Every seal counts
March 22, 2023 - On International Seal Day, a Phillip Island Nature Parks researcher is appealing to local fishers not to discard fishing line. 
Adventures at VCAT
After a week spent binge-watching a pivotal case, Ed Thexton concludes that between the theatre and the tedium, a clash of world views is reduced to trivialities. 
Let’s get together
Jan 25, 2023 - Given the lack of political will to protect Western Port, Neil Daly proposes a citizens assembly with the results to be presented as a petition to Parliament. 
Operation Fairy Tern
Jan 27, 2023 - Three summers ago, 31 fairy tern pairs fledged 49 chicks on Churchill Island. Since then, not a single chick has survived. 
Away with the birds
Nov 8, 2022 - Microlight aviator Amellia Formby drops in to celebrate Western Port’s migratory shorebirds 
Hands off Western Port!
Oct 17, 2022 - In the past decade, more than 200 million has been spent on failed attempts to industrialise Western Port. A bold new plan aims to stop it happening again. 
What's a forest worth?
Oct 20, 2022 - Tim O’Brien questions the local environmental cost of Melbourne’s Big Build. 
Stark choices on coastal assets
Oct 19, 2022 - From Bass Coast to Bells Beach, coastal councils are struggling to respond to local flood risks and coastal erosion, writes Bass Coast Mayor Michael Whelan. 
Labor lags on woodland protection
Oct 11, 2022 - Four of the five confirmed parties fielding candidates in the Bass electorate have committed to significant action to protect the Western Port Woodlands 
For Our Future
Oct 19, 2022 - Expect the unexpected when the arts, science and culture come together in a new program celebrating Bass Coast places and people. Laura Brearley explains. 
Shearwaters are back on track
Oct 13, 2022 - Almost 1.5 million short-tailed shearwaters have arrived on Phillip island right on schedule. 
Forrest Caves and the passing of time
Sept 15, 2022 - Not even the rocks are permanent on this mysterious and constantly changing beach, writes Linda Cuttriss. 
The Mighty Ayr
Sept 22, 2022 - “Don’t sweat the small stuff” or “From small things big things grow”? Waist deep in his local creek, Ed Thexton ponders the contradiction as he does battle with a demon weed. 
Island powers on
Sept 14, 2022 - Phillip Island’s vision to become fully renewable by 2030 is a step closer, with plans approved for a big battery and a trial of community energy storage. 
Environmental love-in-action
August 18, 2022 - The Sybil Disobedients cross the bay to stand with the Western Port Woodlands. Laura Brearley reports 
My precious piece of Australia
Aug 17, 2022 - Richard Kemp is privileged to share his patch of paradise with creatures great and small. 
My EV journey continues
July 21, 2022 - Michael Nugent asks four local EV pioneers about their experience of owning – and driving – an electric vehicle. 
A power for good
June 30, 2022 - Wanted: 100 Phillip Island households to share renewable energy. Zoë Geyer explains the watts and volts of Bass Coast’s first neighbourhood battery tariff trial. 
Locked out
June 17, 2022 - It’s meant to be a conduit for the community to raise issues of concern, but a Grantville mining committee operates more like a secret society, writes Neil Rankine. 
Cycle of life
June 18, 2022 - A walk with Terri Allen is an education. The conversation roams from history to botany to bird watching but it might also cover drainage, swamps and local politics. 
Back to nature
June 4, 2022 - In the 1960s and 70s a dodgy developer sold 337 seaside blocks on Phillip Island, many to overseas buyers. The former housing estate is now a conservation success story. 
‘Resolve mining conflict first’
May 20, 2022 -Council challenges Government to fulfil its charter to protect environment and biodiversity. 
Shock on mine expansion
May 7, 2022 - Mayor says serious community and environmental concerns have been ignored. 
Harmers swamp 'under threat'
May 4, 2022 - Attempts to subdivide the swamp have been rebuffed for 70 years. John Old hopes the latest attempt will be treated the same way. 
What we’re learning from the woodlands
May 5, 2022 - The woodlands campaign is a living example of active hope, writes Laura Brearley. 
The ‘climate first’ election
April 21, 2022 -There was an overwhelming message at last weekend’s climate rally, reports Jessica Harrison 
Never mind the devastation; look at the vista
March 9, 2022 - There is nothing in the Distinctive Areas and Landscapes about how to protect our woodlands. There is, however, plenty about how to protect sand mining. Catherine Watson reports 
Back to nature
March 25, 2022 - Residents of our coastal hamlets value their connection to nature, writes Emily Clarke, so don’t try to turn them into suburbia. 
