Monthly Archives: January 2020

With beach, reef, rockpools and trails a stroll from guests’ doorsteps, the newly certified Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat is the perfect place for a family holiday.

Ecotourism Australia congratulates Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat on achieving Nature Tourism Certification for their cottage, oceanfront villas, delux and studio cabins and powered and unpowered camping.

An hour and a half drive from Melbourne, nestled between Phillip Island and Inverloch, this retreat is also an ideal home-base for exploring the Bass Strait, Cape Woolamai or Cape Paterson. The stunning coastal views and atmosphere of this landscape can be enjoyed from accommodation suiting any guest. The villa and cottage design and neutral colour scheme incorporating natural light, double glazing and insulation enhance guests’ experiences without the intrusion of excessive noise and artificial light. Guests bringing their own tent or caravan have the comfort of a communal kitchen, barbeque and dining areas; and access to courts for tennis, cricket, volleyball and other sports.

Ending a short stroll from retreat grounds, the George Bass Coastal Walk offers clifftop views of  whale migration, birds and native flowers. The new linkage with the Nyroa-Wonthaggi Rail Trail, skirting the retreat, makes accessing the Kilcunda Coastal and Punchbowl Reserves, historic sites, and close by towns a breeze.

Photo: George Bass Coastal Walk, rockpool / Monica Muranyi, Flickr

Planted with drought tolerant plants requiring no watering, the grounds are designed and managed with sustainability in mind. Grounds staff are inducted in environmental management procedures and any work with potential environmental impacts is discussed in-depth. Mechanical weed removal is used preferentially and pesticides, carefully selected for minimal impacts, used sparingly. The retreat is working to re-establish native vegetation by propagating and replanting species native to the area, along with a weed eradication program and the pest control management plan (supported by Bass Coast Shire). Permission is also granted for Landcare to plant vegetation which prevents coastal erosion on their land.

The retreat is working to keep their resource use low. The reception and amenities’ hot water are solar powered, and the washing machines and shower heads are water efficient. Their recycle and reuse management program ensures broken equipment is repaired first, then replaced with usable parts saved.

Photo: Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat villas / Facebook

Holidaying with Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat supports the sustainability of the region. They source supplies from local businesses and employ local people. They encourage patronisation of the array of local tours, restaurants and attractions by making recommendations, supplying brochures, and creating accommodation packages which include local services (i.e. discounted cruises).

Kilcunda considers the experience and satisfaction of every guest when deciding how to improve the Holiday Retreat.

Congratulations again on joining the Ecotourism Australia family!

For more on the Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat visit their website and Facebook.

[Cover image: ocean view cottage front veranda]

One of the many memorable moments of last year’s (2019) Global Eco Conference was Bundaberg Regional Council’s presentation on their new program for Reducing Urban Glow (Reducing urban glow: supporting sea turtle survival using open data)  Created in collaboration with university researchers, community groups, tourism organisations and other bodies, this program “aims to empower the community to make informed decisions about their use of light and take positive action to reduce urban glow.” [Bundaberg Regional Council, 2020].

Why is reducing urban glow important for the Bundaberg region?

Reducing urban glow is particularly important for the Bundaberg region, as its coastline and the beautiful Mon Repos beach support the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland. This region actually has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region!

This nesting turtle population has become a prime attraction for tourists to the region (Mon Repos hosts the only ranger-guided turtle encounter available on the east coast) and it is instrumental for research into turtle conservation. The success of nesting and hatching turtles on the Bundaberg coastline is critical for the survival of the endangered loggerhead turtle.

Nature Tourism certified Kelly’s Beach Resort offers Turtle Tour Packages to visitors to the region.

How does the Reducing Urban Glow project work?

The Bundaberg regional community, especially in the prolific turtle nesting sites along the coastline, have a real sense of ownership and responsibility for the success of the breeding turtle population in the region. The collaborative Reducing Urban Glow project has not only brought together the council, community members and the tourism industry; it’s also engaged everyone in tangible ways to make a difference and work together towards a common goal.

At its crux, the project seeks to improve the nesting and hatchling success of Bundaberg’s sea turtle population. It consists of a network of sensors that produce a publicly accessible heat map; the data from which also guides changes to disruptive streetlights.  

Reducing Urban Glow heat map from 29 January 2019. Updated heat maps like these are currently generated every 5 minutes. // Credit: Bundaberg City Council

What has urban glow got to do with turtles?

The most important factor in sustaining turtle populations is the survival of hatchlings to maturity. Statistics aren’t promising – only 1 in 1000 turtles make it.

Populations are most vulnerable to any kind of human disturbance during nesting season (November – March). Beach erosion, predation (by both native and invasive species) and conflict with human beach use (i.e. night driving, resort furniture) are threats to nesting turtles and their young.

Photo: TEQ / Lauren Bath

The biggest impact, however, comes from a less direct source: artificial light.  Because turtles have evolved to locate the sea by observing its brighter horizon, artificial light (a form of light pollution) interferes with their ability to navigate to and from the sea. Hatchlings head instead towards the brighter light of coastal settlements, expending energy needed to reach feeding grounds and encountering hazards such as roads and remaining exposed when predatory birds appear at dawn to feed.

