An unusually high number of sand snail egg masses found on the Carrum shoreline on April 15 prompted an email enquiry to Museums Victoria for advice on when spawning occurs. Impressively, they replied the very next day with the most up-to-date … [Read more...]
Tracking plastic from Streets to Bay
The Port Phillip Baykeeper ‘Street to Bay’ litter audits are designed to track plastic pollutants commonly found in Port Phillip Bay to their major source - urban streets connected to the Bay by stormwater drains and waterways. Engaging communities … [Read more...]
Shifting shorelines: a bug’s-eye view
Balmain Bug in Point Richards shallows - a rare find! 'Grey to Green' project leads the way..... Collaboration with City of Greater Geelong and the National Centre for Coasts and Climate to monitor the effects of installing a semi-submerged … [Read more...]
Geelong wooden boats festival – get on board!
Poor old Captain Trash is still on the lookout to find his boat the ‘Rocknroll’! Sometime last century as a small laddie sailing the high seas a fierce storm whipped up in Port Phillip Bay. Waves crashed over the boat and winds howled like ghosts … [Read more...]
Annual health check for the Bay
Assorted limpets and top shells at Point Gellibrand (Pic by Stathi Paxinos) With the Summer By the Sea program underway it’s time for our annual health check of Port Phillip Bay - for the ninth year! The Baykeeper Shoreline Shell Safaris, which … [Read more...]
What’s not to like about the kite?
Calling all dare devils! Do you like to race across the water and make spectacular leaps up to 4 metres in the air, totally impressing crowds on piers and beaches? Would you like a hobby that compared to motorised personal water craft costs less to … [Read more...]
Melbourne’s world class water – well worth protecting
In the week when we're wondering if newly discovered planets have life-supporting water, it's exciting to see the Victorian Government launch of the Yarra River Action Plan Wilip-gin Birrarung murron (pdf) Caring for the Yarra and its water … [Read more...]
Common Violet Snails – climate message on a bubble
Big thanks to Emma Royer for sending this pic of a Common Violet Snail (Janthina janthina) found on Point Lonsdale dog beach on 26-11-2016. There were 30-40 or so washed up among their preferred prey: By-the-Wind-Sailors (Velella … [Read more...]
Bluebottles: to swim or not to swim?
Arrival of Summer in 2016 coincided with the worst influx of Bluebottles (Physalia physalis aka Portugese Man-O-War) to Port Port Bay. First news to Baykeeper was on November 26 with a report of big numbers around Chinaman's Hat. They'd been … [Read more...]
Plants for St Kilda seabirds
At 650 metres long, St Kilda breakwater is much more than a maritime structure. Along with the penguins, a pair of Pied Oystercatchers have been hanging on the breakwater too. It's also the biggest rock garden in the Southern Hemisphere! Plants … [Read more...]
Baykeeper Catchment Education
Since 2009 the Baykeeper shoreline shell surveys have been a fun way to engage schools and families in citizen science - where everyday people systematically record environmental features to enable qualified scientists to answer BIG questions. Over … [Read more...]
Where else for that special day?
A whole new take on marriage on the rocks.... but pure joy can be hard to find. Of course it helps if you look in the right places. This happy couple couldn't have planned it better! Autumn on Port Phillip Bay... magic in anyone's language. … [Read more...]
Corio Bay – there be dragons!
One of the best things about taking action to care for the Bay is the gems you discover along the way. Thanks to our good mate Geoff Sadler, in February 2016 we sailed out of Geelong Yacht Club to conduct 2 half-hour manta-net trawls to measure … [Read more...]
