FoWH Rifle Range Wetland Project

This project - entitled  "Wetlands Watch Them Grow" - is located on the old rifle range at the end of Reed Crescent in Wonthaggi - see star on image to the right.

• Project participants included, in aplhabetical order: Bass Coast Shire Council, Cape Paterson Coastal Plains Landcare, Friends of Wonthaggi Heathland & Coastal Reserve, Greening Aust, Parks Victoria and Wonthaggi Seedbank.
• This project won the 2007 Victorian Coastal Award - Water Quality.
• Funding for the project came from grants from the Commonwealth Games Tree Planting Scheme and Commonweatlh Water Grants and Envirofund

Led by FoWH, it  commenced in spring 2005, with the aim of the project was to create a wetland on what was once a degraded piece of public land that had been grazed by stock for the last 100 years. Eight community groups have been actively involved in the project, planting 7000 trees and 12 000 wetland plants to date. Once the wetland is operational, the next stage of the project will be to incorporate into the reserve walking tracks, interpretive signage, a bird hide and a car park.

Prior to this project, stock had direct access to the waterway, so terminating grazing had a direct improvement on the site's water quality. Downstream locations are reaping the ecological benefits of this improved water quality.