WGCMA | Yarram nursery growing strong

Yarram nursery growing strong

Landcare volunteers in Yarram didn’t have a native plant nursery nearby – so they built their own.  Now the thriving community nursery is selling more plants and attracting more volunteers than they could have imagined.

“We sold everything we had on the first day we opened– over 1,000 plants,” said Anna Feely, Yarram Yarram Landcare Network Facilitator. “It was pouring with rain but people still turned up. It was very exciting.”

Opening in late 2024, The Yarram Community Nursery is managed entirely by Landcare volunteers who propagate and care for over 4,000 local native plants including varieties such as Melaleuca ericifolia (Swamp Paperbark), Acacia melanoxylon (Australian Blackwood) and Casuarina (She-Oak). Most of the plants are grown from locally collected seed carefully stored in the network’s extensive seedbank.

The idea for building a community nursery came from needing a supplier of local, native plants for Landcare projects, explained Bronwyn Teesdale, Yarram Yarram Landcare Network Board member and driving force behind the project.  “There were no nurseries in the area. The last one closed down a few years ago so when we needed plants for reveg projects, we had travel far away to get them. ” “We already had our own seedbank filled with local seed, so it seemed ideal to start our own nursery right here.”  

A Victorian Landcare Grant provided funding for key materials including fencing, a sprinkler system and a polytunnel while volunteers constructed potting tables and helped get the nursery up and running. 

“The community support has been amazing,” said Anna.  “Yarram Recreation Reserve provided the space to house the nursery and HVP Plantations generously supplied soil and hands-on help. A local timber mill recently dropped off two-tonnes of soil-improving biochar and a donated glasshouse is coming soon so we can start sowing seeds earlier in the year.” 

The nursery is not only filling a gap in the area by providing affordable plants for the community, it’s also providing a space for social connection with up to 15 volunteers coming each week to help care for the plants, propagate the seedlings and enjoy a cuppa and chat afterwards. 

“I get a real buzz coming here every Tuesday, it’s got such a good vibe,” said Anna. “Our location on the corner of recreation reserve is fabulous because the community can see what we’re doing and drop-in.” 

Landcare member Ben Layton agrees, saying the visibility of the site has been a huge bonus.   “The community nursery has become a focal point for Landcare in Yarram. People driving or walking past can see us and come and find out what’s happening. Being here has helped us reconnect members. It’s bringing people out of the woodwork and back into Landcare,” she said. 

Spurred on by the community’s support, this year Yarram Yarram Landcare Network is aiming to increase its supply from 3,500 to 15,000 plants and convert the garden shed into a hub for Landcare training days and social activities. 

Anna’s vision is to be able grow enough plants to supply large-scale revegetation projects.  “At the moment we have to rely on grants to purchase plants for revegetation projects, but long term we’re keen to improve people’s properties with plantings grown at the nursery, using local seed suited to the area.” 

Marnie Ellis, Regional Landcare Program Officer at the CMA said: “It’s wonderful to see this space thriving and with so much potential and benefit for the community and future Landcare projects.”  “It’s another example of West Gippsland Landcare groups bringing positive environmental change to their communities, fuelled by people-power and boosted by funding from the Victorian Landcare Grants.” 

The Victorian Landcare Grants support the implementation of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037, the Victorian Government’s long-term plan to protect the state’s environment. 

West Gippsland CMA is proud to be appointed by the Victorian Government as the Regional Landcare Coordinator for West Gippsland supporting the region’s five vibrant Landcare Networks: 

Anna Feely and Ben Layton from Yarram Yarram Landcare Network at the Community Nursery

Volunteers at Yarram Yarram Landcare Network Community Nursery

Ben Layton and volunteers at the Yarram Yarram Landcare Community Nursery

Native plants grown at the Yarram Yarram Landcare Community Nursery

Lasting legacy for Powlett River/Kugerungmome

Collective action and passion for the iconic Powlett (Kungerungmome) catchment was on full display recently as people power drove the planning for the next phase of works to be delivered through strong partnerships and good old fashioned hard work.

