Our Two Bays are unique living environments – a healthy future for the bays depends on us all working together now.

Lots of new photos ... Look here!

THE KOORI MAIL, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2009. Download pdf 1.43MB

Out of the Blue 3CR interview with NatalieDavey 25/01/09 Download mp3 1.91MBp3

DOWNLOAD AS PDF

Two Bays is a partnership program initiated by Pelican Expeditions working with Parks Victoria, EPA Victoria, Port Phillip and Western Port Catchment Management Authority, The Australian Government, and the Association of Bayside Municipalities. The 2009 sailing program is the third Two Bays project and will build on knowledge gained during previous programs. This year the program will continue to undertake water quality and scientific studies, and promote awareness for Victoria’s largest two embayments, Port Phillip and Western Port, as environmental and cultural assets.

This year’s program will again feature opportunities for agency, local government, industry and community partners to participate in the program as either invited guests to specific events, or to come on board as “day volunteers” for the days sailing along with the crew, scientists, trainees, and bay managers.

Background:
1. A copy of the program for the Two Bays January 2009 project including a map follows.
2. Two Bays 09 will take place from Saturday 10th January through Saturday 31st January with several Indigenous training days also scheduled in February.
3. The Two Bays 09 program comprise 4 components:

Marine Science: Using the vessel as a platform a rage of scientific studies will take place on the vessel including:

• Underway water quality monitoring
  
• Ecological studies and Habitat Mapping in Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries
• Bay Exchange Investigations
  
• Citizen science days – SeaSearch at Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and Mud Islands, Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park

Community Engagement

• Pier Visits – “open boat” to meet scientists, rangers, interps, and collect info
• Marine management on the bays – info for bay users re safety and environmental management
• Ocean Dialogue – conversations for key stakeholders on bay themes

Indigenous Programs

• Sea Country – linking indigenous perspectives with the bay story

Media

• Launch at Docklands with Boonwurrung Elders
  

Participating in Two Bays
4. Stakeholders in water, bay and marine management, research, or community engagement are welcome to participate in the Two Bays program providing space is available.
5. The vessel provides a great opportunity for dialogue around marine and coastal issues.
6. Providing opportunities to interact with scientists, rangers, boat crew and other participants is an important component of the Two Bays program.

NOTE:
7. Participants will not be responsible for the activities occurring on the day but would be welcome to assist where appropriate.
8. Transport to and from the vessel, and food is the responsibility of participants. Be aware that the vessel is moving around the bays and that on many days will depart from a different location to where it will be berthing that night.
9. All expressions of interest should be directed to Natalie Davey, Program Coordinator saltwater@pacific.net.au / Ph: 0425718423

 

Date	Starting Location	Evening Berth	Guests Invited	Features
Sat 10 Jan	Docklands	Docklands	Yes	Launch of Two Bays
Sun 11 Jan	Docklands	Docklands	Yes	Ricketts Point Marine Park Celebration-Community Monitoring/ Underwater filming
Mon 12 Jan	Williamstown	Williamstown	No	Bay Asset Managers Forum
Tues 13 Jan	Williamstown	Werribee South	Yes	Habitat Mapping at Point Cook Marine Sanctuary
Wed 14 Jan	Werribee South	Geelong	Yes	Port Phillip (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
Thurs 15 Jan	Geelong	Queenscliff	Yes	Port Phillip (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
Fri 16 Jan	Queenscliff	Queenscliff	No	Bay managers visit to PPH Marine National Park
Sat 17 Jan	Queenscliff	Queenscliff	No	Study of Exchange processes at the Heads
Sun 18 Jan	Queenscliff	Flinders	Yes	Indigenous perspectives
Mon 19 Jan	Flinders	Hastings	Invite only	Catchment Management Authority Tour
Tues 20 Jan	Hastings	Hastings	Yes	Yaringa Marine Park Survey
Wed 21 Jan	Northern/Eastern W/Port	Rhyll/Hastings	Yes	Water Quality
Thurs 22 Jan	Mornington Peninsula	Queenscliff	Yes	Underway Water Quality Indigenous Perspectives
Fri 23 Jan	Queenscliff	Queenscliff	Yes	Marine national Park Pest Survey
Sat 24 Jan	Queenscliff	Queenscliff	No	Community monitoring of Mud Island
Sun 25 Jan	Queenscliff	Docklands	Yes	Finale  leg
Mon 26 Jan	AUSTRALIA DAY	Rest Day
Fri 30 Jan	Indigenous festival	St Kilda	No	Indigenous success stories forum
Sat 31 Jan	Two Bays forum and Celebration	St Kilda	Yes	Performance and speakers at launch of Yalukit Wilam Ngargee O’Donnell gardens St Kilda
14 Feb	To be		yes
15 Feb	announced		yes
16 Feb			yes

