Long Swamp extends for over 15km, from the Glenelg River estuary, south-eastwards to Lake Mombeong and is bounded by coastal dunes to the south and higher undulating ground to the north. This wetland is one of the key environmental features conserved within Discovery Bay Coastal Park, is listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia, and forms part of one of the Australian Government’s identified High Ecological Value Aquatic Ecosystem (HEVAE) sites across the country.
Like many wetlands across southern Australia, the hydrology of Long Swamp has been altered (through a range of factors) since European settlement, and there has been growing concern within the local community about the current trends of change within the wetland system.
After the launch of Nature Glenelg Trust in January 2012, we began working in partnership with the local community and the agencies responsible for the management of Long Swamp, to:
- help better understand the current values of the system,
- document the historic and current trajectory of change, and
- articulate future management options that are based around a sound set of principles that are guided by the scientific work undertaken.
The findings of the baseline Long Swamp Fish and Frog Study, commissioned by the Glenelg Hopkins CMA and undertaken by Nature Glenelg Trust in 2012, can be downloaded here: Long Swamp Fish and Frog Survey 2012.
As a result of the this work and other previous studies, Nature Glenelg Trust has been awarded grant funding by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI), to undertake a hydrological restoration trial at the Nobles Rocks outlet from Long Swamp, through the installation of temporary sandbag weir structures in 2014/15.
This project has been made possible by the generous support of the Nelson Coastcare Group, Parks Victoria, DEPI, the Glenelg Hopkins CMA and a wide range of other people in the local cross-border community.
Please check the blogs below for the latest updates on the project, as well as a large amount of additional background information.
- Exciting news! – A major expansion of the Walker Swamp Restoration Reserve is happening this June 24/06/2024In some incredibly exciting news, I am delighted to announce that Nature Glenelg Trust has just been awarded a $595,000 grant from the Victorian Government, through the Nature Fund Program. This incredibly timely announcement is the final piece of a $1.19M funding ‘puzzle’ that has now been fully assembled. This funding is enabling NGT to expand ...
- Final update on NGT’s priorities before the end of June – See what a donation to NGT could support this year 24/06/2024With the end of financial year just around the corner, if you have been thinking of providing a donation to NGT before tax time this year, please take a look at our main current priorities below. The land purchase at Walker Swamp this June is a great example of the type of restoration project ...
- Reflecting on World Environment Day 2024 – and thinking ‘big’ in land restoration 24/06/2024On the 5th of June, which marks World Environment Day each year, we received the fantastic news that NGT’s project to expand our reserve at Walker Swamp – to include a large woodland restoration component – was funded by the Victorian Government’s Nature Fund Program. The timing of the announcement seems especially fitting, given that ...
- The Community Nursery is overflowing – So we’re having a July sale! 24/06/2024Our Community Nursery is overflowing with plants, and it’s driving our Nursery Coordinator Ange a little crazy. So we’ve decided to have a quick plant sale in July! With the lack of rain we haven’t been able to plant out some of our project areas and there’s no room in the nursery to start next years ...
- Healing a critically endangered swamp – Hesperilla Conservation Park one year later 24/06/2024Back in late March 2023, following a prescribed burn, NGT oversaw earthworks at Hesperilla Conservation Park, a reserve that protects an important remnant of the critically endangered Fleurieu Peninsula Swamp ecological community. The earthworks backfilled several drains that were drawing groundwater out of the swamp and dehydrating the upper level of the peat that underlies ...
- Natives are good in gardens too – NGT awarded grant to spread the word about native plants in Mt Gambier 24/06/2024We are excited to announce that we have been awarded a grant to promote the use of indigenous plant species in public gardens around Mount Gambier! The project aims to encourage the community to include native plants in their own gardens, by creating demonstration native gardens around Mt Gambier to showcase our beautiful native species. ...
- Wannon River Insights Part 4 – Long-term study of freshwater fish of the upper Wannon River 24/06/2024Over the past three years, as part of an investigation into the ecology and hydrology of the Wannon River, whose catchment begins in the Grampians National Park in Victoria, we’ve had the opportunity to really grow our understanding around freshwater fish distribution and movement in the upper Wannon. Our initial understandings stem from work which ...
- Benefits of camera monitoring – another exciting observation at Eaglehawk Waterhole! 24/06/2024Camera Monitoring (capturing footage and images using fixed point cameras) can be a time-consuming, data-hungry technique, requiring many hours of review and verification; identifying the subject matter is not always easy either. However, as the following video shows, it can reveal some unexpected species sightings! Andy Lines, our awesome volunteer at Eaglehawk Waterhole, has recently started ...
- Latest Orange-bellied Parrot Sightings, and new OBP website 24/06/2024A few things have been happening in the world of the Orange-bellied Parrots (OBP) over the last couple of months. Every year, three count weekends are held where volunteers survey for OBP throughout their range, from SA’s Murray Mouth to Gippsland in Victoria, at the same time. The May count weekend recorded no sightings of OBP ...
- That’s a wrap – Annual Mount Lofty Ranges fish monitoring complete 24/06/2024The annual Mount Lofty Ranges fish and habitat monitoring has been completed by NGT staff, revealing great ongoing data and trends in native and alien fish populations throughout the region. Monitoring in 2024 represents more than twenty years of data which is an amazing accomplishment. The work, funded by the Hills and Fleurieu, Murraylands and ...
Click here for the full list of blogs related to the restoration trial
Click here for the full list of other archived blogs related to Long Swamp
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