The good life reimagined
March 10, 2022 - In the midst of a climate emergency and housing crisis, Zoe Geyer imagines a sustainable tomorrow for her daughter. 
The next small thing
March 9, 2022 - Ed Thexton reports on the latest in nest box technology, including new methods to deter Indian mynas and other raiders. 
Detours ahead
Feb 23, 2022 - Dave Sutton calls for some fine tuning of the proposed inland pathway route between Inverloch and Wonthaggi to retain mature bushland, while Dave Drummond explains why a coastal route isn’t feasible. 
A recipe for fun
Feb 23, 2022 - Bass Valley Primary School students will be watching with interest to see how “their mangroves” perform over the coming years. Neil Daly was there to watch the muddy adventure. 
Where we belong
Feb 11, 2022 - Walking on the Corinella foreshore, Alison Normanton vows to do her bit to preserve it for future generations. 
It’s time we set the agenda
Jan 28, 2022 - If Western Port is to be saved, ‘the people’ have to set the agenda for the politicians to follow, writes Neil Daly. |
Time for a ceasefire
Feb 17, 2023 - Sally McNiece calls for a ceasefire from the chainsaw brigade while there’s still some remnant vegetation left to save. 
Further, wider, stronger
Feb 17, 2023 -Western Port and the hinterland are inextricably linked, writes Neil Daly 
A feast of good gardening
Jan 25, 2023 - Bass Coast gardeners show and tell all in the second Edible Gardens Weekend. 
Yes please, more trees
Jan 27, 2023 - Cowes and Inverloch are the standout towns for tree cover in Bass Coast and San Remo is the barest. 
Call of the wild
Dec 14, 2022 - Linda Cuttriss visits Scenic Estate Reserve and finds Nature has reclaimed it despite the best efforts of developers, boy racers, vandals and even conservationists. 
The Prom
Nov 28, 2022 - Lucinda Bain's prize winning essay celebrates the beauty of our world and our diminishing hope for the future. It ends on a hopeful, simple, profound fact. 
Man of the trees
Oct 17, 2022 - Sally McNiece goes bush with Ringo Gannon and learns that when it comes to significant trees size isn’t everything. 
Inverloch dune works preferred option
Nov 11, 2022 - Conservation Society supports sand dune renourishment ahead of rock walls, writes Philip Heath. 
On the koala trail
Nov 13, 2022 - Genetic analysis confirm koalas in the Western Port Woodlands are a rare remnant population. 
When knowledge is power
Oct 21, 2022 - Werner is explaining the miracle of heat pumps, striding the room like one of the old Energizer ads. Catherine Watson reports. 
Bandicoots’ wild anniversary
Oct 20, 2022 - Duncan Sutherland still has vivid memories of the night he and a team of rangers released 67 eastern barred bandicoots on Phillip Island. 
Paperbark town
Oct 20, 2022 - When the swamp paperbark is in bloom, the snapper are on the bite, writes Terri Allen. 
Power to the people
Oct 16, 2022 - From the Andes Mountains to the shores of Western Port, communities and the natural environment are under pressure from governments’ focus on the bottom line. Neil Daly reports. 
‘5000 trucks a day’ forecast
Sept 22, 2022 - Bass Coast communities to bear brunt of mining expansion for Melbourne’s Big Build. 
Caring for Western Port Country
Sept 21, 2022 - Governments and developers will have carte blanche on Western Port until we fix our “box mentality”. 
Harmers dustup
August 19, 2022 - Federal Labor MP Ged Kearney was once hailed as “swamp saviour Ged” for buying a swampy bit of land in Harmers Haven to save it from development. 
Tiny glider knocks ‘em for six
Sept 15, 2022 - Finding the world's smallest gliding mammal in The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve was a dream come true for Dave Newman. 
Close to home
July 21, 2022 - Covid put a stop to Dave and Jackie Newman’s wildlife safaris around Australia and introduced them to the natural riches just down the road. 
In the mood for winter
July 20, 2022 - Winter has a bad reputation but Linda Cuttriss loves its many moods. 
On the koala trail
June 3, 2022 - Once koalas were hunted to the point of extinction. Catherine Watson joined a hunt for their survivors. 
Together we can
June 2, 2022 - When World Environment Day met Reconciliation Week … Laura Brearley celebrates the transformative power of collective action in Bass Coast. 
