Celebrating a year of catchment health
Increasing partnerships, removing the last willow from the Agnes River, and delivering a remarkable flood recovery program were just a few of the highlights of 2023 for West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA).
We are incredibly proud of all we have achieved together with Traditional Owners, partners, volunteers and community over the past year to protect and enhance West Gippsland’s wonderful natural assets.
You can read all about it in our 2023 Achievements Brochure (PDF 32MB)
Across the catchment, notable achievements of 2023 include:
- Completing 178,339 hectares of weed control to protect native vegetation and restore habitat
- Revegetating and enhancing 194 hectares of vegetation for wildlife and healthy ecosystems
- Benefiting 9,744 hectares by creating whole farm, irrigation and soil erosion management plans.
In June 2021, a major event caused storm damage across Gippsland with flooding in a number of catchments. Over the last two years, we have assessed damage and undertaken repair works via a comprehensive flood recovery program including:
- Treating 214 hectares of weeds to enhance biodiversity
- Planting 14,250 trees to stabilise riverbanks
- Fencing 4.13 kilometres to protect waterways
- Creating three waterway structures to make the river more resilient
- Stabilising 7.31 kilometres of riverbanks at eight sites
- Using rock to strengthen and repair 3.98 kilometres of riverbanks.
You can download and read our 2023 Achievements Brochure (PDF 4MB), for a snapshot of all we’ve achieved over the past year, including case studies of key projects and partnerships.
Boost for native Bass
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) along with Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) and community members recently released 10,000 native migratory Bass into Traralgon Creek.
“We were delighted to partner with VFA and the community to release this next generation of native fish into the system,” said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA.
Over the past two decades, the CMA has been working with Traditional Owners, landholders, partners and community to improve the health of the catchment to allow these fish to thrive. This Bass stocking is only made possible by this work to secure environmental flows and improve river health.
“We see this release as one that represents hope for the river. Bass were recently listed as ‘rare’ in Victoria and the VFA’s stocking program, along with water for the environment, mean they are now off the Threatened Species list. “
Over their life, the young fish will make their into Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) where the CMA has fenced off stock, planted native vegetation and, for over a decade, has delivered water for the environment to provide conditions native fish need.
Water for the environment is set aside in major reservoirs and carefully released down rivers to support their health. The water can also be diverted into the lower Latrobe wetlands.
Bass are native migratory fish that need specific large water flows in late winter and early spring to cue spawning and migration. Over time, changes to the river for irrigation, water supply and other needs mean that these conditions now happen very rarely – so we give them a hand with deliveries of environmental water that mimic what would happen naturally. Floods in 2021 produced the most recent spawning event since the 1980s and it is hoped that this next event will also give the Bass population a boost.
While water for the environment can’t replace natural breeding cues, it can provide the right conditions to help these young Bass to grow and survive. It will also support the health of adult fish and promote breeding when conditions are right.
The Victorian Government is delivering a $248 million investment into improving waterway and catchment health across Victoria, including flagship waterway sites.
This ‘King of the River’ video gives you a great insight into the release of the native Bass.
Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) Life Source film
After successful preview screenings and meaningful community discussions in Sale, Traralgon and Warragul, we’re pleased to publicly release our new short documentary Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) – The Life Source.
The video tells the story of Durt’Yowan, the Gunaikurnai name for the Latrobe River and one of Victoria’s iconic rivers. Beginning near the Baw Baw plateau, running through the Latrobe Valley and into the Gippsland Lakes, Durt’Yowan has been the life source for people in Gippsland for thousands of years.
The film is aimed at getting the conversation started on the future of the river. Panel discussions after each preview screening demonstrated the passion for the river from its headwaters to the lower Latrobe wetlands and how the community wants to be involved in a positive future.
Reflecting on a year of catchment achievements
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is proud to report on achievements made for catchments, communities and wildlife in 2023 with the release of their Annual Report (PDF 4MB) recently tabled in Parliament.
