SAVE TOOTGAROOK SWAMP

Sign our petition to help better protect the Tootgarook Swamp

News and Updates.

2018 April 10th -
Save Tootgarook Swamp and Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association, are holding a meeting on Saturday the 21st of April at 5pm till 7pm.

Meeting - Community Collaboration 4 removal of the Southern Peninsula PAO/Freeway reserve.

Location - 12 Napier St, Rye VIC 3941, (Rye Civic Hall).

Light refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to help us plan for numbers. Please email contact@savetootgarookswamp.org

Alternatively if you are on Facebook please indicated your attendance here.https://www.facebook.com/events/337098710122172/

The purpose of this meeting is to gather/collate information, data, concepts and ideas, effects and ramifications and capture this into a single working document that holds all our views in regards to the PAO/Freeway reserve. (VicRoads, Compulsory Acquisition Overlay), to support and show why this removal should take place.
The aim of this meeting is to get us to unite in to a single unit of solidarity, amongst our supports for this removal are who people who hold extensive valued expertise from either the positions they used to work or currently work, or their inherent skills and knowledge.
From Biodiversity, through to Agriculture, former VicRoads Officers and Traffic Engineers, to Economists and much more. We have a great community of very well respected and skilled people.
We need to pose questions analyse the Strengths, Weaknesses and Threats, and formulate alternative concepts.

2018 April 3rd -
We have just finished our submission to the Green Wedge Management Plan, having not long finished reviewing the Shire Tootgarook Swamp Management Plan.
We were very impressed with the Shire Tootgarook Swamp Management Plan, and having been involved in the process since it's inception, the biggest surprise was coming to submit a submission to the plan and having very little to say. With only a letter of support.
To us this means that process has been very well undertaken, and while there was a few points, which we aired at the last stakeholders meeting for the release of the plan and taken on board the overall project has been well done.
We have written our submission to the Green Wedge Management Plan and have received a receipt as the 16th submission. Submission close on the 5th of April, and we encourage people to get involved.

https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/About-Us/Have-your-say/Have-Your-Say-Green-Wedge-Management-Plan-2018

Our submission.

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Ai01KDpb2dbolppSRcJ3j74J0hH56g

2018 February 6th -
We are excited to say that residents and community are being invited to have a say on Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Draft Tootgarook Wetland Management Plan from Friday 9 February.

At last nights Planning Services Committee Meeting on Monday, 5 February 2018 Council resolved at its to place the Draft Tootgarook Wetland Management Plan on a six-week public exhibition period closing Friday, 23 March 2018.

The plan seeks to prevent further degradation of the Wetland, promote its values, recognise its role in the Catchment and broader Port Phillip area, and define the key risks to its values. We strongly urge the community to get involved in this project as we believe it a project that can bring closer together the people of the township and there with people of the rural area, around the common concept of water and the environment that connects us all, the Tootgarook Swamp.

www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/About-Us/Have-your-say/Draft-Tootgarook-Wetland-Management-Plan

2018 January 14th -
We were informed today by one of our local Councillors Cr Celi about a Notice on page 18 of the Victorian Government Gazette.

http://www.gazette.vic.gov.au/g…/Gazettes2018/GG2018G002.pdf

The Shire has made the move by Notice of Acquisition Compulsory Acquisition of Interest in Land to begin the process to publicly acquire the private property at 92 Elizabeth Ave Capel Sound.

We are absolutely ecstatic at the decision that has been made, decades of community advocacy going all the way back to the 1990's has been focused on preservation of preserving this land.
It could now be said that the former Hiscock estate (Tootgarook Estate) is preserved for all future Australians.

Many years the community most recently through our organisation and other prominent local groups, have stood ground to protect these Wetlands from inappropriate development.

The last number of years having strategically won a series of complex VCAT cases for a number of planning development and compliance issues joining with other parties and the Shire.

The site is an a vital and integral part of the Tootgarook Swamp the largest remaining shallow freshwater marsh in the entire Port Phillip and Western Port region. It contains a large amount of significant fauna species such as, 106 bird species including migratory bird species listed under four international conventions signed by Australia on migratory species.
The Japan-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (JAMBA); China-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (CAMBA ) and Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement ( ROKAMBA)"
The site also contains 5 state significant ecological vegetation classes.

A big thank you to all the support we have received, help and advice from everyone in the community and to our council for preserving wetland biodiversity for all. There are more updates to come so stay tuned.

