As we wrap up our second year, we reflect on exciting steps forward, lessons learned and community connections for our Regenerating Our Coasts program.
Join our quest to explore how biodegradable, 3D-printed structures can be used to rejuvenate coastlines across Western Port and Port Phillip Bays (Victoria).
Muddy boots & established roots: An insightful field campaign
Long days in the field, wading in the mud and many planted seeds and transplants have defined our active restoration trials this year.
Our work with saltmarshes is testing the best way to grow saltmarsh in the structures: either by planting saltmarsh seeds or transplanting cores of saltmarsh plants. We’ve monitored our transplants closely and are thrilled to see many thriving in their biodegradable homes. While germination of the seeding trials initially was low, we’ve now gathered over 48,000 seeds from seven saltmarsh species to run new seed-based trials. We hope that by utilising the seed mixes, we will match the local biodiversity and hopefully expand the potential for revegetation at our sites.
Through this work, we’ve created a beautiful Field ID guide for common saltmarsh species and a handy seeding calendar to support our local saltmarsh husbandry research.
We’ve also spent hours in Victoria’s mangrove forests trialing various restoration techniques. Our young mangrove seedlings, grown in a local nursery, have shown promising early survival and growth within our biodegradable structures. It seems the structures give mangrove seedlings a head-start to overcome the harsh conditions allowing them to securely attach to the ground and grow. Some of our mangrove transplants are even growing aerial roots (pneumatophores)!
The restoration of seagrass meadows has posed many challenges, particularly with direct seeding methods (i.e. injecting thousands of seeds into the sediment), as the waves and wind can make it hard for the seeds to germinate and establish roots, before they get washed away. Learning from these trials, we will also explore transplanting approaches to further explore the capabilities of BESE-Elements for seagrass revegetation.
Over the past year, our biodegradable structures have done an amazing job of accumulating soil, trapping mangrove propagules and supporting the gradual colonisation of other wetland plants. It has been promising to see pioneer wetland species colonising the structures, growing roots and extending their cover throughout the biodegradable structures.
Developing tools to scale-up restoration
One of our priorities this year has been to explore new ways to scale-up restoration. Considering the vast extent of Victoria’s coastline (over 18,000 km long!), it is a hard task to choose the most promising sites for restoration success. To help with this, we’ve developed a spatial analysis tool, that can help land managers and conservationists make informed decisions on where to focus their efforts by considering diverse environmental conditions and coastal wetland distributions. Through screening vast coastlines and pinpointing potential restoration sites, this tool is an exciting development to upscale vital restoration efforts.
Coastal communities unite to revive coastal wetlands
Of course, Regenerating Our Coasts would be lost without our dedicated #BlueCarbonArmy of citizen scientists. The enthusiastic Corinella community helped us plant over 160 mangroves in Western Port Bay (see event recap), while the Hobsons Bay community helped us collect thousands of saltmarsh seeds during the Boollam Boollam Willum Cultural and Biodiversity festival at Truganina Park (see event recap). These local communities and stakeholders certainly stepped up to the challenge, supporting the intense fieldwork needed to test innovative restoration techniques and take a step closer to reversing the loss of coastal wetlands in our communities.
Slide, scroll, and click through our interactive Storymap
We’ve just launched an exciting interactive tool that showcases the innovative techniques we are applying to regenerate coastal wetlands. Designed to raise awareness in a fun way, the #ReGenOurCoasts Storymap allows you to immerse yourself in the interactive maps, infographics, visualisation tools and videos that highlight our achievements to kickstart coastal restoration across Victoria’s coastlines.
Charting new waters to advance our efforts
Where to next? This year we’ve gained a lot of key insights from our experimental ‘wins’ and ‘losses’ that will allow us to improve our future efforts. Looking ahead, we’re excited to delve deeper into how biodegradable habitats can be tailored to a range of coastal conditions, as well as exploring new active restoration sites using our spatial analysis tools.
We’re rolling up our sleeves for another year of advancing coastal restoration in Australia and worldwide. Stay tuned for what lies ahead!
#ReGenOurCoasts is funded by Beach Energy Ltd.