“We are extremely proud to continue to deliver environmental initiatives funded by the Victorian
and Australian governments and acknowledge the support of Traditional Owners, partners and community,” said WGCMA Board Chair, Mikaela Power.
“Partnerships have increased again this year and range from community groups and government agencies through to industry and commercial partners. All play a very significant role in caring for catchments.
“Together we achieved 178,339 hectares of weed control, 194 hectares of revegetation and vegetation enhancement and 9,744 hectares set to benefit from whole farm, irrigation and soil erosion management plans.”
“In a year of many great results, a key highlight was the completion of work on a flagship South Gippsland waterway, the Agnes River and the removal the final willow from the system after 25 years of sustained effort.
“Over the year we focused our efforts on delivering initiatives supported by both the state and Australian Governments such as works in Corner Inlet, on the flagship Agnes and Carran Carran (Thomson) Rivers, partnering for Alpine Peatlands and delivering sustainable irrigation programs,” said Mikaela.
“Three key projects were completed as part of the National Landcare Program Regional Land Partnership Program including Alpine Peatlands Protection, Corner Inlet Connections and the Sustainable Agriculture Project. In addition to these projects, the program supports the Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator (RALF) position and the Indigenous Partnership Program.”
In 2022-23, over 48,838 hectares were inspected which resulted in 169.25 hectares treated for weeds in Corner Inlet and over 1,730.34 hectares of weeds controlled in Alpine areas. Through the National Landcare Program, we continued the important partnership with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation with On Country work in Corner Inlet and Alpine areas.
“Another key highlight was delivering a remarkable flood recovery program arising from the significant storm and flood event that hit the region in June 2021.”
Over the last two years, West Gippsland CMA has assessed flood damage and undertaken repair works across the catchment via a comprehensive flood recovery program that to date has achieved:
- Planting 14,250 trees
- Fencing 4.13 kilometres
- Creating three waterway structures
- Stabilising 7.31 kilometres of riverbanks at eight sites
- Treating 214 hectares of weeds
- Rock armouring of 3.98 kilometres of river banks.
Works along waterways focussed on creating wildlife habitat and building waterway resilience including:
- Fencing 23 kilometres of priority waterways
- Planting 62,500 trees over 88 hectares
- Treating weeds over 209 hectares
- Delivering 29,191 megalitres of water for the environment.
“We thank everyone for their ongoing support as we present this year’s achievements for West Gippsland’s catchment health that ultimately contributes to Gippsland’s wealth,” concluded Mikaela.
Innovative dairy farmers pave way for a sustainable future
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) in partnership with Agriculture Victoria is supporting four irrigators in central Gippsland to trial innovative irrigation and nutrient management practices that boost farm productivity while improving the environment.
“We’re partnering with irrigators to help tackle some the region’s greatest challenges like maximising water use efficiency and improving nutrient management.” said Land Programs Coordinator with West Gippsland CMA, Anthony Goode.
“These farmers are paving the way for sustainable irrigation by trialling technology that we hope will lead to better on-farm productivity, improved water quality in waterways and less greenhouse emissions from irrigated agriculture.”
Currently underway, the four trial projects include the use of variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology to optimise irrigation, expanding dairy effluent application through a pipe and riser system, installing a self-cleaning effluent pump to reduce blockages in pivot irrigators and smart sprinkler controls powered by solar energy.
Funding for the trial projects was provided through The Irrigation and Nutrient Management Demonstration Project, an initiative of the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Irrigation Program.
Customising irrigation to suit a challenging terrain
James Clyne is trialling variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology to optimise water use and increase pasture on a dairy farm with challenging terrain.
James’ 300 hectare farm at Newry features low-lying pockets of land that are prone to waterlogging, rendering them unproductive for pasture and potentially hazardous for the herd.
By installing VRI technology to an existing pivot irrigator, James can optimise irrigation to suit the varying terrain and soil profiles of his paddocks. This benefits his pasture and the health of the heard while also increasing water-use efficiency, reducing runoff and improving nutrient retention on the farm.
