Anitra Nelson Activist-scholar Anitra Nelson discusses options for small and shared living at the eighth South Gippsland Sustainability Festival on Sunday.
 Florence ('Zing') Oswin-Roberts cares for a koala at her home, ‘Broadwater’, Cowes Many a Phillip Island farmer about to cut down a tree looked both ways to make sure ‘Zing’ Oswin-Roberts wasn’t watching. Zing’s story is told in a new book profiling 23 women who have fought to protect the island’s natural environment over the past century.
 Jarrod Ruche explains the use and construction of contour swales on sloping sites, such as the Bass river garden. By Anne Heath Mennell
WHAT better way to spend a late spring Saturday morning than at the community launch of the river garden at Bass? Around 80 people, from a babe in arms to grey tops, came from all parts of the shire, from coastal flats to the hills and beyond, to celebrate this initiative of Bass Coast Landcare Network (BCLN).  Phillip Island’s new fox-free status gives hope for one of Victoria’s most endangered species, the eastern barred bandicoot.
 By Joel Geoghegan
DRIVING on the highway past Bass over the past few weeks, you may have noticed something interesting happening between the river, the highway and the Bass Coast Landcare Network office.  Friends of the State Coal Mine president Steve Harrop. Visitors to the mine will be able to compare the performance of different panels and batteries. Wonthaggi’s state coal mine has long been a magnet for history buffs. Soon it will also be drawing visitors interested in new technology.
 Researchers estimate there are less than a dozen foxes left on the island but finding them will be difficult. By the 1970s, foxes had wiped out nine of the 10 little penguin colonies on Phillip Island and the world-famous Penguin Parade appeared doomed. Then researchers started doing the sums.
 Red Rocks' three hoodie chicks, aged almost five weeks. At last count, Victoria had about 500 hooded plovers left, of which Phillip Island had 44. Photo: Kim Wormald Dog-owners have joined the ranks of those keeping vigil over Red Rocks' precious hooded plover chicks. Sue Saliba reports.
 The protected blue groper, Shack Bay, December, 2013 By Rod Webster
IF YOU go down to Shack Bay, between Cape Paterson and Inverloch, tomorrow, you might see the bobbing heads of more than a dozen snorkellers. They’re taking part in the Great Victoria Fish Count, part of the Victorian National Parks Association’s Reefwatch program.  Graeme Henry meets the sole surviving chick. After watching a pair of Cape Paterson hooded plovers fail to raise a single chick from four clutches of eggs last summer, Graeme Henry was delighted when two chicks hatched out in early December. He continues the story.
 Hooded plover. Photo Birdlife Australia After watching a pair of hoodies fail to raise a single chick from four clutches of eggs last summer, the Cape Paterson hoodies have their fingers crossed.
A version of Rod Stewart’s Maggie May has been playing out in a Wonthaggi street. Just as things were going well, a human blundered onto the scene.
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