There was a lot of love in the room as West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA), over 20 partner organisations, community members and landholders gathered to plan the next phase of what is known in the business as community driven stewardship or Integrated Catchment Management. The day was made richer with everyone bringing their own unique experiences, perspective, skill and priorities.

“Our best work is done collectively and respectfully with Traditional Owners leading the process,” said Deb Archer, Manager Strategy, Investment and Partnerships for West Gippsland CMA.

“When partners combine knowledge, passion and effort, we get maximum value for money and, most importantly, maximum results for the plants, animals and community who live along the rivers and tributaries from source to sea.”

“We are proud of the achievements of the previous program and are looking to complete at least another 750 hectares of work over the next three years and keep celebrating and showcasing how awesome this community is,” Deb told the group.

To start the conversation, the group reflected on the achievements of the previous Powlett River/Kugerungmome Partnerships Project (2020-2024):

The delivery of a self-determined project in partnership with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation where Traditional Owners set the priorities and pace of the project. This project focussed on reconnecting Traditional Owners to Country, Cultural values and developing partnerships that enable on Country and Community healing.
Strong and active partnerships were developed that led to knowledge sharing and working together to improve stewardship in the Kugerungmome catchment.  
Over 294 community volunteers engaged through the project.
98 hectares of degraded land revegetated and weed control over 225 hectares.
One baseline aquatic survey for catchment health.

“Everyone worked together and had something to contribute,” said Jack Harriss from Bass Coast Landcare Network who played a major part in the previous project successfully working to reduce foxes to protect wildlife including threatened Hooded Plovers.

Getting out on site was an important part of the day beginning with the group standing on Country at Kugerungmome estuary and reflecting on the commitment to Traditional Owner self-determination that guides the project. Kugerungmome is the original name of the river gifted to the project by the Bunurong Land Council. The story of the river is told in a painting by artist John Winch that is brought to every gathering.

Next stop was a landholder’s property that has been transformed with the help of Bass Coast Landcare Network through funding gained in the previous project.

When Paul and Sonia Grovers bought their 140 ha property the paddocks were barren and creek lines eroded. The couple became “accidental inner city cattle farmers” with a reduced herd of Black Angus Beef cattle to “keep the grass down”.

“It has been absolutely delightful watching the right plants being put in the right place. We are giving 25% of the property back to nature with 37 ha being planted with 25,000 trees. We have also removed weeds and fenced creek lines,” said Paul. 

“It’s been a pleasure and we’d love to keep going. It’s great to break even and also see the land recover.” 

Actions on this and other properties are contributing to a broader vision held by many of the stakeholders attending.

“Currently 15% of Bass Coast Shire is revegetated and we are aiming for 30% by working together on initiatives such as this,” said Diana Whittington from Bass Coast Shire Council.

 “Landholders are key, they inspire others and create a legacy of ongoing stewardship and care on properties,” said Kelsey Tong, West Gippsland CMA.

Deb Archer WGCMA, Kelsey Tong WGCMA and Lauren Halstead Trust for Nature

The second site visit was to one of six adjoining bushland properties near Archies Creek. The properties each have a Trust for Nature covenant to protect and enhance the unique connected remnant native vegetation in this part of the catchment.  

Trust for Nature began work on the properties in 1990 and their most recent success was to transform this block from being completely covered in the weed pittosporum to uncover and enhance the original eucalypt woodland.

“This was a huge task – the landholders were completely overwhelmed,” explained Lauren Halstead from Trust for Nature.

“It was dark with a huge wall of pittosporum that you could barely walk through, but we took a strategic approach by attacking the female trees first and then the males. The biodiversity returning is also creating opportunities for Traditional Owners to contribute through a planned cultural burn that will further enhance connection to Country.

“We all have similar challenges and, working as a collective, we can make a big difference. It’s quite rare to get this awesome opportunity to be together and explore opportunities – together we can achieve so much more. This next three year program is ambitious and ultimately working towards 20-year healthy catchment goals,” said Deb.