Urban glow spilling onto turtle nesting beaches is one of the few variables which the Bundaberg regional community can directly influence. Bundaberg Regional Council’s Reducing Urban Glow project began in December 2018 and is scheduled to run, throughout the breeding season, until June 2020.

Photo: Nesting turtle returning to the ocean / Bundaberg Regional Council

Project background

For this project the council, in conjunction with the Sea Turtle Alliance, applied successfully for Ergon energy to fund the streetlight component. Trial alteration of seventeen of the most disruptive streetlights, close to Oaks, Kelly’s and Archies Beaches, and Elliot Heads Beach, took place in May 2018. Some were moved across the street and others were attached lower on the pole to reduce the light spillage towards the ocean.  More than two hundred streetlights are currently in the process of being replaced with energy efficient LEDs – these produce more light for less electricity meaning less lights are required. Ergon energy are also working with the council to identify opportunities and locations for lights which can be dimmed or turned off as required.

Photo: Mon Repos Beach / TEQ

Benefits and how to get involved

The greatest expected benefit of the program is not from changes to streetlights but the heat map’s promotion of more turtle considerate light use by residents and businesses. If you’re visiting Bundaberg, you can get involved by checking whether your accommodation or tour operator:

• Uses minimal outdoor lighting, preferably shaded, and on motion sensors or timers
• Has installed turtle friendly light fixtures which focus light on the ground and on objects requiring illumination, minimising spillage into sky and towards the beach
• Uses blinds or curtains to minimise glow from indoor lighting
• Educates guests on how to avoid turtle disturbance: i.e. No flash photography; dark clothing

Other simple things which can help turtle hatchings survive are:

• Planting vegetation to create light barriers and/or to stabilize sand dunes
• Providing alternative decorations to balloons and alternate carriers to plastic bags – both of which can end up on the beach and in the ocean
• Using red-light torches
• Removing beach furniture at night
• Sticking to small tours and maintaining a safe viewing distance from turtles

Whether you’re traveling to Bundaberg to see the turtles or just to relax on one of the region’s many beaches, make sure you check out the Green Travel Guide for some ECO certified travel inspiration. For more information about the Bundaberg Region and the turtle experiences on offer, check out www.bundabergregion.org/turtles.

[Cover photo: Jewels Lynch – TEQ]

Two of Australia’s true ecotourism leaders – both of them former directors of Ecotourism Australia – have been recognised with Medals of the Order of Australia (OAM) this week, which were presented as part of the 2020 Australia Day Honours.

Lizzie Corke, Co-Founder of the Advanced Ecotourism certified Great Ocean Ecolodge and CEO/Co-Founder of the Conservation Ecology Centre and new Otways attraction Wildlife Wonders, was recognised for her service to conservation and the environment.

Peter Gash, Managing Director of Advanced Ecotourism and Climate Action Leader certified Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort and Co-Owner/Chief Pilot of Seair Pacific, was recognised for his service to eco-tourism and aviation.

Lizzie Corke / Credit: Doug Gimesy

“I am delighted to accept this award and gratefully acknowledge the enthusiasm, expertise and unwavering support of the people who make up our team at the Conservation Ecology Centre,” says Ms Corke of the award.

“The Otways are home to many species which have been lost from other places and the ecosystems here provide an important haven to help secure their long-term survival.

“As we’ve seen bushfires devastate huge areas of this beautiful country this summer, it’s likely the Otways will play an important role in securing populations of some of our most iconic species, such as the koala, and other elusive but very important species, such as the quolls, potoroos and bandicoots.”

Peter Gash / Credit: Kara Murphy

Peter Gash, who has been Co-Lease Holder and Managing Director of multi-award-winning Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort since 2005, says that the award belongs just as much to his family and friends as to the passionate people who support the work of ecotourism, conservation, reef education and renewable energy at Lady Elliot Island.

“The award came as a great surprise and I feel very humbled by the fact that people have gone to the effort of nominating myself for such an accolade,” he said.

“To have been awarded this accolade in the two areas of ‘eco-tourism’ and ‘aviation’ speaks volumes for the fact that these areas can be mutually supportive and beneficial for the advancement of education and environmental stewardship without detracting from each other. This indicates a remarkable approach by the Australia Day Awards Committee to the challenges the planet faces in the future.”

Lizzie Corke served on the Ecotourism Australia board from 2013 to 2018 and Peter Gash was director from 2012 to 2014.

END

For questions and comments, please contact:

Lina Cronin – Communications Manager

07 3256 6777 / [email protected]

Moab Area Travel Council Joins GSTC January 2020 – Moab Area Travel Council has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. The Moab Area Travel Council (MATC), directed by State code, seeks to improve the local economy by promoting, marketing, and supporting recreation, tourism, events, and conventions in a manner […]

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GSTC has changed the name to “Assurance Panel” from the former name of “Accreditation Panel” of its internal but independent body that plays the important decision-making roles for the Recognition of Standards (whereby a set of standards voluntarily requests GSTC to mark their standard as compliant with the GSTC Criteria) and to oversee the […]

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