Six years in the making – the permanent restoration of Long Swamp is now just around the corner

Further to our previous announcement of upcoming restoration opportunities in western Victoria, funded with the support of the Victorian Government, our project to permanently restore Long Swamp (Discovery Bay Coastal Park) is underway and works are now just around the corner – capping off a great six months for the project, following our award from SERA in September 2018.

Jonathan Tuck

NGT’s Jonathan (Jono) Tuck is leading the next phase of the project, which involves the conversion of the trial restoration structure into a reinstated sand dune. This will enable the hydrology of this important (now Ramsar listed) wetland to be permanently protected, securing the many outcomes for biodiversity and threatened species so far observed through the restoration trial.

This also means that the planning completed in mid-2018 by NGT’s Tessa Roberts (via a separate project funded by the GHCMA and DELWP), which designed the works and identified all the permits and approvals required for the works to proceed, can now be fully implemented.

Over the next six months of the project, Jono will be doing the final detailed logistical planning, which will involve working with contractors and additional consultation with the land manager Parks Victoria and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owner Corporation, with the aim of having the process of rebuilding the former dune underway in autumn 2019.

A view of Long Swamp showing the trial restoration structure in the centre; the sand dune will be reinstated at this location. Photo by Mark Bachmann.

After almost six years of research and preparation (see here for the background), we are really looking forward to the next (and final) phase of this major project.

Thanks to everyone within the various government agencies and community groups we have worked with over the years for your support in helping us to progress this major project to its final phase of on-ground works. It really has been a big team effort!

More updates to come throughout 2019…

The location where the dune will be fully reinstated, showing the difference in the appearance of the site and water levels as a result of the restoration trial between February 2015 (left) and November 2018 (right). Photos by Mark Bachmann.