Living or working on the lakes, or in the catchment, is a great privilege. The ongoing health of the Gippsland Lakes is vital for the environmental, economic and social prosperity of the region.
As a resident, visitor or user of the Lakes, you have a key part to play in ensuring that we keep this unique environment healthy.
The catchment is more than 20,000 square kilometres – that’s about 11% of the total land surface of Victoria! This large around is home to thousands of people who live and work everyday without realising that their actions could have an impact on the Gippsland Lakes.
Here are a few helpful tips that you can use to keep the lakes healthy.
Getting involved in your local community is one of the best ways you can help keep the Gippsland Lakes healthy. There are numerous networks, groups and individuals out in your local community who are eager to hear from new and interested members. The groups below provide you with a guide on how you can become involved.
For information about our Community Groups, please contact us.
The Friends of the Gippsland Lakes provides an avenue for interested persons to participate in projects and activities to enhance the environment, amenity and facilities within the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park, Lakes National Park, Blond Bay Reserve, Gippsland Lakes Reserve and crown land frontages abutting the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, Australia.
This long-standing and well-known national organisation work with landholders of all types – from rural farmers, to urban dwellers. There is a Landcare network near your and here’s how to get in touch with them:
East Gippsland Landcare Network
Tel: 03 5152 0600
Web: egln.org.au
Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network
Email: info@lcln.com.au
Web: www.lcln.com.au
Maffra & District Landcare Network
Web: www.mdln.com.au
Community is at the heart of the Love Our Lakes program. These wonderful organisations and groups play an important role in contributing to a healthy Gippsland Lakes. Passionate and full of local knowledge, the Lakes’ community has a history of completing projects and leveraging government investment by calling on their group members and volunteers for assistance. Community grants are for groups to complete environmental projects that will help improve the health of the Gippsland Lakes.
The Gippsland Lakes Coordinating Committee Community Grants on 2023-24 closed 1 May 2023. To find out about our next round, sign up to our newsletter.
Citizen Science is a backbone of the Love Our Lakes program. One of the key programs underway at the moment is the Lakes Champions program run by Kate and the team at the Marine Mammal Foundation. This initiative funded by our Community Grants program aims to work with community, visitors and schools to monitor and protect the dolphins. Another reason we love our Lakes!
Not a tree anywhere and terribly degraded is how Mike describes the Heyfield Wetlands before the community got going. What a success story! Press play and let Mike show you around and tell you all about it. This fabulous initiative has been supported through funding from our Community Grants program.