Bass Coast Environmental news

Tenby Point might be off the beaten track, but this small community is making strides
in its journey to sustainability.

By Anne Heath Mennell and Margaret Golder

TENBY Point? Where’s that? There are people in our shire who haven’t heard of it. Residents are happy to keep a low profile and maintain the tranquil nature of their small settlement. But things are stirring in Tenby Point – good things.

The story begins with an open-air community gathering in April 2022 to gauge interest in making Tenby Point a totally renewable community. Inspired by the achievements of Totally Renewable Phillip Island (TRPI), 30 households expressed interest in hearing more about the project. Totally Renewable Tenby (TRT) was off and running, with a voluntary working group doing all the groundwork.

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Q&A with Indigo Aurora

16/6/2023

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On Tuesday, local students took time off school to protest at the NAB's financing of the coal industry. The Bass Coast Post asked Indigo Aurora why she attended.

Post: Why did you get involved with School Strike for Climate (SS4C)?

Indigo: I only got properly involved with SS4C this year, but I’ve been passionate about fighting for climate justice for years. When I joined Newhaven College at the start of 2023, my amazing friend and activist Joey Thompson introduced me to a local climate action group, and I’ve been helping to organise and attend local actions ever since. It makes me feel so empowered to get out there and fight for our environment, alongside other passionate individuals. Although we live rurally, it’s important that we join this national movement, as we can still achieve great things that will make an impact.

Post: Climate change makes me feel …

Indigo: Trapped, like my generation’s future is hopeless. It’s sometimes hard to maintain a positive mental attitude when it feels like the world is slowly crumbling around us.

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Drones to the rescue

13/6/2023

Marine scientist Rebecca McIntosh disentangles a seal pup on Seal Rocks.

By Lisa Gilbert

A LANDMARK study aims to save more Australian fur seals from entanglements by using thermal imaging technology on aerial drones to detect injured animals.

In what is believed to be a world first, the study, led by Monash University PhD student Adam Yaney-Keller and Phillip Island Nature Parks, is testing the ability of thermal imaging technology on drones to find entangled seals at Seal Rocks, off the coast of Phillip Island.

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Balance of power

19/5/2023

By Sierra Dunton

THE renewable energy transition is gathering pace across Australia. Homeowners are lapping up opportunities for solar and/or battery installations, with plenty of financing options, timely government incentives, and reduced energy bills for years to come.

For renters, low-income earners, people living in flats or other dwellings unsuitable for rooftop solar, the outlook is less promising, with energy bills expected to spike over the next few years. While most power companies offer “green energy”, it’s often at a premium price, further excluding low-income earners from accessing renewable energy.

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Sustainability central

18/5/2023

Uncle Steve Ulula Parker will run an ‘Eel Dreaming' Listening Circle
at the Bass Coast Sustainability Festival.

THE sleepy village of Bass will come alive on Sunday as the crowds descend for this year’s Bass Coast Sustainability Festival.

A gold coin donation gets you into a full day of free activities.

It’s a great chance to connect with community groups and organisations, including the Energy Innovation Cooperative, Totally Renewable Phillip Island/Tenby Point, the Wonthaggi Fixit Café, South Gippsland Beekeepers, Mycelia Renewables, Bass Coast Climate Action Network, Bass Coast Adult Learning, the Bass Coast Landcare Network, the Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation and the Earthworker Cooperative.

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Paul's patch

17/5/2023

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Paul Speirs: “I can’t save the world ... but I know I can
make a difference locally."

By Gill Heal

YEARS ago it was a bare watercourse strangled by blackberry.

Today this stretch of creek in Glen Forbes is dynamic bushland. Beneath the blackwoods and eucalypts there’s an understorey of hazel, musk and prickly currant. And under those, ferns, moss and lichens. Fish swim in a spring-fed rock pool overhung with creepers. A Pandora vine is a nest for a ringtail possum. There’s even a Gondwana species, the Austral mulberry. The place is a roll call of lost plants.

This stretch of the west tributary of the west branch of Archies Creek is Paul Spiers’ backyard. It’s a riparian revegetation project he and the owners of several connecting properties have been working on for up to 20 years.

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The power trip continues

16/5/2023

By Werner Theinert

WHAT an amazing journey it's been since The power trip, my first Bass Coast Post article on October 1, 2020.

The Nissan Leaf e+ discussed in that article is still going strong with over 46,000 kilometres on the clock. It has only been charged away from home twice, at a cost of $8 each time at the fast chargers at Moe Folk Museum. That equates to an expenditure of $16 for nearly three years and 35,000kms of travel.

The rest of the power came from home, with most of it coming from the 12kW Solar PV on the roof. The addition of a Zappi car charger last year provides us with the ability to transfer all our excess solar power into the car’s battery.

The blue curve is the power being transferred to the car battery. The first two yellow “exported” power spikes on the top graph represent the two trips into town.

Our state and federal regulators still haven’t approved bidirectional chargers for battery electric vehicles, though the South Australian Government has approved them and smart solar PV inverters for use in the home.

