4 June 2007
As it prepares to celebrate World Environment Day on 5 June, the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation also celebrates a year of solid achievement in its efforts to show the way to a more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable future.
The foundation now supports a diverse range of conservation and sustainability projects, with benefits for communities across the biosphere reserve.
This month, the foundation ran a highly successful event, ‘Western Port in 2025: Feeling the Heat’, in partnership with the Department of Sustainability and Environment. In the hypothetical format made famous by Geoffrey Robertson QC, participants looked forward to 2025 to grapple with climate change, population growth and other challenges for Western Port and its catchment. Almost 150 people attended the event, which was held at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Pakenham.
During the event, the foundation introduced its newly appointed Executive Officer, Graham McLennan, who is bringing strong executive and project management skills to the biosphere reserve. It also launched its web site, biosphere.org.au, which will be an information portal for sustainability issues within the biosphere reserve.
At a practical level, the foundation has established an integrated catchment management project to clean up Watson Creek, which drains into Western Port’s Yaringa Marine National Park. Watson Creek is one of Victoria’s most polluted creeks. This collaborative project involves three local governments (Frankston, Casey and Mornington Peninsula), Melbourne Water, EPA Victoria, Parks Victoria, industry and private land owners. The foundation received funding to hire a part-time project officer to bring stakeholders together and gain a commitment to improving the water quality of the creek.
In what has been an exceptionally hot, dry year, the foundation’s Mornington Peninsula Roundtable secured a Community Water Grant to install water-saving equipment in 22 schools across the Mornington Peninsula. The project will save 1,000,000 litres of water a year.
Meanwhile, the foundation’s Frankston Roundtable partnered with Frankston City Council and the Western Port Greenhouse Alliance to hold a climate change forum attended by over 300 people. Held in August 2006, this was reportedly the largest climate change event in Victoria prior to Al Gore’s visit. Keynote speakers were Victoria’s Commissioner for Sustainability, Dr Ian MacPhail, former Head of CSIRO Climate Research Centre, Dr Graeme Pearman, citizen of the Pacific island of Tuvalu, Don Kennedy, and Biosphere Reserve Foundation Chair and President of Greening Australia Victoria, Rob Gell.
On the biodiversity front, the foundation’s Research Committee, supported by the Frankston Roundtable, won a Natural Heritage Trust grant to undertake habitat improvements at The Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve to protect a colony of the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot. An outcome of this grant was the first forum in Victoria on the Southern Brown Bandicoot, which attracted over 50 scientists, government departments and land managers.
Several more Southern Brown Bandicoot colonies have been discovered in the biosphere reserve, and awareness of the needs of this species is growing. The foundation has recently applied for a Threatened Species Network grant to protect remaining colonies in Cardinia and Casey.
Also at The Pines, the Frankston Roundtable is hosting a Green Corp Training Program for 10 unemployed youth, in partnership with the Frankston North Community Group. The program will commence this month and involves Frankston City Council, Parks Victoria and Chisholm Institute of TAFE. Participants will gain work experience at Frankston City Council’s indigenous plant nursery and complete a Certificate II in Bushland Management.
On the other side of Western Port, the foundation’s Bass Coast Roundtable has piloted a business sustainability recognition program, which aims to encourage small businesses to adopt sustainable practices. This program is now being evaluated for roll-out to other municipalities across the biosphere reserve.
The Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve was nominated by the community and declared by UNESCO under its Man and Biosphere Program in 2002 because the area contains and supports exceptional ecological values on the fringe of an expanding city. It comprises the Mornington Peninsula, the waters of Western Port, and the southern part of the Western Port water catchment.
Its governing body, the Mornington Peninsula & Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation, is a partnership between the Victorian Government, the five local government authorities within the biosphere reserve (Bass Coast, Cardinia, Casey, Frankston and Mornington Peninsula), and six community roundtables — one in each of these municipalities and one on French Island.
© Mornington Peninsula & Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation Ltd 2012