Mon 23 June, 2008
Coastwest grants help revegetate, rehabilitate WA beaches
A total of 16 community groups and local governments will share over $700,000 to carry out extensive revegetation and rehabilitation work on beaches and dunes along Western Australia's coastline.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the grants ranged between $7,000 and $118,835 for projects on metropolitan and regional beaches and most involved co-operation between volunteers and local governments or other coastal authorities.

“Coastwest grants directly support the implementation of the State Coastal Planning Policy, by funding community groups to identify, plan and carry out improvement work,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“The largest grant will fund the Perth Coastal Biodiversity Project, a far-ranging program to rehabilitate and strengthen vegetation communities in so-called ‘Priority One’ sites along the length of the metropolitan coastline – areas deemed to have high-integrity vegetation values.

“The project will engage five local governments from Joondalup to Rockingham, working collaboratively with the Swan Catchment Council and numerous community groups.

“Two significant grants are for removing a beach stormwater drain to improve water quality on Rockingham beaches and for a major dune rehabilitation project at Coogee Beach.

“It is a sad indictment of human behaviour that one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed in Australia each year by marine debris. A grant of $36,730 will support a South-West marine debris project to address this problem in the Capes area.”

The Minister said other grants would support dune revegetation and stabilisation and improvements to coastal paths at D'Entrecasteaux National Park, Geraldton, Kwinana, North Mullaloo, Prevelly and on Rottnest.

“One group, the Friends of Marmion Marine Park, has won a grant to create an educational resource for teaching children about coastal ecosystems and how to conserve and protect them,” she said.

The complete list of grants provided in the current round is as follows:

Rockingham Coastal Drainage Study stage two:

$54,200 to the City of Rockingham.

The City of Rockingham will remove a beach stormwater drain from Rockingham and Palm Beaches, which will significantly improve inshore water quality with flow-on effects for flora, fauna and human health.

Rehabilitation of coastal heath dunes and threatened ecological community:

$60,000 to Coogee Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

The project will focus on rehabilitation and revegetating 3.8ha of dunes within the

Woodman Point Regional Park around Poore Grove, Coogee, in conjunction with the development of a regional surf lifesaving and multi-purpose community facility.

South-West marine debris project:

$36,730 to the Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society.

This group will target marine debris in the South-West through monthly monitoring activities, annual community events, data collection, reports, workshops, an educational website and media promotions of research findings.

Creation of Perth Beachcomber education kits:

$35,500 to Friends of Marmion Marine Park.

Working with the Department of Fisheries, the group will research and write the Perth Beachcomber education kit - a map, poster, guide brochure, student activity kit, teacher resource kit, CD ROM and folder - to raise understanding of local coastal ecosystems and build a greater appreciation for the care of these fragile systems.

Prevelly/Gnarabup foreshore rehabilitation and coastal access stage five:

$30,400 to the Margaret River Coastal Residents’ Association.

This proposal is a continuation of the objectives of stages one to four, the formalisation of selected paths, closing of unnecessary paths and the rehabilitation of the dunes close to the works.

Point Moore dune stabilisation and Respect the Beach program stage one:

$24,000 to Point Moore Coastcare Group.

The Point Moore Coastcare group will be building fences and erecting signs to manage vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the dunes, and will work to control invasive exotic plants and animals (notably African Boxthorn and rabbits) with fencing,brushing and baits. It will also work to educate all stakeholders on the importance of dune preservation and the effects of vehicles on dunes and associated habitats.

Replacement of stairs at Rocky Bay:

$20,800 to Winnit Club.

In conjunction with the Rottnest Island Authority, the group will replace the dangerous stairway to Rocky Bay, at Narrow neck on Rottnest Island, which will ensure safe and easy access to the beach.

Dune stabilisation at Sandtrax and Port Beaches, Fremantle:

$16,400 to Conservation Volunteers Australia.

Working with the City of Fremantle, volunteers will build a viewing platform with fencing, install erosion control and plant thousands of plants to improve the biodiversity of the area and strengthen community involvement in the coastal zone.

North Mullaloo Beach dune rehabilitation:

$13,400 to Joondalup Community Coast Care Forum.

The group, along with the City of Joondalup will undertake dune rehabilitation to stop the degradation caused by increasing numbers of people visiting the beach, and help return it to its natural state.

Coastal rehabilitation of Kwinana Beach:

$10,130 to Kwinana Beach Coastcare Group.

Working with the Town of Kwinana, the group will continue the work of the last few years with extensive planting of native flora to benefit local fauna and improve the natural appeal of the area.

Fish Creek - Short Beach track stabilisation and rehabilitation:

$7,230 to the WA 4WD Association.

The WA 4WD Association will lay and pin 300m of rubber matting to stabilise the access track to Short Beach in the D'Entrecasteaux National Park. Volunteers will also build wind fences along the track to assist in rehabilitation and prevent degradation from vehicle use and wind blowouts, and plant seedling to further stabilise the dune system.

Community capacity building in the South-West coastal region

$77,801 to the South-West and Peel Coastal Management Group Inc(CoastSWaP)
This project will assist coastal community groups, local governments and partners to build their capacity in caring for the coastal environment in the South-West. It will focus on planning, facilitating and promoting coastal protection-related information as well as coordinating and supporting on-ground coastal projects.

Implementation of coastal on-ground works in the Northern Agricultural Region
$77,801 to the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC).
This project will promote and assist the implementation of coastal on-ground works to ensure the protection of the coastal ecosystems within the Northern Agricultural Region, an area from Kalbarri to Gingin spanning 7.5 million hectares. On-ground works will include weed removal, revegetation, dune stabilisation, fencing and public access works.

Community driven coastal planning and implementation for Roebuck Bay, Broome
$77,801 to the Roebuck Bay Working Group.

Building on previous planning initiatives, Roebuck Bay Working Group will coordinate coastal planning, including the launch and implementation of the Crab Creek Management Plan and resulting on-ground works such as weed eradication from the Ramsar-listed area of the Crab Creek foreshore of Roebuck Bay.

Indigenous Engagement along the Swan Coastal Zone

$65,835 to the Swan Catchment Council.

This project seeks to ensure that indigenous engagement and understanding are integrated into the work being undertaken by local governments and Coastcare groups along the Swan Metropolitan coastline. The project will highlight cultural heritage along the coastline by establishing information panels at six sites displaying the site history in detail; the publishing of a Coastal Trails booklet to record traditional knowledge that is being lost from the region; and promote the understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures.

Perth Coastal Biodiversity Project
$118,835 to the Swan Catchment Council.

Sites in the Perth metropolitan area will benefit from a rehabilitation program aimed at strengthening priority coastal vegetation sites. Sites will benefit from community based on-ground works to reduce impacts from invasive weeks, erosion and human impacts.