Victorian Landcare Magazine - Summer 2023-24, Issue 86
I hug the dunes on my sunset walk at Mornington Peninsula’s Number 16 Beach. I’m heading for Lizard Head Rock – a walk I have taken hundreds of times. The constant sound of rolling waves is humbling.
I can feel the coarse grains of sand between my toes. The smell of rotting sargassum is so acerbic I can almost taste it.
After the last few slanting rays of sunlight set the moon illuminates the horizon in a monochrome haze. After numerous lockdowns due to COVID-19 I was finally able to return home to the ocean. Just as I’m welcoming a sense of nostalgia, a series of volatile waves suddenly crash all way up to the dunes. The cold seawater reaches just below my hips. My sense of peace is destroyed. The haze seems to have lifted and I can see more clearly how the shapes of the dunes have changed since I was last here. The dunes are eroded and undercut. Lizard Head Rock has degraded.
So much is changing so fast.
Like many Australians, I have always had an affinity with the ocean, a deep respect for the life it provides us, and strong sense of stewardship for it.
Marine and coastal spaces offer us rich sensory experiences. Like many Australians, I have always had an affinity with the ocean, a deep respect for the life it provides us, and strong sense of stewardship for it. My connection to seascapes can be traced back to the numerous weekends I spent with my family in Rye. Rain or shine, I was always the first in the water and last to be reluctantly dragged out. No swim or beach visit was ever the same.
In 2020 I was accepted into the Victorian Government Science and Planning Graduate Program. This program introduced me to Coastcare. In 2021 I was fortunate to be looking for a job when the Coastcare Victoria Facilitator for Port Phillip and Western Port, Phillip Wierzbowski,
was ready to take a much-needed hiatus.
Above: Lizard Head Rock at Rye Ocean Beach is a special place for Johanna Tachas.
Within a few weeks I fell in love with not just the work but the passionate achievers behind the program – Victoria’s marine and coastal volunteers. In a career space where we often face bad news and mounting climate anxiety, the facilitator role has provided me with a new sense of hope and drive to save our natural world.
Being a Coastcare facilitator doesn’t require expertise in marine and coastal science. Creativity, deep listening skills and the ability to bring people together are the most important attributes. My day-to-day work was invigorating. It was a joy to be able to indulge my curiosity, to ask expert volunteers lots of questions and to be constantly learning about weird marine life forms and unique seascapes.
My work can also take the form of assisting volunteers with grant enquiries, assessing grants, facilitating connections, building volunteer training programs, celebrating volunteer stories, and much more. It is a role that demands adaptability and the ability to face challenges that just like our coastline, change daily.
Above: The formation of a Coastcare facilitator – young Johanna Tachas with seaweed in her hair at Rye.
It was a huge privilege for me to work alongside and be mentored by Phillip Wierzbowski. Phillip has more than 30 years working as a Coastcare champion in Victoria and his knowledge is legendary.
Phillip and I worked together to balance the needs and requirements of both government and volunteer groups, to ensure the best outcomes for both. We share a deep respect for the innovation, creativity, wisdom and lived experience of the Victorian environmental volunteer cohort.
Phillip infected with me with his passion for working in Coastcare and shared his facilitator wisdom. He taught me that a good facilitator connects, but an exceptional facilitator builds the confidence and capacity of those around them. This means that the benefits of their work are shared for generations to come. It was truly a privilege to work with the environmental warriors that are part of Coastcare Victoria. No matter how different people’s experience of life it is nature that connects us all.
Johanna Tachas was the Coastcare Victoria Facilitator for Port Phillip and Western Port region.
For more information email johanna.tachas@deeca.vic.gov.au
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