2017 October 20th-
As promised the latest set of aerial photos from Tootgarook Swamp. We see these images as an important tool in helping monitor change in the wetland landscape and provide a useful tool in seeing changes to native vegetation quality over time, as well as look for any new and emerging weeds.
This information also provides a visual dataset that is useful to landowners, managers of land and the community in helping to understand and monitor the Tootgarook Swamp and help aid in protection of the wetland, biodiversity, environmental and manmade assets.

We believe that they showcase some important features and may aid in private and public ventures showing that the Tootgarook Swamp is a very important geographic feature that we are blessed to have.
The Swamp is approx. 650 hectares in total featuring across multiple land uses such as agricultural, conservation, and tourism ventures, which are all part of it and benefit from the wetlands ecosystem services in a big way.

We had some previous aerials done in 2012 - 5 years previous though have increased the extent undertaken in the recent photos.

Aerials 2017 (Groundwater Height 2.03 AHD) - http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/tootgarook-swamp-10th-october-2017-203-metres-ahd.html

Previous Aerials 2012 (Groundwater Height 2.22 AHD) - http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/tootgarook-swamp-7th-august-2012-22-metres-ahd.html

We are offering these photos free of charge, though if you feel that you could help you could do so by kindly donating.

Account Name: Save Tootgarook Swamp
Financial Institution: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
BSB: 06 3540
Account Number: 1058 2313

2017 October 14th-
We have commissioned another set of aerial photographs of the Tootgarook Swamp this are 5 years since the last series.
These images will be available soon, the photos will be available on our aerial library page.
http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/tootgarook-swamp-aerial-library.html

2017 September 27th-
Once again its time to join in a fun way help protect biodiversity, aid in management Victoria's frog populations and raise awareness of waterway health issues.
Becoming a frog monitor is easy and fun to do, and there is absolutely in need to become a frog expert.

To start volunteering for the Melbourne Water Frog Census just download the free app for

Apple or Android.

The Frog Census Program collects frog data from community members who record their calls at a local waterway.
You can record frog calls at any wetland (such as Tootgarook Swamp), creek (such as Chinamans or Drum Drum Alloc), rivers or any other type of waterway (such as a raingarden).

The data will inform planning and decision making on our waterway health and will be added to the CSIRO's Atlas of Living Australia and Victorian Biodiversity Atlas to share biodiversity knowledge about endangered species.
Your contributions help us to protect these vocal little members of the community, and can provide an indication of water quality in our local waterways.

Check out Melbourne Waters
https://www.melbournewater.com.au/frogcensus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQBSdsYU7bc#action=share

2017 September 23rd-
Two pieces of news;

If you missed attending our AGM you can download and view or Powerpoint Presentation here.
http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/uploads/1/7/4/3/17433307/tootgarook_swamp_5th_annual_general_meeting_final_with_votes_small.ppsx
A video version is also available on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Ourselves and two other organisations, Australian Wildlife Protection Council, and Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association (SPIFFA). Have made a combined submission to the Mornington Peninsula Housing Settlement Strategy https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/About-Us/Have-your-say/Have-Your-Say-Housing-and-Settlement-Strategy

The letter of submission, we will be discussing the following points;
• Overdevelopment and land capability.
• Inappropriate development and subdivision.
• Not recognising natural constraints.
• Application of overlays such as Cultural and Heritage, Land Subject to Inundation, Special Building, Environmental Significance, and Vegetation Protection.

We strongly view this strategy as a critical pathway for the Southern Peninsula (Nepean Peninsula).
A copy of the Submission can be found here.
http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/uploads/1/7/4/3/17433307/housing_settlement_strategy_-_save_tootgarook_swamp_et_al..pdf

Our previous letter regarding recent planning changes on the Mornington Peninsula dating from July 2017 can be found here.
http://www.savetootgarookswamp.org/uploads/1/7/4/3/17433307/recent_planning_changes_and_the_mornington_peninsula_sts_july_2017.pdf

2017 August 26th-
Once again it's our AGM, so we’d like to invite all our members and public to RSVP (contact@savetootgarookswamp.org) to join us at our upcoming Annual General Meeting Saturday, 9th September 2017 at 10AM.
Vern Wright Reserve, Rosebud West.
If you wish to join us for a BBQ at the conclusion we ask that you RSVP as we have limited space.