Maximising the benefits of dairy effluent to improve soil health
Jess and Steven Knight, irrigation dairy farmers from Llowalong, are trialling the use of a pipe and riser irrigation system to increase the distribution of nutrient-rich dairy effluent on their pasture.
Traditionally, effluent from the herd was disposed of via an open channel leading into one small paddock close to the dairy. With the pipe and riser system, dairy effluent can be applied across a larger area, providing benefits to the soil normally achieved with synthetic fertiliser.
Saving time and boosting soil health with self-cleaning technology
Ineffective filtration systems are a bug-bear of many spray irrigators because they block easily, preventing the valuable nutrients in effluent from reaching the soil.
Tinamba dairy farmer Tom Gannon is trialling a self-cleaning effluent pump to increase the effectiveness of dairy effluent application through a pivot irrigator.
Tom hopes the self-cleaning pump will result in less time spent cleaning the filtration system and more effluent flowing through the pivot irrigator onto his pastures.
Using smart technology to maximise solar powered irrigation
Organic dairy farmers Wilco Droppert and Sandra Jefford are trialling an automated solar-powered fixed sprinkler irrigation system at their Clydebank property to reduce energy consumption and save water.
While powering irrigation from the sun is not new, the approach being trialled by Wilco and Sandra aims to maximise the use of solar while it’s being generated with smart controllers that adjust sprinklers based on energy demand and availability.
All four trials are due for completion in mid-2024 and outcomes and learnings will be shared through our Irrigation Extension Program.
For more information about these trials or other landholder partnership programs, contact Anthony Goode, Land Programs Coordinator, at anthonyg@wgcma.vic.gov.au.
Sign up to Catchment Snapshot to keep in touch.
You can listen to Sandra Jefford talk climate change on this episode of the Gippslandscapes podcast.
Tiny creatures, mighty clues: how waterbugs help us understand waterway health
It was all about getting up close and personal with the tiny yet fascinating critters that live in waterways when West Gippsland CMA hosted a Waterbug Identification Training day last month.
Armed with nets, buckets and curiosity, West Gippsland CMA staff, Waterwatch volunteers and Parks Victoria rangers waded into Leongatha Wetlands collecting samples of mud and debris to analyse under the magnifying glass for the presence of waterbugs.
The session was part of the National Waterbug Blitz, a citizen science program that encourages people to investigate how healthy their local rivers, creeks or wetlands are by exploring and identifying the waterbugs they contain.
With guidance from freshwater ecologist and waterbug guru Dr John Gooderham, the group learned how to identify waterbugs using the Waterbug Identification App, which doubles as a survey tool for collecting valuable data about waterway health.
Freshwater macroinvertebrates (waterbugs) are a diverse group of insects, molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrates (animals with no backbone) that live in different habitats in our waterways.
“They are a mixed bag of critters all jumbled together with not much in common besides living under water”, says John.
“There are sideswimmers, dragonflies, wormy things, maggoty things, animals that build their own houses (caddis) animals that vomit silk. There’s lot of stuff going on, mostly biting each other’s heads off, so it’s hard not to like them.”
Waterbug species have different sensitivities and tolerances to pollution and changing water conditions. Their presence or absence is an indicator of how healthy that waterway is.
“We sort of know what should be in a waterway, and when they aren’t there, it gives us a clue that something is wrong. If lots of them aren’t there it’s worse. And if there are none there you should probably wash your hands a lot,” says John.
Monitoring the health of West Gippsland’s waterways is something Waterwatch volunteers have been doing for many years.
“Our catchment is cared for by passionate Waterwatch volunteers who have been collecting water quality data for 30 years,” says West Gippsland CMA’s Waterwatch coordinator Tash Marty-Cripps.
“The Waterbug identification training was a fantastic opportunity for volunteers and partners to gain new skills and tools so they can continue their vital role caring for West Gippsland’s catchment.”
