St Leonards Pier Clean Up

On Saturday 18 June, Bellarine Bayside supported The Dive Victoria Group and Bellarine Catchment Network to clean up litter at St Leonards Pier. While a group of dedicated divers braved the cold water to collect litter in and around the pier, a group of community members collected litter along the foreshore and in the car park. This involvement provided an opportunity for Bellarine Bayside to actively support a program that adopts a ‘ridge-to-reef’ philosophy, which highlights the movement of litter between land and the marine environment. According to recent figures, 95% of marine-based litter originates from land, primarily transported via the stormwater system.

Despite poor visibility the divers collected over 400m of fishing line, household batteries, lures, plastics, garden hose, and plenty of other waste. The data collected will provide invaluable information for both the local Caring for our Bays program and the International marine litter database Project Aware. Log into Project Aware here to see the data in more detail.

A Bellarine Bayside-staffed education portal supported the litter survey activities by providing community members with information on regional litter issues, coastal management and biodiversity values. Bellarine Bayside looks forward to supporting future litter initiatives and would like to send a huge thank you to all divers and community members who took part in this survey.