2017 May 31st-
C. Browns report into the monitoring the Australasian Bittern in the Tootgarook Swamp has been finalised and sent of to Wildlife Acoustics as part of our grant requirements the report titled To determine the possible breeding and presence of Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus - C.Brown 31st May 2017.PDF

Inside the report is many linked files to Sounds and Videos recorded at the site, hoping to provide an interactive experience to the report and location.
So get yourself a hot drink, a comfy chair and some headphones (to hear at best quality as some bird calls are hard to hear with background noise/frequency) and immerse yourself in the Tootgarook Swamp.

Previous News...

What is the Tootgarook Swamp?

Click to enlarge

The Tootgarook Swamp, or Boneo Swamp, as it is sometimes referred, is a Ground Water Dependent Ecosystem and the largest example left of an Shallow freshwater marsh in the Port Phillip bay and Western Port region.

The swamp exists on organosols soils (fibric peat), and as a peat regenerating wetland it is the most threatened form of wetland type internationally.
Peat regenerating wetlands are a major carbon storehouse, exceeding that of forests, and are worthy of international Ramsar protection.

In fact one could argue that the Tootgarook swamp matches the description of a in fact a fen.

A fen is a wetland system with a permanently high water level at or just below its surface. It’s principal source of nutrients is from surface or groundwater, and the substrate is an alkaline to slightly acidic peat soil. The vegetation is usually dominated by sedges.[1]

Similar to "The Fens" in England there are a few hills, which have historically been called "islands" as they remained dry when the low-lying swamp around them were became inundated by ground water.

The approximate 590 hectare swamp is found on the lower section of the Mornington Peninsula, called the Nepean Peninsula in Victoria, Australia.
Unfortunately a large portion of the Tootgarook Swamp is inappropriately zoned as residential and industrial, with roughly half of the actual swamp inside the green wedge and half within the urban growth boundary.

There are only 4% of total wetlands left in Victoria that are greater than 100 hectares, and of the original wetlands in Victoria, we have already lost over 37% in the last 200 years. The Tootgarook Swamp is no different since European settlement,considerable land use changes have altered the landscape, reducing the wetland area from an estimated 1,500 hectares to approximately 650 hectares.
Of the 100% of shallow fresh water marshes in Victoria, 60% [2] have been destroyed.

Australia is the most arid continent in the world, yet we still drain and fill our wetlands.

Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all the planets ecosystems, but despite this they are still being destroyed at an alarming rate.

Wetlands are described as the interface between land and marine ecosystems and are known as the cradle of diversity, existing on all continents globally (including Antarctica recently discovered), essentially wetlands are a biodiversity super lab.

A wetland is like a snowflake. No two wetlands can be the same as they will not have the same conditions. There are many ingredients that add to these conditions, like the PH or alkalinity of water, soil types, climate, land shape, geology, water seasonality, atmospheric precipitation cycle, and salinity. All these ingredients combine in many different ways to create a unique genetic diversity seen only in wetland environments and specially balanced and suited to the species that inhabit it.

A healthy biodiverse ecosystem in wetlands like Tootgarook Swamp provide a number of benefits. These benefits are known as ecosystem services like;

Protection of water resources
Soils formation and protection
Nutrient storage and recycling
Pollution breakdown and absorption
Contribution to climate stability
Maintenance of ecosystems
Recovery from unpredictable events

Ecosystem services also include biological resources as well such as;

Food
Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs
Breeding stocks, population reservoirs
Future resources
Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems
Social benefits, such as
Research, education and monitoring
Recreation and tourism
Cultural Values

That is quite a lot of services we get for free!
The cost of replacing these (if possible) would be extremely expensive. It therefore makes economic and development sense to protect our wetlands like Tootgarook Swamp so they can continue to provide for us and the planet for generations to come.

Save Tootgarook Swamp is dedicated to fighting for the continued protection of the Tootgarook Swamp catchment and its unique biodiversity values, and strongly believes in the Ramsar convention's context of the Wise use of Wetlands.

So please support our campaign to help protect this precious swamp for future generations by signing the petition on the community run website.
and we hope you have a look around the website and it other page resources.

[1] IPCC http://www.ipcc.ie/a-to-z-peatlands/fens/

[2] Department Environment and Primary Industry http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/plntanml/biodiversity/directions/wetlands.htm