Spring fresh
The carefully planned flows this Spring will add water for the environment to the natural flows, to build resilience for the river and allow free movement of young native fish up the rivers from the sea and estuaries.
A spring fresh is scheduled for Carran Carran (Thomson River) to start on 1 November and end on 20 November all of the details are now available on our current water releases page.
Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) The Life Source
We are heading up to the headwaters of the Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) for a special screening of the short documentary Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) The Life Source. This will be followed by a Q&A session with experts working and advocating for the health of the River.
With some big changes on the horizon for the Latrobe River, or Durt’Yowan as Gunaikurnai people have called it for thousands of years, it’s important to know the story behind one of Gippsland’s longest rivers. Coined a “working river”, since colonisation the Latrobe has been straightened, its floodplain drained, trees cleared, and dams built all to make the river work for us. All is not lost; we are at the edge of a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the Latrobe from a working river into a river that works again. In this short film you will be shown a brief history of Durt’Yowan including the ups and downs of its life to date and be inspired to help the river in its new chapter.
The screening will be held on Wednesday 1 November 2023 6:30pm – 8:00pm in the Lyrebird Room at the West Gippsland Arts Centre, 1 Civic Place, Warragul.
Tickets to attend the event can be booked here.
Helping Landcare protect the environment
Victoria and West Gippsland’s Landcare volunteers are set to deliver another round of exciting and inspired projects thanks to this year’s Victorian Landcare Grants.
Minister for the Environment Ingrid Stitt announced the recipients of $3.98 million for the 2023 Victorian Landcare Grants which will help volunteers protect and restore landscapes.
More than 240 projects were allocated grants worth up to $20,000 to further safeguard the state’s biodiversity, while $500 grants will be given to 269 environmental volunteer groups to assist with administration and running costs.
CEO of WGCMA, Martin Fuller said: “I am delighted that West Gippsland Landcare groups received $365,118 for 24 projects and 37 support grants.”
“Successful projects extend across a large portion of the West Gippsland catchment area and will support Landcare groups and valued volunteers to continue and also begin a range of projects that will support their current important role of enhancing the West Gippsland environment and its ability to adapt to meet emerging challenges.”
“Landcare has a long and proud history in West Gippsland. Made up of five Landcare networks that support 60 Landcare groups, they are a committed and motivated grassroots community that have delivered best practice natural resource management for more than 30 years.”
The successful projects vary from restoring habitat to protecting threatened species habitat in the Anderson Inlet area including the Lace Goanna and Blue Winged Parrot, planting multispecies pastures and revegetating the Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) and its tributaries to reduce sediment run off entering the Gippsland Lakes.
Tanjil Valley Landcare Group Community Festival
The Willow Grove Community Festival will see the Tanjil Valley Landcare Group raise environmental awareness of all visitors through a range of engaging displays and activities while strengthening community ties.
Group member John Crosby said: “We will have a mixture of environmental activities and displays with local community groups providing support with food, activities and music etc. The festival will feature interactive wildlife displays, renewable energy displays, tree planting, Nature Play activities and an environmental treasure hunt. This event will raise the profile of our group and of the environment.”
“The funding will enable us to provide high quality displays and activities for the event which will engage the public. It will give our group a great sense of worth to know we are going to be able to run this festival again and that we are supported by the government.”
Arawata Landcare Group: Building biodiverse microbiomes on-farm
Arawata Landcare Group’s successful project will work with local landholders to continue to establish a ‘green corridor’ to promote endemic vegetation and provide stepping stones for animal populations to access, supporting them to survive and thrive.
“Our project will consolidate and build on the past five years of planting more than 38,000 stems to revive, revegetate, stabilise and rehabilitate our landforms. We also want to build biodiversity on-farm through planned revegetation activities, and promote awareness among our members and our community of practices that improve long-term biodiverse outcomes,” said group member Jo Sapir.
“Without the support of VLG it would not be possible for Arawata Landcare to undertake these projects. Aside from the environmental benefits, the workshops and planting days are great opportunities for the community to get together, sharing their knowledge and expertise while providing great fun and a meaningful reason to get busy outdoors.”
