Baykeeper Impacts

The current Port Phillip Baykeeper has a history of advocating for the health of Port Phillip Bay for over 30 years.

During this time, the Port Phillip Baykeeper and Baykeeper program has: 

• Founded organisations and community groups
  • Founding member of the St Kilda penguin study (1986)
  • Founding member of Earthcare St Kilda (1989)
  • Founding member of St Kilda Indigenous Nursery Cooperative (1992)
  • Founding director of Port Phillip EcoCentre (1998)
• Had key policy wins for the health of the Bay
  • Developed plan for West Beach Natural History Project, subsequently approved by Council (1991)
  • Successfully advocated for the St Kilda Breakwater to be declared as a Cooperative Management Area for Wildlife (1992)
  • Influenced the development of the Victorian Government Litter Hotspots Program (2015)
  • Influenced the inclusion of microplastics analysis and tracking in litter monitoring by the Victorian EPA (2015)
  • Successfully advocated for the inclusion of plastic as a threat to waterway health in the Victorian State Environment Protection Policy (2018)
• Engaged in science communication and presentations for the health of the Bay
  • Radio presenter on various community radio stations and the ABC (1985 to present) 
  • Presentations at various Bay forums and coastal management forums (1989 to present)
  • News bulletin interviews on commercial TV channels, particulary around the St Kilda penguins (1990s to present)
  • Represented City of St Kilda on Wildlife Cooperative Area Advisory Committee (1992)
  • Spokesperson for the Blue Wedges Coalition, campaigning against channel deepening in Port Phillip Bay (2005 - 2008)
  • Member of the Community Liasion Panel for the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project (2009)
  • Portrait exhibited in the Salon des Refusés (2019)
• Pioneered citizen science throughout the Bay and its catchments
  • Designed beach litter audit methods (1980s)
  • Designed shoreline seashell survey methods as introduction to marine ecology (2007)
  • Designed cigarette butt litter audit methods (2011)
  • Initiated the first ever study of microplastics in the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers (2014), the first of its kind in Australia
  • Designed citizen science methods to record sand surface levels across beaches, and intertidal sandy seabed mollusc populations (2016)
  • Designed the first Street to Bay microplastic litter audit method to track marine plastics to their source on streets in catchments (2016)
  • Engaged young people in Baykeeper citizen science activities through the Be The RE-Generation Project, receiving a Community Impact Award from the Inner Eastern Local Learning and Employment Network, Victoria (IELLEN) (2016 - 2018)
• Co-authored books and reports, and co-produced films
  • Produced Grow Your Own (1990s), a video guide on revegetation methods for schools
  • Co-author of Indigenous Plants of the Sandbelt (2003), the first comprehensive book of flora and natural history of the sandbelt region
  • Coordinated research and production of Country Connect - A Guide to Protection of Aboriginal Cultural Sites in Victoria (2010)
  • Coordinated research and production of Best Practice Guidelines to Removal of Northern Pacific Seastars in Port Phillip Bay(2010)
  • Co-produced the award-winning Baykeepers documentary on plastic in the bay (2014), which inspired the rapid growth of local chapters of Beach Patrol (from 3 local chapters to over 26)
  • Co-produced Little Bit of Litter (2017), a music video showcasing the effects of plastic pollution on the Bay
  • Co-author of Microplastics in the Maribyrnong and Yarra Rivers, Melbourne, Australia (2018), a scientific report on the first ever study of microplastics in these urban rivers
• Received numerous individual accolades
  • Awarded an Order of Australia Medal for services to community and environment (2005)
  • Awarded the Dame Phyllis Frost Clean Beaches Award (2012)
  • Awarded the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award from the Victorian Coastal Council (2014)
  • Awarded the Premier's Recognition Award for Sustainability for the Life Support for the Bay Project (2014)
  • Part of the EcoCentre team which has been received over five national and international awards for their work on the health of the Bay (2014 to present)