Leo’s climate action story
May 19, 2022 - Attending his first climate strike on Phillip Island, Leo Wood-Ingram realised he was part of something important. Photos by Laura Brearley and Terry Melvin 
Spotlight on Coronet Bay
May 20, 2022 - Discovery of five swamp antechinus heartens those working to improve biodiversity. 
How to talk to children about climate change
April 21, 2022 - Meg Humphry hopes her new book offers a gentle way into a very tough subject. 
Back to earth
April 22, 2022 - We all have a part to play in regenerating the planet we share, writes Christine Grayden, and Earth Month seems a good time to start. 
Let’s join the dots
April 20, 2022 - Treating Western Port and the region as an entity is the best way to resolve the issues that plague it, writes Neil Daly. 
Blue carbon skies ahead
March 8, 2022 – Restoring mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems in Western Port could play a major part in reducing carbon emissions. 
Crunch time for Inverloch
March 25, 2022 - The mapping is done and now it’s time to make some hard decisions on Inverloch’s eroding coastline. Catherine Watson reports 
Summer of strangeness
March 23, 2022 - Feral tomatoes, transgender nuts and ravenous birds … summer was full of surprises for local gardeners, reports John Coldebella 
Crunch time
March 9, 2022 - The old Mazda has served Michael Nugent well but he’s ready for the EV revolution. He invites us to join him on the journey. 
Sign of the times
March 9, 2022 - Clearing vegetation for the new Inverloch pathway reveals a sign erected by the council warning against the clearing of vegetation. 
Same old story
Feb 11, 2022 - When Frank Coldebella saw the front page headlines about a bike path in the Sentinel Times, he had a sense of deja vu. 
Big cat sighting adds to mystery
Feb 11, 2022 - The Grantville area has long been a hot spot for big cat sightings. Meryl Tobin reports 
A feast of garden ideas
Jan 28, 2022 - Bass Coast gardeners will show and tell all in the inaugural Edible Gardens Open Weekend. |
Jan 12, 2022 - More than 250 people braved strong easterly winds on the Inverloch surf beach on Wednesday to call for urgent action to save the disappearing sand dunes.
‘Time is running out’
Dec 15, 2021 - The next few months are critical in the fight to save the Inverloch surf beach, writes Philip Heath. 
The sea won’t wait
Nov 19, 2021 - There might not be much of Inverloch’s beach left to save by the time a coastal hazard assessment is completed, writes Cr Leticia Laing. 
Swan & Clarke - a visionary team
Dec 3, 2021 - A former cattle grazing property at Rhyll, now a wildlife haven, forever links two great conservationists, writes Neil Daly. 
The wonder of the woodlands
Nov 5, 2021 - Ed Thexton marvels that this remnant of a lost world has survived against the odds. 
Our guide to the future
Oct 22, 2021 - What will a house or farm of the future look like? This year’s Sustainability Festival sets out to answer the question. 
Of magic, mystery and monsters
Oct 7, 2021 - Linda Cuttriss joins a woodlands walk and finds a new kind of magic in the hills above Grantville and The Gurdies. 
Sifting the plans in play
Oct 7, 2021 – It’s time for a new strategic framework for Western Port and its region, writes Neil Daly. 
Have we got a deal for you!
Sept 24, 2021 - Like to buy an electric vehicle but deterred by the cost? Totally Renewable Phillip Island wants to hear from you, writes Zoe Geyer. 
Co-operate or perish!
Sept 24, 2021 - When our politicians fail us, writes David Arnault, it’s time to find our own allies. Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak 
Road to the future
Sept 10, 2021 - A group of South Gippsland citizens are seeking a better way to live, for all in their community. David Arnault reports 
Test track back on the market
August 27, 2021 - The proposed resale of the Lang Lang Proving Grounds is a mixed blessing for a group campaigning to protect the region’s last significant forest. 
Caught in the slipstream
August 27, 2021 - The transition to the renewable economy will be as revolutionary as the move from horse and cart to the steam engine, writes Michael Whelan, but Australia is being left behind. 
How we see it
August 18, 2021 - Forty people on a mission to nail a vision of Bass Coast in 2041. Here’s what we came up with, writes Harry Freeman. Now tell us what you think. 
How much is a forest worth?
August 18, 2021 - Local film-makers Terry Melvin and Laura Brearley turn the camera on sand mining in Bass Coast’s last significant forest. 