Basically this means that we are allowed to install large-scale batteries in our homes but not if those batteries have wheels, lights and a steering wheel!

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Mission Crimson Berry

9/5/2023

Crimson Berry (Leptecophylla oxycedrus) is rare in Victoria

By Lisa Gilbert

A TEAM of ecological crusaders last month embarked on a mission to salvage critically endangered plants from Wilsons Prom to help regenerate the species on Phillip Island.

Crimson Berry (Leptecophylla oxycedrus) is a prickly shrub that only grows to two metres tall but can be hundreds of years old. The spectacular red berries are edible, making them a good food source for animals and the thorns protect small birds from predators.

While prolific in Tasmania, the plant is now extremely rare in Victoria, only found on Phillip Island (Millowl), Wilsons Promontory and Corner Inlet.

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Enjoying the ride

22/4/2023

Eight months in, EV driver Michael Nugent couldn't be happier, except …

By Michael Nugent

THIS is Buzz, an imported Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicle (EV) I’ve been driving Buzz for about eight months now and I thought it was about time to fulfil the promise I made last year in the articles Crunch time (March 10, 2022) and My EV journey continues (July 21, 2022). I promised then to write about my experiences with Buzz to help others make up their minds about whether, or when, to get an EV themselves. So here goes.

Let’s start with the end in mind, and that is: after a few teething issues, I am completely happy with Buzz and wish I had bought it (Buzz identifies as gender-neutral) sooner.

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Frog find puts woodlands on the map

22/4/2023

The endangered southern toadlet is well camouflaged. Photo: Dave Newman

LAST month local frog expert Brendan Casey asked visitors to the Western Port Woodlands to listen out for and record frog calls in hopes that they might record endangered a southern toadlet.

It seemed a long shot at the time. The last verified call of the frog in Bass Coast was in 2005 near the Holden Proving ground. It was also recorded within the HPG in 2012.

Just two weeks after Dr Casey's call, the Australian Museum’s Frog ID confirmed a recording of a southern toadlet in the Adams Creek Nature Conservation Reserve. Since then, Dave and Jackie Newman have made more than a dozen recordings at a number of sites throughout the Western Port Woodlands.

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On a wing and a prayer

20/4/2023

Hooded plover, fledged after 47 days at the Second Surf Beach blowout.
Photos: David Hartney

By David Hartney

AFTER a very slow start to the 2022-23 breeding season, Bass Coast’s hooded plovers had their best season for many years, with a record-equalling 22 fledged juveniles between Cape Paterson and San Remo.

Four chicks fledged at the Cape Paterson breeding sites, the first to fledge along this section of the coast since 2019. They included one at Pea Creek estuary, the first since 2012, and one from the Second Surf dune blowout, the first since 2018.

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Rare frog could make a big splash

25/3/2023

The rare southern toadlet was recorded near the Holden Proving Grounds in 2005. Photo: John Wombey, courtesy of CSIRO

LOCAL frog expert Brendan Casey is calling for volunteers to listen out for a rare frog that’s about to start calling.

The southern toadlet was advisory listed as endangered in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act in 2021. “That’s when the authorities realised the known populations were crashing,” Dr Brendan Casey said during a talk at the South Gippsland Conservation Society on Saturday.

The species decline can be linked to habitat destruction with land development threatening the remaining populations in southern Victoria.

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Every seal counts

22/3/2023

Seal Rocks resident. Photos: Marcus Salton

By Lisa Gilbert

ON International Seal Day, a Phillip Island Nature Parks researcher is appealing to local fishers not to discard fishing line.

Marine scientist Rebecca McIntosh says the most common entanglement for seals is recreational fishing line. “If people put their rubbish – like fishing lines and bait bags in the bins – we’ll make a real difference to the health of the seal population.

“There could be up to 300 seals a year who are trapped and injured by marine waste across the population. At Seal Rocks, we can see up to 11 individuals per field trip and we release about half of those we see.

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Yes please, more trees

27/1/2023

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WHEN it comes to urban tree cover, Cowes and Inverloch are the standout towns in Bass Coast with 32 and 30 per cent tree cover respectively on public and private land. San Remo is the most barren, with just 14 per cent tree cover.

The council’s draft Urban Forest Strategy, released for community comment just before Christmas, sets out a plan to protect and grow the shire’s urban forest with a target of a 40 per cent tree canopy coverage by 2040, with a minimum 25 per cent for every neighbourhood.

Urban forests include all trees and vegetation in an urban area, including street trees, nature strips, parks, open space as well as backyards, industrial areas and conservation sites.

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Operation Fairy Tern

27/1/2023

Churchill Island is crucial in survival of endangered fairy tern population. Photos: Phillip Island Nature Parks

By Lisa Gilbert

THREE summers ago, 31 fairy tern pairs fledged 49 chicks at Observation Point on Churchill Island. Since 2019-20, as far as researchers know, not a single fairy term chick has fledged in the Western Port and Port Phillip Bay region.

The fairy tern is critically endangered in Victoria and its population has drastically declined in recent decades. Now Phillip Island Nature Parks will embark on a $200,000 conservation project to support the recovery of the population around Phillip Island.

