South Gippsland Archives - BioDiversity Legacy

A whale-sized sign of hope

by BDL Team | Aug 7, 2026 | Land protection, Threatened species

The excitement of conservation often centres on securing a special place. But the real reward comes afterwards - when wildlife continues to find refuge there.

That is why our team was thrilled to see footage captured by Dr Steve Enticott of Carbon Landscapes and Nooramunga Land & Sea (NL&S) showing a Southern Right Whale resting - and appearing to “wave” - in a channel beside Bullock Island.

Bullock Island is one of two neighbouring islands protected forever by NL&S through BioDiversity Legacy’s Local Landholding Entity model. Together with Little Dog Island, it safeguards 132 hectares of coastal saltmarsh in the Corner Inlet and Nooramunga wetland system.

Southern Right Whales visit Victoria’s sheltered coastal waters between May and October to rest, give birth and raise their calves. Sightings in Corner Inlet are uncommon, however, making this visitor especially exciting. An expert who viewed the footage believes it may be a young male.

The sighting is also a reminder that conservation does not stop at a property boundary.

Around 96 hectares of marine and intertidal habitat lies between the two islands. While Nooramunga Land & Sea does not own these waters, protecting the islands and their shorelines strengthens the connected channels, mudflats and coastal habitats that marine life depends on.

Seeing a Southern Right Whale resting beside Bullock Island brings that connection to life. It shows what permanent protection is ultimately for: not simply securing land, but helping create a healthier, more resilient landscape - and seascape - for nature.

Community marks World Saltmarsh Day on protected Bullock Island

by BDL Team | Jun 11, 2026 | Community engagement, Land protection

To mark World Saltmarsh Day on 11 June, around 35 community members, environmental partners, scientists, donors, volunteers, local media, photographers and nature lovers visited Bullock Island in South Gippsland — one of two Corner Inlet islands now protected forever by Nooramunga Land & Sea.

With perfect weather, clear skies and barely a breath of wind, the group explored Bullock Island’s remarkable mix of grassland, saltmarsh, shoreline and open views across the inlet to Wilsons Promontory.

Hosted by BioDiversity Legacy (BDL), with lunch generously provided by Carbon Landscapes, the visit was guided by two founding members of Nooramunga Land & Sea — Tim D’Ombrain and Dr Steve Enticott — along with BDL Biolink Coordinator Stuart Inchley. Together, they offered guests an intimate, first-hand experience of the beauty, biodiversity and quiet power of this protected place.

Nooramunga Land & Sea acquired the adjacent Little Dog Island in 2022. The addition of Bullock Island in 2025 has strengthened this community-led conservation story, securing more of Corner Inlet’s precious saltmarsh and coastal habitat for the long term (read more about Nooramunga Land & Sea here).

World Saltmarsh Day, established by the UK’s Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, celebrates the extraordinary value of saltmarsh ecosystems — places rich in biodiversity that provide habitat for birds and marine life, store carbon, filter water and help protect coastlines. On Bullock Island, that value was easy to see.

The photo gallery below brings together images from people who joined us on the day, each capturing a different view of a landscape now protected for nature, community and future generations.

Photos below thanks to Dr Steve Enticott, Robyn Gower and Trevor Forge.

Bullock Island photo by Robyn Gower_5486

Two islands, one vision – safeguarding Corner Inlet’s saltmarsh communities

by BDL Team | Sep 2, 2025 | Land connection, Media releases, Stewardship

BioDiversity Legacy’s bold vision for protecting vulnerable ecosystems at scale is being realised in South Gippsland, where Nooramunga Land & Sea (NL&S) has acquired its second saltmarsh island in Corner Inlet.

Bullock Island joins neighbouring Little Dog Island as part of a growing legacy of land protected within the iconic Corner Inlet – a Ramsar-listed wetland of international significance.

Both islands were previously zoned for farming and recreational use, placing over 132-ha (330-acres) of valuable coastal saltmarsh at risk. In fact, the 60-hectare Little Dog Island was previously developed as a golf resort, which caused significant damage.

With funding from the Upotipotpon Foundation and support from Biodiversity Legacy, the NL&S team secured the island, with the stewardship team about to conduct surveys and monitoring to see what's on the island and undertake habitat restoration and enhancement works to protect vulnerable species and help them thrive.

Land protection and stewardship team

The NL&S team consists of leading ecologists, environmental philanthropists, carbon landscape experts and researchers with deep roots in ecological restoration and land protection. They include:

Karl Just
Tim D’Ombrain
Dr Steve Enticott (Carbon Landscapes)
Kristin Monie (Ecological Researcher)
Jim Phillipson, Strategic Director, Rendere Environmental Trust.

Rendere also provided support for the initiative, with volunteers, local landholders, Traditional Owners, citizen scientists and community partners also invited to collaborate on efforts to protect these landscapes, which are vital for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate resilience.

A Living Mosaic

Framed by Wilson’s Promontory to the south and South Gippsland’s green hills to the north, the 72-ha Bullock Island presents a rich tapestry of native grasses, salt-tolerant shrubs, Swamp Paperbark and colourful succulents, such as Beaded and Shrubby Glassworts, Pigface, Austral Seablite and Austral Brooklime.

Like many of the sandy islands in Corner Inlet, Bullock Island’s intertidal mudflats and waters support large areas of White Mangrove and Broad-leafed Seagrass; communities of limited distribution in Victoria.

