlogged soils. Our project intends to use low-cost fencing to restore marginal farmland back to coastal wetlands, where farmers end up withRead more
The Blue Carbon Lab has received $200,000 of funding from the Helen MacPherson Smith Trust for the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program. This funding will be used to build upon the achievements of the program over the past 3 years and look to upscale wetland restoration using low-cost methods along the Victorian coast. This project will do so by determining scalability, supporting practitioners with specialist resources,Read more
This week is NAIDOC week, where we celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is Heal Country, which means embracing First Nation’s cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia’s national heritage, and that the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders are respected equally toRead more
It is with great sadness the unexpected passing of David Rhodes (November 19, 1958 – December 5, 2020). Dave was the director and senior archaeologist at Heritage Insight Pty Ltd, which he founded in 2000 and is one of the longest-running cultural heritage management companies in Victoria. Dave was responsible for all aspects of theRead more
Back in October 2020, Chase Aghan – Project Officer (Forest, Fire and Parks) for Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Dr Brad Farmilo – Senior Scientist & Plant ecologist, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (DELWP) presented at the State-Wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) seminars series on native grasslands. They used the workRead more
The Australian Ethical Foundation has invested funding through their strategic grant into a 3-year PhD scholarship for the Blue Carbon Lab to further research in coastal wetland restoration. Australian Ethical is an ethical and sustainable investment company that endeavours to create the most impact through the Australian Ethical Foundation, through their community grants program, strategic multi-year grants and impactRead more
Training and pre-restoration vegetation surveys are underway! In partnership with Coastcare Victoria and the Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) we hosted a vegetation survey training workshop on Wadawurrung Country at Point Lillias in February 2020. The goal of this workshop was to train members of the Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation (WAC) the key steps and methods involvedRead more
12 months of greenhouse gas and vegetation data collection completed! With the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions, the Blue Carbon Lab was given the green light to recommence fieldwork under strict social distancing guidelines. Our #VicWetlnandRehab team headed to Western Port in May 2020 to finish the autumn survey of the 10-hectare saltmarsh restoration site.Read more
Thanks to project cost savings we’ve been able to install additional protection of Saltmarsh Habitat in Western Port! After the completion of protection fencing at our first Western Port site (~10 hectares), we had some cost savings, which allowed us to protect additional saltmarsh in the region! Our project partner Parks Victoria was able toRead more