Sand miners on notice
July 29, 2021 - Expert report raises alarm over toxic pollutants from sand mining in Grantville corridor entering Western Port. 
Will your feet be the end of me?
July 16, 2021 - When it comes to walking tracks, it's not all about us, writes Julie Thomas. 
Parks are for everyone
July 2, 2021 - People need to experience natural beauty before they will grow to love and protect it, writes Leticia Laing. 
The secret life of orchids
July 16, 2021 - Dick Wettenhall delves into the underworld of this miraculous plant (including sexual deception) and reveals the threat posed by sand mining to some of Victoria’s rarest orchid communities. 
Time to draw a line in the sand
June 18, 2021 - New mining projects in Bass Coast are a threat to Western Port’s precious wetlands, warns Professor Dick Wettenhall. 
Living with creeks
July 2, 2021 - Rivers and waterways are serious, writes Ed Thexton, but creeks are a different matter. 
Yes I’m a Nimby!
June 18, 2021 - What's the point of turning a sublime coastal walk into an industry, asks David Arnault. 
Mining opposition gathers force
June 4, 2021 - Hundreds sign petition calling for a moratorium on more sand mines in Bass Coast’s last coastal forest. 
‘Listen to the locals’
June 4, 2021 - Yallock-Bulluk coastal trail plan suffers from lack of local knowledge: Alliance 
Time for action now: students
Local students join national climate protest with a march through Wonthaggi CBD. 
The joy of gardens
May 21, 2021 - For young children, gardens are part adventure playground, part moving feast, writes John Coldebella. 
Try again on trail: planning expert
May 7, 2021 – Leaving Cape-Inverloch off the Yallock-Bulluk trail is a cop-out, writes Nicholas Low 
Songs of praise
May 7, 2021 - In Toe Pecker, Liz Low has found a friend who knows how to greet and farewell. 
Coastal track a planning poser
April 22, 2021 - Creating a walking/cycling trail from San Remo to Inverloch was never going to be easy. 
The scarlet pimpernel of Wonthaggi
April 22, 2021 - An intrepid young fox doesn’t seem to play by the the rules, writes a half-admiring John Coldebella. Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak 
Hands off our bay
April 9, 2021 - Once more the community has had to ward off an assault on Western Port by big business, writes Jeff Nottle. 
Some have heard the call
March 23, 2021 - Neil Daly is delighted to report that his plan for Western Port has actually made it inside the Victorian Parliament, courtesy of the Sustainable Australia Party. 
On centre stage
Feb 26, 2021 - Western Port is a World Heritage Site waiting in the wings, writes Neil Daly. 
Tiger, tiger, turning tight
Feb 13, 2021 - A sensor camera in a garden shed catches a tiger snake doing battle with a mouse trap. Video by Gil Smith 
Megabits empower the people
Jan 30, 2021 - Thanks to COVID, the inquiry into the AGL/APA proposal for Crib Point was truly democratic, writes Neil Daly, who watched much of it from the comfort of home. 
‘Councillors must hold their nerve’
February 13, 2021 - Defeatist council report on sand mining expansion ignores council policies and community concerns, writes ex-mayor Neil Rankine. |
Swan & Clarke - a visionary team
Dec 3, 2021 - A former cattle grazing property at Rhyll, now a wildlife haven, forever links two great conservationists, writes Neil Daly. 
Going, going, gone!
Nov 19, 2021 - Works by some of Gippsland’s finest artists will be auctioned in support of the campaign to save the Western Port woodlands. 
Cosy homes made easy
Nov 19, 2021 - Heat pumps, power companies, rebates, insulation, emissions … two locals have done the homework so you don’t have to. Jessica Harrison reports. 
The wonder of the woodlands
Nov 5, 2021 - Ed Thexton marvels that this remnant of a lost world has survived against the odds. 
Woodlands the star of the show
Dec 15, 2021 - The joy of walking in our local woodlands is captured in a new film by Terry Melvin and Laura Brearley 
Season of twists and turns
Dec 15, 2021 - John Coldebella observes a succession of mysterious happenings in the garden this spring. 
Back to the future
Nov 5, 2021 - Neil Daly asks whether the blue carbon method could redress much of the damage to Western Port caused by a century of drainage works and land clearing. 
Words from the Woodlands
Oct 22, 2021 - Many of us have been walking in the woodlands lately. Now Laura Brearley invites us to share the experience through poetry or prose. 