A second partner workshop will be led by West Gippsland CMA to develop the initial shared visions and insights into a detailed program of works to be delivered by partners for the next three years.

This project is funded as part of the Victorian Government’s Our Catchments, Our Communities program aiming to improve the health of waterways and catchments across regional Victoria.

Our role in providing flood advice to keep communities safe

West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is responsible for over 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the region and delivers programs for healthy and resilient catchments.

Under Victoria’s Planning Schemes, the West Gippsland CMA is a recommending referral authority not a determining referral authority. Local Government are responsible for issuing Planning Permits and generally support the advice provided by the West Gippsland CMA.

One of West Gippsland CMA’s important roles is to advise the community on Victorian Government’s State Planning Policy and to assist in decision making about flood risk and preparedness to keep Victorian communities safe.

West Gippsland CMA reviews planning applications and advises Councils or individuals of flood risk. This is based on best available modelling and directed by State policy.

Key points around the current situation at Loch Sport

We acknowledge the current situation around planning approvals in Loch Sport is complex and also that any changes to policy can be unsettling.
This is the beginning of the process towards updated Flood Overlays in the Wellington Planning Scheme. The process will include input from the community through an independent and transparent engagement process. This will ensure the Wellington Planning Scheme is updated, based on input from the community and with the best available flood mapping that aligns with State Government policy.
West Gippsland CMA will continue to focus on our role in the process which is following State Government policy to provide flood risk advice without fear or favour.
Our primary focus is to make sure homes and people are not exposed to hazardous flood conditions.
We have formed a working group with Wellington Shire Council to guide the next steps to update the Wellington Planning Scheme with the best available flood mapping information.
We’ll continue to work together to develop a coordinated and strategic approach to the risks associated with increased flooding due to climate change and in particular sea level rise by 2100.

Why is this happening?

Local government are required to update their Planning Schemes to ensure they contain the best available flood hazard information.
The West Gippsland Floodplain Management Strategy was released in 2017 and remains unchanged.
What has changed is that Wellington Shire Council (November 2023) and the West Gippsland CMA (February 2024) have updated their policies in relation to the sea level rise benchmark to align with State Planning Policy. The sea level rise benchmark set by State Government determines the flood level used by the West Gippsland CMA when assessing planning permit applications.
The change to State Planning Policy 13.01-2S came in September 2021 with Planning Scheme Amendment VC171 introduced into all Planning Schemes across Victoria.  This required an 0.8 metre sea level rise be considered for planning decisions across Victorian coastal areas.
Most local government areas across Victoria’s coast have implemented the change to State Planning Policy into their planning decisions.

Autumn Estuary update

Estuaries are dynamic and often in a state of transition. This Autumn is a great example of an environmental zone that is in flux.

Across West Gippsland, estuaries are super important, working hard to soften the transition as rivers meet the sea. Many of the region’s estuaries open and close to the sea as conditions change and this is a natural and important process.

This Autumn, Bourne Creek, Merriman Creek, Kugerungmome/Powlett River and Wreck Creek Eastern Branch Estuaries are closed to the sea.

These closures are part of a natural process. During times of low river flows and moderate-high tides and swells they can stop flowing to the ocean because a sand bar forms across the entrance.

These estuary closures are good for the river because they provide calm, stable waters for fish to feed and breed, help the native plants and increase areas for birds to feed.

Under natural conditions, when an estuary is closed, water levels rise over time and eventually erode the sand bar – this usually happens with high rainfall in winter and spring. These natural openings are important because they reset the estuary and floodplain by flushing out nutrients and salt.

Estuary closures sometimes impact the environments and infrastructure we rely on like farmland, recreational assets, roads and bridges.

So, to keep things safe for us, an artificial opening may be needed.

Artificial openings are when a channel through the sand to reconnect the estuary to the ocean is undertaken manually. This usually happens during times of lower flows and are not as effective as a natural opening at flushing out nutrients and salt from the estuary.

