Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

‘Hop in and help’ at Manly Lagoon

After more than 9,000 volunteer hours the rehabilitation of the Manly lagoon in Sydney has been recognised as one of the finest examples of environmental management in Australia. Manly Council’s Manly Environment Centre Hop in and Help Manly Lagoon restoration project was supported by over 1,500 local volunteer workers. This project took out the 2003 National Awards for Local Government prize in the Local Agenda 21 category.

The Local Agenda 21 category acknowledges the efforts of Local Government, regional organisations and communities to promote and implement ecologically sustainable development at a local level. The award encourages Local Government and the communities they represent in becoming lead agencies in achieving sustainable development by integrating environmental, social and economic goals.

The Hop in and Help Manly Lagoon Project was designed primarily to rehabilitate Manly Lagoon which was in a very poor ecological state.

The Catchment Liaison Officer, Jane Murray, along with dedicated volunteers carried out rehabilitation which included:

• accumulating more than 120 sets of water quality monitoring data
• planting more than 6,000 endemic seedlings into the catchment’s riverbank
• creating several permanent public art installations around Manly Lagoon with recurring pictorial themes
• creating the Wild About Wetlands website
• coordinating and managing events focusing on revegetation, industry best practice, cleaning up Manly Lagoon, wetland training, water quality improvement and documenting the catchment’s history.

The Hop in and Help Manly Lagoon Project was funded and supported by the Natural Heritage Trust, Manly Environment Centre, Manly Council – and the 1,500 individual volunteers.

For more information contact Jane Murray, Catchment Liaison Officer and project administrator for the project at Manly Environment Centre, on (02) 9976 2842 or visit www.wildaboutwetlands.org.au

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