DOWNLOAD AS PDF 1.43MB

Close eye on bays

LEFT: Crew members, from left, Dr Kerry Black, Estelle Kefford and Raf Heale with Dr Randall Lee of the EPA, Yorta Yorta Elder Pam Pederson, skipper Garry McKechnie and Boonwurrung Elder Faye Stewart Muir. Photo: Natalie Davey

ABORIGINAL Elders and young people are heavily involved in an annual program helping to engage resource managers and the general public on the threats and challenges to two Victorian bays.

Two Bays 09 encompasses Port Phillip and Westernport Bays and was launched at Docklands, in Melbourne, on 10 January with support from Parks Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority, Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority and others.

In its third year, Two Bays combines events and scientific research focussed on water quality, and the diversity and richness of the marine life in the areas.

Boonwurrung Elder Carolyn Briggs has been instrumental in inspiring the Indigenous focus of this year’s program.

Pelican Expeditions is developing curriculum for Victorian schools that links the marine research from Two Bays with the Boonwurrung creation stories of the bays.

Elders and Koori youngsters will share stories about sea country on the vessel Pelican1 and over the 2009 and 2010 programs will develop digital stories that record these exchanges.

Two Bays 2010 hopes to incorporate young Koori trainees already engaged in an environmental management pathway in participating over the entire program. Parks Victoria recently announced that it would take on three Indigenous sea country rangers.

While travelling on the Ramsar leg of the program, Boonwurrung Elder Faye Stewart Muir said Two Bays had the potential to impart traditional knowledge about sea country and traditional lands and to get this knowledge out into schools.

“It is also a way of involving Indigenous youth in experiences that they would otherwise not have access to,” she said.

“Indigenous Elders will also get the opportunity to work with their youth and hopefully guide them in a career path as environmental managers or sea country rangers.”

As part of the project, Dr Randall Lee from EPA is continuing an investigation into the exchange between the saltier, denser waters (hyper-saline) of Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait. This notorious region, known as The Rip, is famous for the ships that have been wrecked in its treacherous waters.

Renowned oceanographer Dr Kerry Black will support Dr Lee on board Pelican1 to follow up the Two Bays 07 studies in the Western Channel with an investigation into the South Channel.

Port Phillip Bay has been hyper-saline for a number of years now, due to the extended drought, which is thought to be a result of climate change. This means that it is much saltier than Bass Strait.

Waterfall theory
After the first exchange processes tests in 2007, the Pelican1 crew theorised that the waterfall, spoken of in Boonwurrung stories and verified by marine mapping, may be running again.

Over 10,000 years ago, when the Yarra extended all the way to Tasmania, a magnificent 90m waterfall crowned the Port Phillip Basin, and showered the Point Nepean area in a permanent mist. The Boonwurrung people were known as the people of the mist and the traditional name for the Yarra was Birrarung meaning ‘river of mists’.

Faye Stewart Muir and Yorta Yorta Elder Pam Pederson observed the work of the scientists last week and learned of their recent investigations.

“The story of the waterfall and the science study that I have witnessed today needs to be available for all kids to learn and not just Indigenous kids,” Ms Stewart Muir said.

“It appears that the waterfall is now flowing underwater and the story of this place is there to be told by Elders.”

The research coincided with an opportunity to calibrate the continuous water quality monitoring equipment on board the Sprit of Tasmania. The monitoring is part of the nationally co-ordinated Integrated Marine Observation System (IMOS) within the Ships of Opportunity facility.

Faye Stewart Muir helping with the data being collected on Pelican1. Photo: Garry McKechnie