Coastings - Westonia Wetlands - Judy Hindle

Sustainable living Diary - Andy Cooper

Anth and Dave are off, so Bron is flying solo again - except she let Peter destroy the weather again.

Fisheries Officer's have tracked down poachers via the microchips that were implanted in perch and cod. The microchips were found the next day in fish fillets found in poachers freezers.

VRFish has circulated a petition to phase out commercial netting in bays, inlets and the Gippsland Lakes. For more information contact Ray Page on 03 9412 5164.

Community action and drive does make a difference - The Friends of Westona Wetlands started in the early 1980's - trying to reclaim the wetlands from the motorbikes and burned out cars. The group started at 7 mums with kids, and with the help of the local MP and Parks Victoria it now has over 100 members and 20 corporate members.

The two big areas of action has been the Trugagnina Swamp (Altona West). The first step was to removal all the metal chunks - cars, motors, wire - about 5 truck loads! Once the initial cleanup was done, and 50,000 plants were put in (over 4 years) it has changed from being a rehabilitation process to being a guardian

Explosives Reserve took 5 years of fighting with the government to change it from surplus land to a public space. The 77 ha site has a century old house on it, and the team are in the process of reestablishing the original garden. Replanting of the rest of the space is now starting.

For more information, give the team a call on 9398 4402 and for posters on the whole area contact the Hobsons Bay Council or your public library.

The little things to save the environment are in one place - The diary has been written to provide the little things in one place that also explained why. It also focuses on planning and and starting at home. The quotes are great as they pick out ancient Chinese and European philosophers in a way that is very relevant to the world we live in today.

The philosophy behind the book was to read ever resource (book, website, TV) and make that information more accessible to people over a cup of coffee.

From a marine perspective, runnoff is by far the biggest source of pollution. The diary talks about tips for reducing the runnoff from suburban blocks, chemicals, fertilizers and saving water.

To get this A5 diary - it will be available a a range of independent book sellers, or by sending a cheque for $17 to Andy, at P.O. Box 2845, Seaford VIC 3198, or email for a list of the outlets.

The water temp in Sydney doesn't drop below 17 C - and this makes a big difference to the species that you get to look at and work with. There are even a few coral there. Sydney is a mixing zone between temperate and tropical and can vary depending on the strength of the great eastern current.

Uni NSW has a real strength in physical oceanography (currents etc) and it is good to move about between the different spots to get an understanding of the skills out there.

Emma's current work is to link the hot topics of introduced marine species and pollution - how the two link together and what the key interactions may be.

" Crash Helmet "

"Look So Fine, feel so low"

"Leaps and bounds"

The Wisdom of Harry

Paul Kelly

Xanthe Littlemoore

Southern end is crystal clear (vis 15 m) and it is a bit cool - only about 15 C - taking it bloody time rising. It is spring, so there are some great new things happening