West Gippsland CMA’s role is to manage the approvals if an artificial opening is needed. This task is complex, and something not done lightly. We do a thorough risk assessment to minimise possible impacts to the environmental, cultural, social and economic values of the estuary.

In the long-term, we are working with landholders, land managers and Traditional Owners towards a vision of reducing the need for artificial openings at sites along the Bunurong and Mullungdung coast (Kilcunda to Seaspray) and letting natural processes flow at sites like Kugerungmome/Powlett River that are loved and highly valued by the community.

At Kugerungmome/Powlett river estuary, we are working with partners to enable the mouth to open and close naturally which is the ultimate vision. If this vision can be achieved it will have many benefits, not just for the estuary and its floodplain but also for the socio-economic values such as tourism and recreational opportunities.

2025 Victorian Landcare Grants open for West Gippsland

The Victorian Government is helping volunteer groups and networks protect and restore Gippsland’s precious environments with Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos announcing today that the 2025 Victorian Landcare Grants are open.

There is $3.55 million available to support volunteers in caring for the State’s landscapes and biodiversity and $337,250 available for the West Gippsland CMA region.

The grants are open to environmental volunteer groups and networks, including Landcare groups and networks, Friends groups, Conservation Management Networks, Committees of Management, Coastcare groups and Aboriginal groups. 

Project grants of up to $20,000 are available for on-ground works and community education projects focused on enhancing the natural environment, including native vegetation and wildlife, waterways and soils.   

Support Grants of up to $500 are available to assist with administrative and operational expenses of groups and networks. 

“Landcare has a long and proud history in the region, right across the catchment. From Archies Creek in the west over to Munro in the east, passionate volunteers are delivering local and landscape-scale projects to protect our region’s environment,” said CEO of West Gippsland CMA, Martin Fuller.  

“In 2024, Landcare groups across the region received funding of $337,250 for 21 projects and 26 support grants for initiatives such as safeguarding remnant forests, restoring swampy woodland to protect threatened species, developing a community nursery and inspiring the next generation of Landcarers.

“The continued work of Landcare volunteers across the catchment is inspiring and vital to the CMA’s goal of healthy and resilient catchments. I look forward to seeing what projects will come out of the 2025 grant process.”    

West Gippsland CMA is proud to be appointed by the Victorian Government as the Regional Landcare Coordinator for West Gippsland supporting the region’s five vibrant Landcare Networks:

The grants will help achieve targets set in Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037, the Victorian Government’s 20-year plan to protect our environment and native species.

Applications for the Victorian Landcare Grants closed on 16 April 2025.

Stories from 2024 Grant recipients

Yarram Yarram Landcare Network’s community nursery

Landcare volunteers in Yarram didn’t have a native plant nursery nearby – so they built their own using funding thanks to funding from a Victorian Landcare Grant.

“The grant helped us turn our idea for a community nursery into a reality. Now we’re selling more plants that we could have imagined and attracting more members into Landcare. It’s been amazing,” said Anna Feely, Network Facilitator at Yarram Yarram Landcare Network.

Open since October 2024, The Yarram Community Nursery is managed entirely by Landare volunteers who propagate and care for over 4,000 local native plants including varieties such as Melaleuca ericifolia (Swamp Paperbark), Acacia melanoxylon (Australian Blackwood) and Casuarina (She-Oak).

Gippsland Intrepid – the next generation of Landcarers

Victorian Landcare Grants are helping the next generation of Landcarers protect and restore the environment – all while having epic adventures across Gippsland.

Gippsland Intrepid Landcare organise activities that combine fun and friendship with environmental work such as kayaking while mapping weeds, hiking to monitor pest species and tree planting festivals, all while supporting Landcare groups and networks across the region, helping them connect young people to Landcare.

A highlight of the event calendar is the hugely successful Plant & Dance events where the Gippsland Intrepid team partner with local Landare groups and private landholders to plant thousands of plants on site in one day with a festival atmosphere followed by live music, DJs and food.

Thanks to funding from the Victorian Landcare Grants, the group has now run three hugely successful Plant & Dance events where hundreds of volunteers – aged 18 to in their 30s – have helped plant over 10,000 trees.