Shrubby glasswort on Bullock Island – a critical food source for native parrots, particularly the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.

Volunteers departing Little Dog Island after a day of exploration and restoration works.

Grassy causeway to Bullock Island.

Team members traversing the causeway to Bullock Island.

Shrubby Glasswort.

Tapestry of saltmarsh species on Little Dog Island.

Sanctuary for rare and migratory birds

Corner Inlet is a haven for birdlife, supporting an estimated 20% of Victoria’s entire wader population. Now linked by intertidal flats, Bullock and Little Dog islands offer crucial safe habitat for several threatened species, including:

Critically Endangered: Far Eastern Curlew, Great Knot, Curlew Sandpiper
Endangered: Lesser Sand Plover, Red Knot
Vulnerable: Hooded Plover, Australian Grayling, Swift Parrot

There is also quiet optimism that the islands may one day support the return of the Orange-bellied Parrot – one of Australia’s rarest birds. NL&S is working closely with BirdLife Australia and Zoos Victoria to monitor for the species’ presence and support its potential recovery.

Why these islands matter to us all

The value of these saltmarsh islands extends far beyond biodiversity. As part of the blue carbon ecosystem, their dense vegetation and deep, silty soils lock away carbon 30 to 50 times faster than terrestrial forests – keeping it stored for thousands of years.

They also provide:

storm surge protection for coastal towns
clean water by filtering nutrients and sediment
fish nurseries vital for local marine species and fisheries.

Protecting them means strengthening climate resilience, food systems and local economies.

A blueprint for community-led conservation

This project demonstrates what’s possible when innovative governance structures meet passion, purpose and place-based conservation.

The NL&S team anticipates further acquisitions to protect and restore connectivity between South Gippsland’s saltmarsh ecosystems as more landholders and philanthropists come on board.

Biolink Coordinator recognised as a trusted voice for nature

by BDL Team | Jul 22, 2025 | Land connection, Media releases, Stewardship

Congratulations to BioDiversity Legacy South Gippsland Biolink Coordinator, Stuart Inchley, who has been selected to join an august list of conservation experts in the new Nature Media Centre, a joint project of the BioDiversity Council, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Australian Land Conservation Alliance.

The Nature Media Centre was recently established as a 'non-partisan resource’ to give journalists access to conservation experts working in areas as diverse as regenerative farming, art and design, land management, ecology, urban planning, academia, citizen science, Indigenous knowledge and even ‘astrotourism’.

Many of these individuals do not have high media profiles yet are highly influential in their local communities and are doing amazing things on the ground. As such, they are well placed to provide insights into the challenges and complexities of environmental protection and management.

In his capacity as Biolink Coordinator, Stuart is connecting landholders – many of whom are working in isolation – across South Gippsland, strengthening communities willing to restore and protect habitat on private land.

With partner Victoria, Stuart also looks after a 300-acre covenant-protected property, Tarwin River Forest, in South Gippsland. The property, which is home to many rare and threatened species such as the Gang-gang Cockatoo, Pilotbird and Strzelecki Burrowing Crayfish, has a significant population of Critically Endangered Slender Tree-ferns in some magnificent cool temperate rainforest gullies.

Stuart and Victoria have first-hand experience of the personal and financial challenges of stewarding private property for conservation, including threats from forestry, climate change and feral animals.

They regularly bring the community together for events on the property, where they share their experiences, their love of these landscapes, community-led solutions and active hope.

Stuart joins Diana Droog, secretary of Land Covenantors Victoria, in the Nature Media Centre as a trusted voice for private land conservation.

We look forward to what Stuart, Diana and others have to say in the coming months as they shine a light on Australia’s unfolding environmental crisis and help newsmakers tell compelling stories that educate and inspire action.

Strengthening wildlife corridors in South Gippsland

by BDL Team | May 13, 2025 | Land connection, Partnerships and collaborations

Community-led landscape connection

Landholders and nature lovers across South Gippsland are helping shape a regional biolink map designed to strengthen wildlife corridors and protect native and threatened species.

Being developed by the South Gippsland Landcare Network (SGLN), the map will provide a bird’s-eye view of the habitat patches, stepping stones and links that need to be protected, restored or reconnected across the landscape.

The project is a key action from SGLN’s 10-year Biodiversity Protection Plan, developed in 2024 with input from across the conservation sector, including our friends and colleagues at Prom Coast Ecolink.

The need for coordinated action is increasingly urgent. Stretching across 262,000 hectares, from the steep Strzelecki Ranges to the lowland coast, South Gippsland retains just 22% of its native vegetation, while 10% of its native species are now threatened.

After securing funding for two key phases of the project, SGLN appointed mapping specialists to gather baseline data. Through the Habitat Near You website, landholders and community members were invited to identify habitat hotspots, sightings of key species and other areas of ecological importance.

This initial phase ran from May to June 2025, with further community consultation continuing in 2026.

BioDiversity Legacy’s South Gippsland Biolink Coordinator and local community member, Stuart Inchley, contributed to the project. He welcomes SGLN’s commitment to involving landholders and communities in decisions about protecting land and reconnecting landscapes through a community-led, tenure-blind approach.

Once completed, the map will provide a strong evidence base for regional planning, help guide future conservation priorities and support greater investment in the natural values of the South Gippsland landscape.