Mardan Mirboo North Landcare Group – Tackling erosion and landslips in Strzelecki Ranges
The Mardan Mirboo North Landcare Group was successful to gain funds for their project to tackle erosion and landslips in the Strzelecki Ranges through an information resource, fencing and revegetation.
Landcare Group to tackle the devastating impact of erosion on soil quality and sustainable agriculture. The revegetation work supported by the grant funding will stablilise land where erosion has occurred, improve local biodiversity through the planting of native species, and help to reverse the loss of habitat for native fauna, including koalas,” said group member, Aaron Doty.
Group president Helen Hasty added: “This funding provides an amazing boost to our group and to the efforts of local farmers who are trying to deal with the impact of erosion. It is the best of both worlds – saving our farmland for the future, while also providing much-needed habitat for native plants and animals.”
Minister for the Environment Ingrid Stitt said: “This funding is an important way that we’re supporting volunteers and their communities to secure our environment for future generations.”
“Our volunteers are invaluable, and these grants will allow them to continue to make a significant difference at a grassroots level.”
The funding of volunteer groups is underpinned by the Andrews Labor Government’s Biodiversity 2037 strategy, a record investment of $582 million since 2014 – the biggest investment into protecting biodiversity and environment in our state’s history.
A full list of this year’s Landcare and Biodiversity grant recipients can be found here.
Smart Farmers reducing effluent entering Corner Inlet
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, partners and South Gippsland farmers recently gathered to talk about best practice for managing dairy effluent with the bigger picture of reducing nutrients entering Corner Inlet.
Over many years, a series of projects carried out across all catchments west of the Agnes River through to the Yanakie Isthmus has been making a positive difference to the health of world renowned Corner Inlet and also making farms more efficient and profitable.
At the Best Practice Effluent Management workshop recently convened by the West Gippsland CMA, two dairy farmers opened their properties for fellow farmers and farm consultants to inspect and discuss two dairy effluent systems that have been upgraded as part of the Corner Inlet Dairy Effluent Planning Project.
“The project involved 30 farms, covering a milking area of 5,808 hectares,” said Shayne Haywood, Manager – Land and Biodiversity for West Gippsland CMA.
“All farms had an Effluent Management Plan developed which guided the key recommendations for the effluent system upgrades. The project resulted in effectively doubling the effluent irrigation areas across these farms, from 1,042 hectares at the beginning of the project to 2,122 hectares available for irrigation at the end of the project.”
This increase in effluent irrigation area resulted in a reduction of fertiliser required, as dairy effluent is a highly valuable source of nutrients particularly nitrogen and potassium.
Other results were a combined total reduction of 2,594 tonnes of fertiliser (Urea, SSP, MoP & SoA) meaning a total saving for the district of $1,956,163 – an average saving of $65,205 per farm. The works will also stop 162 tonnes of nitrogen, 104 tonnes of phosphorus, 166 tonnes of potassium and 146 tonnes of sulphur from entering the waterways and larger Corner Inlet Catchment.
Hayden Need at his Hazel Park farm in the rolling green hills above Corner Inlet hosted the second site visit on his family farm that milks 320 cows. “The system is simple and the setup is a lot more efficient,” said Hayden.
“I use it with the seasons – in late Spring and Autumn and it’s also guaranteed to grow crops in summer. It can turn a paddock that would have nothing into a ten tonne turnip crop.”
Hayden grew up on a family farm and is now forging his own business which he plans to develop and set up for his three children to take over in the future.
“Everyone in the area is involved – it’s a pretty simple process. We have also fenced and planted the gullies.”
Overall the project presented benefits to the participating dairy farmers as well as the catchment and was a real win:win, providing the farmers savings through a reduction of fertiliser required, improving the management of effluent and infrastructure available through funding, while ultimately protecting the waterways and Corner Inlet Ramsar listed wetlands.
This project is supported by West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