“Plant & Dance sums up what Gippsland Intrepid is about – doing fun stuff and helping the environment,” said Kelsey Tong, co-founder of the group.

Fall in love with Gippsland’s rivers, help keep them clean and healthy

At West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, we love all the rivers that are the lifeblood flowing through our region and ask everyone to share some affection for rivers this Valentines Day by helping to keep them clean and healthy.

“We are proud to care for 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the catchment of West Gippsland all flowing to the Victorian coast – into the world renowned Gippsland Lakes, Corner Inlet or directly into Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean,” said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA. 

“Everything that happens along these waterways has an impact further downstream affecting the health of wildlife, rivers, wetlands and coastal areas.”

The CMA delivers programs for healthy and resilient rivers and catchments including protecting threatened species, removing weeds, fencing and revegetating rivers, recovering from floods, delivering water for the environment to bring rivers back towards their natural flows, restoring wetlands and working with farmers to be at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and prepare for the impacts of climate change.  

“We are incredibly proud of the work we are a part of alongside Traditional Owners, partners, landholders and community – from picking up a piece of rubbish through to planting one tree or ten thousand or adopting new agricultural practices – every action is important and appreciated.”

“There have been some recent examples of litter being dumped along West Gippsland’s waterways which is disappointing and unnecessary so we ask everyone to take a few simple steps to protect the rivers we all love to visit and live near.”

It’s pretty simple to take a few steps towards being a river lover:

Join your local Landcare group that provides a wealth of knowledge and tools to get you started.
Always put litter in the bind and recycle and reuse whenever possible
Swap plastics out of your life as much as you can – find a safer and healthier alternative
Keep up to date with workshops, grants, sustainable farming incentives and landholder programs available by signing up to our Catchment Snapshot e-news and socials.

“Every little bit of love we can show for rivers adds up to a more healthy and resilient home for wildlife, agriculture and the West Gippsland community to live in and enjoy.”

Join the Gippsland Lakes Coordinating Committee

Expressions of interest are sought for the Gippsland Lakes Coordinating Committee.

The Committee provides advice to the Minister for Water on environmental issues and priorities within the Gippsland Lakes and its catchment.

Community applicants are being sought from the following fields:

Up top three members with knowledge in waterway management
A Traditional Owner with knowledge of Gippsland Lakes values
A current member of a local recreational water user group with an interest in the Gippsland Lakes.

The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring that government boards and committees reflect the rich diversity of the Victorian community.

You can apply here Join a public board | boards.vic.gov.au where you will need to register.

If you have further enquiries or have any difficulty in accessing the documents, please contact East Gippsland CMA on 0477 444 863.

Expressions of interest will close at midnight Wednesday 5 March 2025.

Celebrating Corner Inlet on World Wetlands Day

This World Wetlands Day, held on Sunday 2 February, West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, (the CMA) is proud to celebrate the ongoing commitment to protecting world renowned Corner Inlet Ramsar wetland through its Corner Inlet Connections project.

Wetlands are among the world’s most productive environments and countless species of plants and animals depend on them for survival. This year’s theme is ‘wetlands for our common future – value, protect and inspire’.

“Every day is wetlands day in West Gippsland which is home to over 1,500 wetlands including 11 that are listed as nationally important under the Directory of Important Wetlands Australia,” said CEO of West Gippsland CMA Martin Fuller.

As well as having cultural significance, wetlands act as the ‘kidneys of the catchment’ – protecting the environment by capturing and filtering water and acting as a natural sponge to absorb, store and reduce flood levels. They provide essential habitat for wading and migratory birds, threatened species and it is a key function of the CMA to restore and protect wetlands across the region.

Corner Inlet Ramsar wetland is a recognised haven for migratory and resident shorebirds and made up of extensive seagrass meadows, and unique intertidal mudflats and forests of white mangrove (Avicennia marina) – the world’s most southerly distribution of this species.

