Getting behind the solution for Inverloch

AFTER eight years of campaigning, SGCS (South Gippsland Conservation Society) welcomes the appointment of a contractor to undertake the planned beach renourishment and dune reconstruction of Inverloch Surf Beach. Along with the Surf Club protection works to be installed over the next months, it is a significant milestone. We congratulate DEECA and the C2C 
Resilience Project Team in making it happen.

It’s critical to the protection of the remaining dunes that these major works are completed before the winter of 2026. The 100,000m3 of sand to be placed on the beach, the equivalent of 10,000 truckloads, will create a beach width of around 60 metres wide and lift the beach level by up to four metres, well above the swash zone.

What’s planned is at a totally different scale to the emergency sand replenishments that Council has been undertaking. It will also provide the opportunity for a large-scale revegetation project to enhance dune resilience.

SGCS supports this initial step in adaptation planning for Inverloch Surf Beach and is liaising with the authorities in developing a robust revegetation plan for the back of the renourished beach.

On beaches, the role of wind in moving sand is often underappreciated. The role of vegetation in growing dunes is also often underappreciated. Wind, carrying fine sand, hits the vegetation, slows and drops the sand.  Sand accumulates, growing the height of the dune.

It is why vegetation establishment is a key recommendation of the Inverloch beach renourishment project plan. To accelerate the process, we propose planting nursery-raised plants and direct seeding.

We are modelling our species selection and spacing on the successful planting in front of the Surf Club.

We propose an adaptive management approach that will spread risk by staging the planting over two years. Under our plan, we will plant the most stable sand areas, first in 2026, with a further consolidation planting planned for 2027. The Society looks forward to working with volunteers from Inverloch’s community and service organisations to aid contractors in this significant planting program.

Beach renourishment and dune restoration, as well as enhanced dune management, are critical to prolonging the life of the Surf Beach. Our hope is that a successful revegetation program will further assist with this. In addition, it will help to restore the biolink function of the coastal reserve, the original reason why the Society got so involved with this issue back in 2018.

It’s also possible that, in buying some time, coastal processes at Inverloch could revert to their pre-2014 condition, further aiding the retention of sand on the Surf Beach. So, let’s all get behind this initiative and see what we can achieve together.

Philip Heath, Coordinator, Inverloch Coastal Resilience Project and Ed Thexton, President, South Gippsland Conservation Society.