Seven lunches from chaos
Oct 7, 2021 - At last the Murdoch media empire has recognised the seriousness of climate change. Ed Thexton found the evidence at the bottom of Page 25. 
How to stay sane
Sept 24, 2021 - In these tense times, nature is our best friend, writes Terri Allen. 
Island flock prospers
Sept 24, 2021 - While South Australia’s Cape Barren geese are doing it hard, our local geese are looking right at home. 
Crunch time for woodlands
Sept 10, 2021 - Sand mining surge threatens Bass Coast’s rare woodlands and threatened species: Victorian National Parks Association report. 
Question time
Sept 10, 2021 – Why does Spring Street continue to treat Western Port so differently from its neighbour, asks Neil Daly. 
The good life
August 27, 2021 - How our houses can make or break us, the first in a series on housing by Zoe Geyer. 
A watery makeover takes shape
August 27, 2021 - A seagrass research team goes to great depths in their quest to restore more seagrass meadows to Western Port. 
My war on pittosporum
Don’t be fooled by the beautiful foliage and sweetly scented flowers, writes Richard Kemp. This plant is a monster. 
Alternative energies
Long before wind and solar power, there was elbow grease, carbide and kerosene. Mark Robertson admires a new collection in the Wonthaggi Museum. 
Has the longest day begun?
July 29, 2021 - MPs take note, the people are ready to protect Western Port once more, writes Neil Daly. 
Treasure island
July 29, 2021 - In June a team of naturalists headed for French Island in search of some small brown bumps on top of some brown bark. What they found there was beyond their wildest dreams, reports Catherine Watson 
Rail trail picks up steam
July 28, 2021 - $6m extension fills one more link in the regional Great Gippsland Trail cycling and walking track. 
Do you hear the people sing?
July 2, 2021 - Laura Brearley invites us to join a chorus of voices for Bass Coast’s last remnant coastal bushland. 
Winter recess – a time to gather our thoughts
July 2, 2021 - The latest assault on Western Port’s hinterland shows how much we need a complete land and sea management plan, writes Neil Daly. 
Shelf life
June 18, 2021 - When you dip a camera into a rock pool and fire it off, there’s no telling what you’ll get. But every now and then it’s magic, writes Helen Keellings. 
Hail the whales!
June 18, 2021 - Our whales are back, earlier and in greater numbers than usual on their annual migration north to breed. Photo: Lisa Schonberg 
Saving the planet, a paddock at a time
June 4, 2021 - For 20 years Phillip Island carbon farmer Bob Davie has been a voice in the wilderness. Suddenly everyone is listening, writes Catherine Watson. 
Mystery Road
June 4, 2021 - Geoff Ellis and Neil Rankine made good use of their COVID daily exercise time to fill in one of the missing links on the proposed San Remo-Inverloch trail. 
Power deal cuts costs and emissions
May 21, 2021 - Bass Coast Council will be powered by 100 per cent renewable power from July 1 in a landmark deal that also cuts the shire’s energy bill. 
Melbourne’s big build threatens rare coastal forest
May 7, 2021 – Campaigners threaten to take forest battle to Labor’s inner-city electorates 
Time to walk with nature
May 7, 2021 - We have to start undoing the damage we have done to the environment, writes Neil Daly. 
What’s happening to our bush?
May 7, 2021 - Wonthaggi’s intrepid seed collectors brave the elements and a dwindling supply of seed to preserve our bush. Terri Allen reports 
For the next milestone …
April 22, 2021 - The AGL decision is a breakthrough on the journey towards a Western Port Strategic Management Plan, writes Neil Daly. 
Ecological losses “a balancing act”: QC
April 9, 2021 - A Grantville sand mining company does not have to meet the same environmental standards as other land users, the company’s lawyer argues. 
A labour of love
March 23, 2021 - Daryl Hook farewells the farm and wildlife haven he has created over 40 years. Story and photos by Geoff Ellis. 
Here be dragons – and cows
March 23, 2021 - Picasso and Dali decide on a challenge: who can design the most outlandish and bizarre fish. The wondrous result is living in a bay near you, writes Mark Robertson. 
Council pans Dandy Premix plan
Feb 17, 2021 - Dandy Premix’s plan to expand its Grantville sand quarrying operation has been panned by Bass Coast Shire Council. 
The incredible journey
February 13, 2021 - A chance sighting prompted Gil Smith to learn more about the short-finned eel and its epic journey from Deep Creek to the Coral Sea. Now he fears the impact of sand mining on the creatures that call this area home. |