The project aims to reduce key threats and protect and enhance the values of Corner Inlet wetland that is protected under the Convention on Wetlands declared in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.

Through this project, the CMA will work with Traditional Owners, partners, landholders and community to:

Protect mudflat and saltmarsh communities through controlling the high treat weed Spartina
Protect and enhance saltmarsh communities through stock exclusion fencing, weed control and weed monitoring
Manage threats to shorebirds, like the Hooded Plover, through controlling pests.

In the first year of the five-year project, the CMA partnered with Parks Victoria, GLaWAC, Trust for Nature and BirdLife Australia to achieve positive results including treating spartina, controlling foxes to protect shorebirds, improving water quality, and safeguarding 136 hectares of saltmarsh including a 25 hectare Trust for Nature covenant protecting the area forever.

In total, weed control covered over the entire site of 67,000 hectares with 530 hectares of pest animal control and water monitoring will help measure results of the efforts across the broader catchment.

BirdLife Australia teams undertook seasonal shorebird counts and monitored the breeding success and health of key species of beach nesting birds such as Hooded Plovers, Pied Oystercatchers and Crested Caspian and Fairy terns.

“We are proud to be continuing the decades of work in Corner Inlet through understanding the threats we need to address to protect this significant wetland for our common future,” concluded Mr Fuller.

This project is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by West Gippsland CMA, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.

West Gippsland CMA is responsible for over 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the region and delivers programs for healthy and resilient catchments. All these waterways flow to the Victorian coast, discharging through the Gippsland Lakes, or directly into Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean.

Protecting the Gippsland Lakes from west to east

West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (the CMA) is proud to have delivered five projects for the Love Our Lakes program across the Gippsland Lakes ranging from protecting and enhancing wetlands to creating homes for fish in the Lower Avon River.

“West Gippsland’s catchment includes the western end of the Gippsland Lakes – notably Lake Wellington and the rivers that feed into it. We are delighted to play our part in delivering positive works for the health of the Lakes through the Love Our Lakes program with partners and community,” said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA.

“Each of the projects will build on research and grow resilience and capacity for the Gippsland Lakes system through creating cleaner rivers and fish habitat, giving wildlife and wetlands room to move, trialling solutions for shoreline erosion and monitoring floodplain birds and vegetation.”

Dirty Rivers

This project targeted some of the ‘dirtiest’ river reaches within Lake Wellington catchment that contribute the most sediment to the Gippsland Lakes and transformed them by securing landholder agreements then fencing, removing weeds and replanting the river reaches.

Along Rainbow Creek, the team protected over 50 metre wide buffers on either side of the river, with four kilometres of fencing and 7.1 hectares of weed control and revegetation of the site. With cattle and willows removed, plants can recover, bank erosion is reduced, natural filtration is increased and significantly less sediment is transported into the beautiful Lakes.

Room to Move

Five freshwater wetlands were restored across the latest Love Our Lakes program – each unique and most located on private land. The team worked towards a vision of restoring freshwater refuges along the rivers that run into the Lakes to provide refuge for wildlife and plants such as the majestic river red gums.

At a private property near Sale the CMA identified an open marsh style site as a priority because it is bordered on three sides by Sale Common and Flooding Creek. The team removed the weeds and put 6,000 indigenous plants into the site ranging from water plants to trees and ground covers.

Lower Latrobe Wetlands Flora & Fauna Surveys

In partnership with BirdLife Australia, the CMA monitored wetland bids around Sale Common and surveyed plants on the Lower Latrobe Floodplain that flows into Lake Wellington. Plant surveys found nine rare species, with such beauties as Water Parsnip (Berula erecta) Eastern Water Ribbons (Cycnogeton microtuberosum), Feather-leaf Buttercup (Ranunculus amplus) and the vulnerable River Swamp Wallaby Grass (Amphibromus fluitans). This shows the importance of working with landholders to protect and enhance the Lakes’ floodplains and results will inform future management of the areas.

The bird surveys counted 3,612 birds from 82 species with Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) being the most abundant. At Dowd Morass, Royal Spoonbills (Platalea regia) were recorded breeding and roosting along with Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae), Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) and Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris).

