The organisation running a program to regenerate reefs with leftover oyster shells has been named as a finalist in this year’s Premier's Sustainability Awards.
The Nature Conservancy Australia was chosen as a finalist in the Community section for its ‘Shuck Don’t Chuck Recycling Program’.
Sustainability Victoria interim chief executive Stephanie Ziersch, praised the team for their creative and insightful work towards building a more sustainable environment. “Delivering these awards each year means we continue to discover the talent and enthusiasm Victorians have for protecting their environment and thinking creatively about new models of sustainability,” Ms Ziersch said.
Delivering these awards each year means we continue to discover the talent and enthusiasm Victorians have for protecting their environment and thinking creatively about new models of sustainability.
- Stephanie Ziersch, Sustainability Victoria interim chief executive.
“These awards represent Victoria’s highest recognition for sustainability and acknowledge leadership, innovation and achievement.”
The first of its kind in Australia, ‘Shuck Don’t Chuck’ was a recycling program that helped to regenerate shellfish reefs with leftover oyster shells, collected from local seafood restaurants and suppliers. The program was pioneered in America.
In Australia, The Nature Conservancy imported international know-how and tailored it to local conditions, through work with scientists, aquaculture farmers, seafood outlets and wholesalers.
Shells are quarantined and cured for six months then reused as new oyster and mussel reef habitat, diverting that waste from landfill in the short term and creating a healthier bay with improved water quality and habitat.
Friends of the Earth (FoE) was announced as a finalist in the Environmental Justice category for their Coal and Gas Free Victoria program.
FoE initiated an awareness campaign across regional Victoria and organised more than 100 public forums to alert communities to the potential threat of ‘fracking’. The sessions addressed the question of unconventional gas drilling, public health concerns, greenhouse pollution, economic impacts on farming and social cohesion concerns.
Their community empowerment model sought to build the skills and power of regional community-based organisations to allow them to demonstrate that the unconventional gas mining industry did not have a ‘social license’ to operate.
The Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park was announced as a finallist in the Environmental Protection category for its Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) Breeding for Recovery program. The OBP National Recovery Plan calls for a sustainable captive breeding program of 400 birds, to help protect this endangered species against extinction.
Moonlit Sanctuary, on the Mornington Peninsula, seized the opportunity to become a cornerstone of the plan.
They designed a 20-aviary complex for up to 40 breeding birds and 100 offspring. In 2016, with support from Zoos Victoria, Moonlit Sanctuary opened a new OBP breeding facility in time for the 2016-17 breeding season.
Results from 12 pairs was 25 offspring, and supplied birds for Tasmanian breeding grounds and the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Scientists from Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning say the release has exceeded all expectations.
