Historically natural coastal wetlands were converted to pastureland to maximize available farming areas along Victoria’s coast. However, these coastal pastures limited the profitability of the land due to the difficult growing conditions, invasive weeds and waterlogged soils.

Our project intends to use low-cost fencing to restore marginal farmland back to coastal wetlands, where farmers end up with an environmental asset that benefits them and the wider community. 

 

Restoring saltmarsh habitat not only helps increase the diversity of vegetation, but it also provides suitable habitat for many threatened and endangered fauna including the orange-bellied parrot, growling grass frog, resident and migratory shorebirds (listed as in fair condition with a declining trend in the 2016 State of the Bay report). A healthy functioning saltmarsh provides many other ecosystem services, including storing carbon from the atmosphere, reducing nitrogen loads into the bay, protecting our coastlines and enhancing recreational fisheries.