Nature Parks staff and volunteers will partner with the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation to improve and expand suitable breeding habitats for fairy terns, and install cameras to monitor the species and to better respond to feral cats and other threats such as storm surges.

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A feast of good gardening

25/1/2023

Paul and Fran Kirkpatrick's beautiful small-space garden in Cape Paterson
is one of 15 very different gardens opening for the weekend.

By Sharon Willcox

THE bees are buzzing and producing honey and gardeners are pruning and mulching their gardens, getting ready for the return of the Bass Coast Edible Gardens Weekend.

The inaugural event in 2022 attracted about 600 people and it returns on Saturday and Sunday, February 4-5. Once again, 15 food gardens will open over the weekend, with the gardeners keen to share their tips and advice on what grows well in Bass Coast.

Nine of the participating gardens are opening for the first time this year. They are joined by six of the crowd favourites from 2022, including Bhavani and David’s permaculture farm in Ventnor, Mary and John’s food forest in San Remo, and Peter and Lyn’s rambling rural property in Glen Forbes.

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Walk this way

16/12/2022

A warm welcome – and beautiful new information boards – await visitors to Coronet Bay’s
foreshore walk, writes Angela Christa (above).

By Angela Christa

LOOK, everyone! Our beautiful signs have been installed. The Coronet Bay Residents and Ratepayers Association is very pleased to announce that the three educational signs are now along the foreshore walking track.

The first at the Norsemens Road carpark end shows some of the native birds that use this habitat. The range includes migratory shore birds, water birds around the lake, large visiting raptors that feed on roosting birds in the trees and smaller bush birds that live in the middle-storey vegetation.

Walkers can scan a QR code to link to nearby bird walks and historical information.

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Wind powers savings

14/12/2022

The 99-turbine Murra Warra II wind farm is constructed on sheep grazing and grain growing country near Horsham.

BASS Coast Shire Council has saved almost $30,000 and almost 2000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the past 12 months by powering its municipal offices, streetlights and community buildings with 100 per cent renewable energy.

Bass Coast is one of 51 local governments to have switched council buildings and facilities to renewable electricity through the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO).

The renewable energy is provided by two wind farms – the 80-turbine Dundonnell wind farm near Mortlake, which started exporting power to the grid in March 2020, and the 99-turbine Murra Warra II wind farm near Horsham, which has just come into operation.

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On the koala trail

13/11/2022

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Koala poo hunt, Adams Creek Nature Conservation Reserve, June 2020

By Catherine Watson

GENETIC analysis has confirmed a researcher’s hypothesis that koalas in the Western Port Woodlands are descended from the original Victorian population, known as the Strzelecki koalas.

Kelly Smith, who is completing a thesis on her research at Federation University, says the proof came from scat samples collected by volunteers in Bass Coast and South Gippsland in June.

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Inverloch dune works preferred option

11/11/2022

The shaded area shows dune vegetation on the Inverloch beach that has been swept away
between 2010 and 2020.

By Philip Heath

THE South Gippsland Conservation Society (SGCS) supports the Inverloch Surf Beach dune renourishment option outlined in the Coastal Hazard Assessment summaries that were recently released by the Victorian Government’s Cape to Cape Resilience Project team.

It is critical to the future of the surf beach, the ecological and cultural values of the vegetated dunes and the safety of adjoining residences that the remaining dunes are protected.

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Away with the birds

8/11/2022

By Geoff Brooks

MICROLIGHT aviator, zoologist and artist Amellia (Milly) Formby swooped into the Western Port Biosphere Reserve last week to pay homage to the more than 20,000 migratory birds that visit annually as part of their endless transition around the East Asian-Australasian Flyway – a 25,000km round trip bookended by Australia and the Arctic.

Amellia met students from Mornington Peninsula primary schools at a special presentation and bird-spotting event at Parks Victoria’s Coolart Wetlands.

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Bandicoots’ wild anniversary

20/10/2022

By Lisa Gilbert

DUNCAN Sutherland still has vivid memories of the night he and a team of rangers released 67 eastern barred bandicoots on Phillip Island.

“We split up into teams and took the bandicoots out into the various release locations. The thing that really captured the night for me – just the excitement of seeing the bandicoots being released into the Summerland Peninsula which was new territory to them. The juxtaposition of releasing the bandicoots and hearing the penguins at the same time.

“It was a special moment to realise we’d actually got there.”

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Hands off Western Port!

19/10/2022

The community wins - for now. A bold new community plan aims to make it permanent.

By Jeff Nottle

COMMUNITY action to preserve and protect Western Port from inappropriate industrial development has a long history. The Phillip Island Conservation Society has been involved in defending Western Port since it was formed in 1968. Key community champions have also weighed in, including Neil Daly writing in the Post.

The engagement and unity of our community hit a high water mark with the unprecedented unity and strength shown in opposing AGL’s plans to build a gas import terminal at Crib Point. In a record response, more than 10,000 people, key stakeholder groups, councils and tourism operators either signed a petition or made representations to the independent planning panel.

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Shearwaters are back on track

13/10/2022