‘Kugerungmome Kids’ Day
THE students of Powlett River Primary were invited to the Powlett River Mouth on Tuesday, May 9 for the “Kugerungmome Kids” Day – an excursion to learn the importance of cultural heritage, vegetation, and water quality on the estuary. The...
THE students of Powlett River Primary were invited to the Powlett River Mouth on Tuesday, May 9 for the “Kugerungmome Kids” Day – an excursion to learn the importance of cultural heritage, vegetation, and water quality on the estuary.
The Powlett River / Kugerungmome Partnerships project managed by West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority with Kugerungmome being the Bunurong name for the Powlett River; the CMA gained approval for the Bunurong Land Council to dual name this three-year project that is funded until 2024.
Partners of the project include:
• West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority
• Bunurong Land Council
• BirdLife Australia and Friends of the Hooded Plover – Bass Coast
• Parks Victoria
• Bass Coast and South Gippsland Landcare Networks
• Trust for Nature.
Principal of Powlett River Primary School Wendy Nicol was grateful to be a part of the conservation development and said, ‘this is exactly what our school is all about; learning of cultural heritage and sustainability, and having the children involved in a significant community project is wonderful.’
The 44 students of Powlett River from prep to grade 6 were welcomed by coastal waterways officer of CMA Callum Edwards, project coordinator of Bass Coast Landcare Joel Kilgour, and Bunurong Council water policy officer Adam Atkinson with landcare officer Naomi Barry.
The children took a walk from the Powlett River Mouth carpark to the entrance of the sea, with Callum leading a discussion on what an estuary is – describing that this coastal marine park is where the river meets the ocean.
Callum asked the students to observe the environment as they strolled across the sand and said, ‘if you have made a visit to this site before, make sure you identify anything that may have changed’.
This instruction initiated the children’s thinking where they spoke of how there was less rubbish than their last visit, the change in the water colour in the estuary – where they learnt of the colour change from blue to brown due to the rainfall and Callum spoke of the importance of not touching the shells or removing the sand.
“Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos,” said Callum.
The Powlett River / Kugerungmome Partnerships project is funded by the Victorian Government’s Our Catchments Our Communities program.
The focus was on cultural heritage and understanding the waterway through exploratory activities such as recording water measurements and identifying water animals.
The project is a collaborative effort along the length of the river and its tributaries to protect waterways, create habitat, protect wildlife and work together to understand, protect and celebrate the Bunurong culture of the Powlett/Kugerungmome River.
Joel from Bass Coast Landcare said the team are working on fencing and revegetating the banks on the surrounding properties to help improve the water quality and erosion.
“Local farmers surrounding the catchment are on board, supporting the revegetation program – knowing that creating healthier water is creating healthier livestock.
“Fencing off these surrounding paddocks will eliminate the erosion caused by livestock drinking from the river and tramping along the banks.”
To learn more about the Powlett River / Kugerungmome Partnerships project visit People Power for the Powlett | West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (wgcma.vic.gov.au)
