The Corinella foreshore walk ... a wide, shaded, wind-protected microclimate created by the low trees and shrubs. Photos: Geoff Ellis By Ed Thexton
I VISITED the Corinella Foreshore recently and it was a revelation. In the harsh clifftop environment, directly exposed to the prevailing south westerlies, the path west of the boat ramp wound through a wide, shaded, wind-protected microclimate created by the continuity of diverse, indigenous low trees and shrubs. Elevated vantage points provided views to Western Port.
I couldn’t help but contrast it with the foreshore path in my home town of Inverloch, which looks more like a municipal utility than a natural experience.
I drove to the northern section of the Corinella path, where the abundant birdlife on the bay spoke of the richness of the near shore marine environment.
I VISITED the Corinella Foreshore recently and it was a revelation. In the harsh clifftop environment, directly exposed to the prevailing south westerlies, the path west of the boat ramp wound through a wide, shaded, wind-protected microclimate created by the continuity of diverse, indigenous low trees and shrubs. Elevated vantage points provided views to Western Port.
I couldn’t help but contrast it with the foreshore path in my home town of Inverloch, which looks more like a municipal utility than a natural experience.
I drove to the northern section of the Corinella path, where the abundant birdlife on the bay spoke of the richness of the near shore marine environment.
Google Earth puts the Corinella foreshore into context. The aerial view shows the 30ha, 4.5km foreshore reserve to be the only connected vegetation in the vicinity of Corinella. The proximity to Western Port lends it a special significance. This coastal vegetation and Corinella itself are part of the internationally recognised UNESCO Western Port World Biosphere Reserve.
This diminutive slither of vegetation is critical because of its location as the meeting point of the land and the sea, of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Denoted as an ecotone, the meeting of two ecosystems is typically biologically richer than either alone.
The Friends of the Corinella Foreshore prompted my visit. They described how the beauty that I saw was a product of the sustained work of the Corinella Foreshore Committee of Management over the past 30 odd years. When they say it was the work of the committee, they don’t mean by employees, they mean by volunteers. All the co-ordination and much of the work, strategically aided by contractors when circumstances and finances allowed. The beauty of the current day is the product of persistent and consistent work by unpaid locals over decades.
The Friends of the Corinella Foreshore prompted my visit. They described how the beauty that I saw was a product of the sustained work of the Corinella Foreshore Committee of Management over the past 30 odd years. When they say it was the work of the committee, they don’t mean by employees, they mean by volunteers. All the co-ordination and much of the work, strategically aided by contractors when circumstances and finances allowed. The beauty of the current day is the product of persistent and consistent work by unpaid locals over decades.
| Why would I find it so astounding? As a resident of Inverloch, I have experienced first hand, the coastal reserves of South Gippsland now part of the Yallock Bullock Marine and Coastal Park. In addition, I can identify with the vegetation management of the Corinella Foreshore because I was engaged in similar work for the past 40 years across the state’s urban and rural waterways. Having walked hundreds, if not thousands, of waterway frontages, including many Crown water frontage reserves, I can tell you it’s exceptionally rare to find a water frontage managed by a landowner, at times across generations, that has kept the biological values, as has the Corinella Foreshore Committee. The contrast between frontages actively managed for biodiversity and those not managed was always obvious. |  The views have it Jan 24, 2024 - Corinella homeowners have won their battle for a sea view with the long awaited landscape plan by DEECA declaring that vegetation may be thinned or cleared in residential areas with "view line potential". |
The Corinella Foreshore is public land, part of the Coastal Reserve of Victoria, about 2000kms long in total, which was set aside by our forebears for the public. This is something that is denied to both NSW and Queensland where private land runs to the beach. The value of coastal reserves is becoming clearer with our changing climate. It is our buffer.
The usual story is clearing, disturbance, reduction and localised extinction of indigenous plants and animals, invasion by pest plants, animals, and grazing. Suppressed, degraded and invaded, the indigenous vegetation is usually a mere shadow of its former self. Once the cattle are removed, weeds proliferate.
It has been my little joke that our visionary forebears set aside these strips of land before the rest of the land was cleared. It has only taken us 100-plus years to work out why and join them in realising their true value. In the meantime, we managed it by unrestricted grazing, just like we did the rest of the catchment.
What sets the Corinella Foreshore apart is that they kept management local, like a farmer. And they took over at the critical juncture when stock grazing was being phased out. The results are reflected in today’s vegetation. The species mix along the Corinella Foreshore walk contrasts markedly with the vegetation of the coastal reserve on the cliffs west of Inverloch, where exotic invasives are strongly represented.
The usual story is clearing, disturbance, reduction and localised extinction of indigenous plants and animals, invasion by pest plants, animals, and grazing. Suppressed, degraded and invaded, the indigenous vegetation is usually a mere shadow of its former self. Once the cattle are removed, weeds proliferate.
It has been my little joke that our visionary forebears set aside these strips of land before the rest of the land was cleared. It has only taken us 100-plus years to work out why and join them in realising their true value. In the meantime, we managed it by unrestricted grazing, just like we did the rest of the catchment.
What sets the Corinella Foreshore apart is that they kept management local, like a farmer. And they took over at the critical juncture when stock grazing was being phased out. The results are reflected in today’s vegetation. The species mix along the Corinella Foreshore walk contrasts markedly with the vegetation of the coastal reserve on the cliffs west of Inverloch, where exotic invasives are strongly represented.
Because they live locally, the Corinella committee members have come to understand the individual and collective properties of the indigenous vegetation species in this harsh environment. They observed first hand, over years and decades, the cycles of species establishment, growth and senescence. They could evaluate the results of their interventions and adjust. Because money was short and volunteer time always limited, they opted to do what works best at least expense. Removing exotic woody weeds, for example, can be expensive but not if the seedlings are removed repeatedly before they have a chance to grow large.
The net result is that Corinella is way ahead of other coastal towns. I can only hope the advantage – and all that hard work – isn’t squandered. All vegetation requires ongoing management and informed care. Fragmentation is the enemy of biodiversity. With fragmentation my beautiful experience of that walk may become a thing of the past, never to be replicated.
Ed Thexton is president of the South Gippsland Conservation Society.
The net result is that Corinella is way ahead of other coastal towns. I can only hope the advantage – and all that hard work – isn’t squandered. All vegetation requires ongoing management and informed care. Fragmentation is the enemy of biodiversity. With fragmentation my beautiful experience of that walk may become a thing of the past, never to be replicated.
Ed Thexton is president of the South Gippsland Conservation Society.