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Friends of the Bluff

Friends of the Bluff (FoB) is a group of committed environmentalists providing support, education, awareness and publicity for the physical regeneration of the natural vegetation and habitat of the Barwon Bluff area.

Friends of the Bluff

Vision

The natural and cultural heritage of the Barwon Heads area is protected and supported by all the community.

Mission

Educating and engaging the local and visiting communities to take responsibility for the conservation and protection of the Barwon Heads area.

Aims

1. To care for and maintain the remnant natural habitat of the Barwon Heads area, ensuring that something is left for future generations.
2. To rehabilitate the flora and fauna indigenous to the area.
3. To encourage community appreciation and responsibility for the natural environment of the Barwon Heads area.

How we operate

The group works in association with the management and staff of the Barwon Coast Committee of Management, Parks Victoria and Coastcare Victoria. We maintain regular contact with major environmental organisations and other regional coast community groups.

To achieve our aims, members are actively involved in partnering sustainable management strategies, implementing weed eradication programs, planting indigenous species, observing bird and animal life, conducting interpretation and education sessions. Friends of the Bluff are committed to developing programs to promote conservation and preservation of the Bluff and to encourage others to recognise and appreciate this unique coastal landmark.

To date, we have:

  • Conducted regular working-bees that have removed truckloads of exotic weeds from the Bluff, enabling amazing regeneration of our coastal flora.
  • Conducted Weedbuster events and produced weeds brochures.
  • Regularly conducted Clean Up Australia days in the local area.
  • Conducted many tree planting days.
  • Actively campaigned to establish the Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary.
  • Actively supported the development of the Barwon Estuary Interpretation Centre – the ‘Lobster Pot’ – a community centre promoting environmental, cultural and social heritage of Barwon Heads.
  • Co-ordinated the successful environment program of the annual Festival of The Sea in Barwon Heads. This major event celebrates our connections with the sea and includes seminars, forums, school activities, a sustainable living expo, an enviro-group expo as well as dozens of interactive activities.
  • Conducted countless guided activities with school and community groups, and visitors to the area.
  • Assisted in monitoring programs such as Reef Watch and Fish Count.
  • Created the original award winning website and associated CD – 2005 Banksia award for Leadership in Protecting Coastal & Marine Environments; 2005 Victorian Coastal Council Award for Excellence in Education.
  • Produced three walking guide booklets – Life on the Edge; Plants that Clothe the Bluff and Birds of the Bluff.
  • Created the award-winning Barwon Bluff App – 2013 Victorian Landcare/Coastcare Award.
  • Assisted other groups in producing booklets based on our concept and design.
  • Produced a variety of postcards based on images from the three booklets.
  • Conducted the Re-Moonah-ation Program.
  • Contact us for further information about Friends of the Bluff Inc.

Living on the Edge: a reimagined website

The Living on the Edge project aimed to reimagine the original ‘Living on the Edge’ website from 2002 and the current Friends of the Bluff website.

This project was funded and supported by Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government.

Following establishment of Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary in 2002 Friends of the Bluff, Barwon Heads developed the Living on the Edge website and education CD. This project was undertaken by local volunteers with support from Coastcare, Parks Victoria, and Barwon Coast. Thousands of volunteer hours were spent in gathering images and video, writing text, and laying out content for the website and CD. 

Launched at the park’s first anniversary LOTE was regarded as an outstanding contribution to raising community awareness of the values of the Marine Sanctuary through images, information, activities for students, and more, and was widely utilised by community members and schools across Victoria. In 2005 LOTE won a Coastal Award for Excellence and a national Banksia Award. A major revision and update of the website content in 2012 improved the site, leading to creation of the Landcare award winning LOTE mobile app.

As we approached the 20th anniversary of the Sanctuary in 2022 there was an urgent need restore functionality to the website lost over the past few years resulting from system changes, people, and servers, that significantly limited opportunities to access its content.

Living on the Edge Reimagined has provided a great opportunity to reimagine the site and work collaboratively with local schools and volunteer community groups, agencies and coastal managers, to ensure that it remains contemporary, reflects changes in the Traditional Owner aspirations for country, and continues to serve the needs of students, community members, and  volunteers for the next twenty years.