By Gabriella Payne
The state of Victoria is home to many natural wonders, but residents of the Cardinia Shire and the City of Casey may be unaware of the unique UNESCO protected landscape that exists in our very own backyards, and the people working hard to protect it.
Skirting along the coastal areas of Cardinia and Casey lies the Western Port Biosphere, an internationally recognised nature reserve that is home to a vast range of unique flora and fauna and is one of only four active biosphere reserves in Australia.
Spanning 2,142 square kilometres across five local government areas and French Island, the Western Port Biosphere is a diverse environment made up of a mixture of landscapes including national and marine parks, rural agriculture and urban growth areas.
The biosphere is home to many rare and endangered species of animals, like the Southern Brown Bandicoot, and supports many international migratory shorebirds, who fly over 25,000 kilometres annually from their breeding grounds in Siberia and Alaska, to their feeding grounds here in the Western Port.
After being recognised by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve for “the outstanding natural values of the region” in 2002, the Western Port area garnered international attention and in 2003, the not-for-profit organisation, Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Foundation was born.
Made up of environmentally conscious and passionate people, the Foundation have spent the last 18 years working with the local communities to “create a sustainable future” for the Western Port region, environmentally, socially and economically.
Greg Hunt, the executive officer of the Western Port Biosphere Foundation, said that despite the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic had brought about, the Foundation had been working hard to continue protecting the region throughout lockdown, and it was fantastic to have been able to hold their annual general meeting in person recently.
“The Western Port region is an unbelievably special place and it’s definitely a place worth protecting,” Mr Hunt said.
“The whole point of the Biosphere Foundation is to understand how we can meet human needs, whilst also protecting the environment we live in.”
Mr Hunt said that after a year of e-meetings and remote work, the Foundation’s face-to-face AGM, held in late January, was a great success with a few new faces and you could feel “the sheer joy” in the room as people talked with one another about their shared environmental interests.
Many new and current projects were discussed by the Foundation members at the meeting, including the ‘water stewardship project’, ‘banishing the biosphere’s pests’ and an international initiative called ‘migratory birds on the flyway’.
Mr Hunt said that through the water stewardship project, the Foundation had worked with many businesses to help “manage water more sensibly” and the results so far had been incredibly promising.
“One business that we worked with was Ingham’s Chickens,” Mr Hunt said.
“They have a workforce of approximately 650 staff at Somerville, and as a result of this program we worked with their staff, helping them with sensible water practices – and since then they have reduced their water use by two thirds.
They’re now sending cleaner water out into the Western Port as well, so it’s a win-win.
We still get to eat chicken, whilst looking out for the environment and making it cleaner,” he said.
Another key project that the Foundation is continuing to work towards in 2021 is the ‘banishing the biosphere’s pests’ problem, spanning across Casey and Cardinia, in the hopes of protecting native wildlife.
Among the many types of native animals found in the area, Mr Hunt said that the Koo Wee Rup swamp and Cranbourne Gardens were home to a “viable population” of Southern Brown Bandicoots, which thanks to many predators, are now endangered.
Mr Hunt said that the Foundation were working towards “managing foxes and feral cats”, but it was also regular household cats that roamed at night which were adding to the problem.
“Cats should be indoors at night, because if they are out at night, sorry bandicoot – but you’re dinner,” Mr Hunt said.
“Our aim as a Foundation is to meet human needs too and we know that people with a pet cat have a real direct health benefit from having that pet, but we don’t want the wildlife of the region to be damaged or impacted because of that.”
As well as these ongoing projects, the Biosphere Foundation members also discussed how they would work towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals laid out for the Western Port Biosphere Reserve.
“This particular patch of the world has been recognised by UNESCO, it’s one of four active biosphere reserves in Australia and one of only 714 in the world. It is a truly special place,” Mr Hunt said.
“We don’t want to damage the environment, we want to protect it for years to come.”
If you would like to learn more about the Western Port Biosphere Foundation or want to get involved, visit www.biosphere.org.au or visit your local government council page to see how you can help work towards a sustainable future.