Lake Wellington fringing vegetation re-establishment trials

In an exciting and innovative trial project, the CMA worked with Australian Landscape Trust on the north shore of Lake Wellington to tackle shoreline erosion.

The team trialled three different structures at the Trust’s Strathfieldsaye property to determine which is most effective in buffering wave action to protect native reeds and allow them to re-establish.

These are:

Pile fields
Scattered woody debris
Offshore reef.

The property includes areas of Trust for Nature covenants and Greening Australia has also planted Phragmites australis (Common Reed) on the newly protected shoreline.

Reducing wave action and reestablishing the fringing vegetation that once dominated the Lake Wellington shoreline has enormous potential to decrease erosion, improve water quality and provide a blueprint for innovative shoreline protection in this unique and challenging environment.

Creating better homes for fish in Lower Avon River

This project helps to understand resident fish populations, create more habitat for them to thrive and improve facilities for fishers and river users. 

To be able to measure success, the CMA undertook fish surveys using various methods including electro fishing. They recorded Estuary Perch, Australian Bass, Bully Mullet and Flathead Gudgeon.

A second fish survey was conducted after the instream structural habitat was installed which showed the fish using their new habitat for feeding and shelter.

These projects are part of a $248 million investment by the Victorian Government to improve the health of waterways and catchments across regional Victoria. Of this, $7.5 million was provided to improve the health of Gippsland Lakes over three years (2021-2024), through support to the Gippsland Lakes Coordinating Committee and for the delivery of on-ground works and community engagement.

Merry Catchment Christmas from the CMA

As West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) wraps up another year of caring for the catchment, we would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy Christmas and thank you for your support in 2024.

Each day, our team is hard at work partnering with Traditional Owners, Landcare, landholders, government and community to improve West Gippsland’s catchment from the mountains to the sea. The Authority’s newly published Annual Report and Achievements Brochure summarise the work of the CMA and the benefits for catchment health.

“In 2024, we were extremely proud to deliver environmental initiatives funded by the Victorian 
and Australian governments and acknowledge the support of Traditional Owners, partners and community,” said West Gippsland CMA CEO, Martin Fuller. 

“All of our projects focus on catchment health and include restoring rivers and wetlands, managing estuaries, delivering water allocations for the environment and working with landholders on sustainable agricultural solutions.”

“Partnerships are at the heart of the work a CMA does and range from Landcare, community groups and government agencies. Supporting self-determination for Traditional Owners is also a key focus.”

In 2023-24, West Gippsland CMA delivered many projects to benefit waterways including:

Planting 104,050 trees over 152 hectares
Delivering 34,476 megalitres of water for the environment
Protecting 106 hectares of remnant vegetation
Treating 993 hectares of weeds
Securing 96 management agreements to work together with landholders to repair and restore waterways.

The team also completed a program of flood recovery works stemming from the major impacts of the June 2021 flooding and storm event delivering:

19 waterway structures
7.5 kilkometres of fencing
6 hectares of vegetation
17 earthworks
30 management agreements.

“This was a year when many major projects wrapped up and new ones beginning. Two highlights were commencing the Toward Zero Extinctions: Protect the Eastern Hooded Plover project and the delivery of a fresh round of Corner Inlet Connections where we focussed on protecting shorebirds and other values of the internationally renowned Ramsar wetland.”

A key function for the CMA is supplying statutory services and advice and we processed 904 planning permit referrals and requests for flood advice along with providing support and assistance to ensure appropriate permitting and planning is undertaken to protect waterways and floodplains in the region.

“As we look back on 2024 and forward to working together to address the challenges and opportunities of 2025, we sincerely thank everyone for their ongoing support to be able to achieve benefits for West Gippsland’s catchment health that ultimately contribute to Gippsland’s wealth,” Martin concluded.

West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (the CMA) is responsible for over 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the region. All of these waterways flow to the Victorian coast, discharging through the Gippsland Lakes, or directly into Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean. 