Like many voluntary environmental groups, the passionate members of the Southern Beaches Landcare Coastcare and Friends of Maatsuyker Island Wildcare work to make their region a better, safer and more beautiful place.
This work was recognised at the state government’s Volunteer Awards, with Marina Campbell winning the Environment and Conservation Award for her work with both groups.
Southern Beaches Landcare Coastcare secretary Gwen Egg said the group covers 27km of coastline and islands between Lewisham and Connelly’s Marsh, with most of their work concentrated between Lewisham and Primrose Sands.
“We were one of the first groups to start in 1991, and this is our 25th year,” she said.
The group plays an important role, taking on coastline protection and safety as well as community education in conjunction with the new community house and garden at Dodges Ferry.
Some of this work is handled by Marina, the group’s public officer, whose role includes talking to the community about the group’s work and staying on top of its work, health and safety commitments. Southern Beaches Landcare Coastcare volunteers are also involved in helping to measure the state’s beach profiles for TasMark.
After forming in the early 1990s, the group spent a long time communicating with experts and community members to understand the local environment and its history.
It held field days, beach walks and talks, collected and propagated seeds, identified coastal access points and commissioned studies to find out more about the significance of the vegetation along the coastline.
“We did a study on the coastal walkways and came up with principles to make it easy for people to do the right thing,” Gwen said.
“We’ve been successful in reducing the number of informal tracks in the dunes.” Through its work within the coastal reserves, the group discovered a critically endangered orchid and has invited an expert visit in spring to educate members and the community about other orchids in the area.
“We’re trying to focus on getting people who live around patches of remnant vegetation to look after them,” Gwen said.
“We see people as our greatest asset. We always try to work with the community in a positive way.”
To volunteer with Southern Beaches Landcare Coastcare or Friends of Maatsuyker Island Wildcare or find out more about their work, contact Gwen Egg on 6265-8335 or visit their Facebook page.
