Western Port Biosphere

02/09/2026

🌿 A new chapter for the Western Port Biosphere

After five years steering the Western Port Biosphere Foundation, Mel Barker has made the decision to step back from the CEO role later this year, to better balance growing family commitments and the evolving needs of the Foundation.

Under Mel's leadership, our work has grown in scope and impact across the region — from coastal protection and blue carbon projects to a stronger, more capable Foundation ready to take on bigger challenges.

Fortunately, Mel isn't going anywhere: she'll be moving into a new role, Head of Advocacy and Initiatives, focused on the big regional-scale projects closest to her heart — like wildlife corridors connecting habitat across our region.

That means we're on the hunt for our next CEO — someone ready to lead the next chapter of connecting people and nature across one of Australia's most significant biosphere reserves.

If that sounds like you (or someone you know), Galvin-Rowley Executive is running the search. Applications are now open👇

🔗 Learn more: https://www.galvinrowley.com.au/open-opportunity/?boardID=MjIxNDM5&addID=NDQ2NDc5MA==

01/09/2026

🌊 Building Resilience from the Shoreline Up

In the heart of Victoria's only UNESCO-listed Biosphere Reserve lies French Island — off-grid, sparsely populated, and tucked away from the mainland. It might seem an unlikely place for a science story, but its undisturbed shores act as a natural sieve, catching drifting plastics, fishing waste and storm-driven litter carried through Western Port. That makes it one of the most valuable places in the region to understand where marine debris comes from, and where it ends up.

In 2025, Tangaroa Blue Foundation ran a marine debris workshop in Hastings to introduce their work and gauge community interest in long-term monitoring across Western Port. That interest turned into action: after working through the logistics with Parks Victoria, the French Island AMDI monitoring site was officially established in April 2026.

Since then, volunteers have completed two survey rounds — and patterns are already emerging in the types and sources of debris washing up on the island's shores. Every data point feeds into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database, connecting French Island's story to regional and national efforts to stop marine debris at its source.

This is what community-led resilience looks like: people like Cathy, Anne-Marie and Kathryn, out on the shoreline, turning local observation into national-scale data. It's work that sits at the heart of our Rubbish to Resilience project — strengthening community action across the Western Port Biosphere, one survey at a time.

Want to be part of a monitoring team? Get in touch with Tangaroa Blue Foundation at [email protected] 🐢

📸 Cathy Harper (volunteer), Anne-Marie McDonnell (Tangaroa Blue), Kathryn Shain (President, Friends of French Island / volunteer) — Marine Debris Monitoring, French Island

27/08/2026

A gentle invitation to slow down, listen, and connect.
Beneath the surface of Rhyll Inlet, there’s a world we rarely get to hear ~ captured by soundscape
ecologist Diana Chester as part of our Rhyll Wetlands Interactive Signage and Soundscape
Experience.

These recordings of the sounds beneath will soon live on interpretive signs across the wetlands, inviting visitors to pause and tune in to what’s usually unseen.

Project’s underway and the inlet is calling.

Stay tuned for more.

24/08/2026

🌿 Have your say: protecting four more bushland reserves and win a prize at the same time!

Great news from Mornington Peninsula Shire — a proposal is open for community feedback that would place permanent conservation covenants over four Shire-owned bushland reserves:

🌳 Betty Clift Conservation Reserve, Rosebud
🌳 Lorna's Triangle Bushland Reserve, Bittern
🌳 Peninsula Sands Bushland Reserve, Rosebud
🌳 Woods Bushland Reserve, Tuerong

A conservation covenant means these precious bushlands are protected forever — and the best part? Public access and everyday use stay exactly the same. You'll still be able to walk, explore and enjoy these spaces just as you do today. Bonus- take a photo of one of these reserves and you go into the running for a $150 Hot Springs voucher.

This is a genuine chance to help shape the future of these places we love. 💚

👉 Have your say before consultation closes — link in bio/comments.

13/08/2026

A hard update 🕊️

Yesterday, Avian flu (H5N1) was confirmed here in the Western Port Biosphere. We know this news brings worry — for the wildlife we love, for the wetlands and shorelines that define this place, and for the people and livelihoods connected to them.

Here's what we want you to know: we're not facing this without a plan. Government agencies, wildlife carers and local landholders are already monitoring, responding and adapting as the situation develops — and you are part of that response too.

If you see a sick or dead bird or marine mammal:

🚫 Avoid — don't touch, move or approach it, and keep pets away
📝 Record — note the location, date and time, and take photos if it's safe to do so
📞 Report — call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline: 1800 675 888

Save that number in your phone now, so you're ready if you need it.

And please — take care of yourselves and each other through this. Worry for the natural world we love is real. Talking about it with the people around you, taking a walk, or simply checking in on a friend can help.

This Foundation has always been about connection — between people and nature, and between each other. That doesn't change now. If anything, moments like this are when it matters most.

We'll keep you updated as we know more. Thank you for being part of this community, and for caring enough to act.

13/08/2026

Community pop up session at Phillip Island tomorrow

📍 Community pop-up on Phillip Island

Do you have questions about the recent detections of bird flu on the island?

Drop in and chat with us:

📅 Friday 14 August
📍 Berninneit, 91-97 Thompson Avenue, Cowes
🕚 11 am to 1.30 pm

In the meantime, you can help by continuing to:

🚫 AVOID contact with sick or dead wild birds or wildlife and their environment.
📝 RECORD what you see, including:
Location
Species
Number of animals affected

📞 REPORT online or by calling the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
Bass Coast Shire Council Phillip Island Nature Parks Victorian Department of Health

10/08/2026

🌊 Introducing Rubbish to Resilience 🌊

Every piece of litter is an opportunity — not just something for a clean-up day.

We’re excited to kick off Rubbish to Resilience: Community Clean-ups in Hastings for a Healthier Western Port — a new project working with our local community to tackle rubbish where it starts, and build resilience along the way.

Hear from our Project Lead Jess on what this means for Hastings and the wider Western Port Biosphere Reserve 👆

This one’s a team effort, and we’re looking forward to exploring it with local schools, land managers, and community partners across the region — more on that soon.

Thanks to Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government for backing this one. 💚

📍 Hastings, Western Port Biosphere Reserve
🗓️ Kicking off soon, running through to May 2027

Got rubbish tips, ideas, or want to get involved? Drop a comment or send us a message — we’d love to hear from you.

https://www.biosphere.org.au/current-projects/rubbish-to-resilience-community-clean-ups-in-hastings-for-a-healthier-western-port/

06/08/2026

It's National Landcare Week! 🌏💚

As a Landcare member and proud partner of Landcare teams throughout our region, we're celebrating the incredible contribution of thousands of volunteers across Australia who care for our natural landscape, often quietly, and always with heart.

Their work protecting and regenerating our region's ecosystems is critical to supporting the rich (but challenged) native flora and fauna that make the Western Port Biosphere so special.

A special shoutout to the Landcare networks we work alongside:

🌱Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network
🌱 Western Port Catchment Landcare Network Inc
🌱 Bass Coast Landcare Network
🌱 Mornington Peninsula Intrepid Landcare

Thank you for everything you do to help ensure a healthy, thriving Biosphere for our current and future communities. We couldn't do this work without you. 💚