GORCC’s Coast Guardians program is a special, ongoing program created for year 9 students from four local and regional schools. Each school works on protecting and enhancing a local coastal area. Here is a blog post from Annalyse, Brittany, Cameron and Lilly from Geelong Lutheran College about their Coast Guardians experience this year:
This year, we have had the opportunity to be a part of improving the environment at Whites Beach.
This beach has changed over the years due to weather, wildlife, and of course us, humans. Geelong Lutheran College has worked alongside the committee for five years, as a school we have worked on two sites to make the area healthy.
Before we began work at the beach, it was not as healthy and thriving as it is today due to introduction of invasive species of plants effecting the natural landscape and environment of the beach harshly. The introduction of certain species almost caused some of the endemic plant species at Whites Beach to become extinct.
Fortunately, Coast Guardians have been able to re-plant many of the plants that belong in the area, and monitor their growth, to make sure that these important plants do not become extinct.
We have been able to improve the beach by planting native and endemic plants, laying branches in the dunes to protect them from further erosion, picking up rubbish to reduce the pollution on the beach and in the dunes, and collecting results of plant growth and soil quality, to further develop our understanding and ways that we can improve Whites Beach.
Simple actions such as picking up rubbish along the beach is something that anyone can do, and reverses the detrimental effects of careless people, and keeps the wildlife and environment admirable.
It is important that everyone respects and cares for the beach, as we have learnt and embraced this year as ‘Coast Guardians’.
To read more about this years Coast Guardians, check out this blog post.