Jawbone Marine Sanctuary

Upcoming EVENTS

Sunday 7th April - Friends of Williamstown Wetlands Activity Day at the Jawbone Arboretum

This will be a Bird Walk and Preparation for Planting day organised by the FOWW team. Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve provides an important habitat for many species including seabirds and shorebirds.

BYO gloves, sunscreen, sunhat, and binoculars if you have them, and wear sturdy shoes on the day. Parking is available in Mullins Court. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the event.

• More info at https://www.friendsofwilliamstownwetlands.org.au/

• When: 10am until 12 noon

Wednesday 10 April 2024 - Documentary film Learn to Connect to Country

The Earth Wisdom group who recently ran an indigenous ceremony at Jawbone Marine Sanctuary and prepared a lunch with indigenous ingredients will be showing this documentary filmed at Wilsons Prom. The film features indigenous elder Wayne Thorpe (Gunai custodian), as he explores and reignites the "old ways" of looking after family including Mother Earth, and ways to connect to country and nature.

The evening will include a presentation by the host Film Producer Robby Mac who has worked with First Nations people for over 20 years.

Watch the film trailer here https://vimeo.com/818202825

• When: 7:30pm

• Book for this event and full details at TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CNHVW 

Sunday 10th November - Community art discovery day

This will be an opportunity for you to take part in some guided art workshops at Jawbone marine sanctuary. It will be designed for people who are new to creative arts and people with previous experience. Details will be updated on the website when we confirm the date and our presenters. This activity is supported by the Hobsons Bay City Council community fund.

• When: Sunday 10th November, time TBD

• Where: TBD

Date TBD - Science discovery Day

This will be an opportunity to hear from several scientist that have expertise relevant to the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary. We haven’t confirmed who they will be yet, however they are likely to include a geologist, marine scientists with knowledge of nudibranchs, fish species and introduced species, and marine botanists. Details will be updated on the website when we confirm the date and our presenters. This activity is supported by the Hobsons Bay City Council community fund

• When & where: TBD

past events

March 16th (Saturday) - Clean up activity in Conservation area - Members only

With permission from Parks Victoria we will enter the conservation area to clean up litter and help preserve this important migratory bird habitat.

March 3rd (Sunday) - Friends of Williamstown Wetlands Inc. Clean Up Australia Day activity

The Paisley Challis wetland, formed by the restructure of two urban stormwater drains, is an attractive wetland that filters pollutants from local stormwater and provides a valuable bird habitat.

February 10th (Saturday), 2024 - Great Victorian Fish Count (try 2)

The theme is respect your elders. We're shining a light on all the incredible long-lived fish that live in Victorian waters, like the Long-snouted Boarfish.

February 24th (Saturday), 2024 - Earth Wisdom Cultural Ceremony & Native Foods Lunch on deepening connection to country and nature

Led by Gunai man and chef Stevie Thorpe and Ally Robbie McDowell, this will include a traditional indigenous gratitude ritual that focuses on deepening connection to country and nature, followed by a breakfast with indigenous ingredients. The ingredients will include saltbush, sea blight, samphire and pig face, all of which are common on the shores of Port Phillip Bay.

December 14 (Thursday), 2023 - Members Christmas party at the Jawbone Arboretum. BBQ and a big bowl of party sweets provided. BYO. Prize for the best hat.

December 5, 2023 - Earth Wisdom film night: Learn to Connect to Country

Following on from a recent event at Jawbone Marine Sanctuary where the Earth Wisdom indigenous education group hosted a gratitude ceremony and provided a breakfast that included indigenous ingredients, the Earth Wisdom group are hosting a film night at the Newport Community Hub, focused on Learning to Connect with Nature.

Snacks will be available that feature indigenous ingredients, like salt-bush popcorn, strawberry gum ice cream and lemon myrtle soda.

December 9, 2023 - Cancelled because of the weather - Great Victorian fish count at Jawbone. Outing setup by ParksVics and ranger Jill Wheeler.

From October 27 to November 5, 2023 the Spring Sea Slug Census is running- Whether you prefer to stick to the shore and go for a rockpool ramble or head out into deeper waters snorkelling or diving, keep your eyes peeled for sea slugs. Every image uploaded helps us learn more about these amazing molluscs.

Snap a photo anywhere along the Victorian coast and upload it to the iNaturalist Melbourne Sea Slug Census Oct-Nov 2023 project.

November 16, 2023: Annual General Meeting and Oceans Film Night
Open to all members, family and friends, and is a FREE event.

After some brief formalities, we will be serving a light meal with drinks followed by some short films on our fabulous oceans. We have had a great year of activities and talks and hope to continue, with your support.

Details of the meeting and general notices have been emailed directly to all members. If you haven’t received them, email jawbone.membership@gmail.com

November 12 (Sunday), 2023 - Indigenous cultural ceremony and breakfast. This activity, hosted by Earth Wisdom, is a great opportunity to experience First Nations culture at Jawbone Marine Sanctuary.

Led by Gunnai man Stevie Thorpe, the event will begin with a morning Gratitude Ceremony, followed by a short coastal walk identifying bush-foods, a Native Foods breakfast and yarning circle.

Thanks to the City of Hobsons Bay for supporting this event with funding from their Make It Happen grants program.

October 25 (Wednesday), 2023 - Winter talk #4 - Andrew Christie on Asian shore crabs, a newly invasive marine pest species, at Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary; the story so far.

Andrew is a lecturer in the Bachelor of Agriculture & Technology program at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Epping campus, specialising in aquaculture. Having had an interest in marine biology since early childhood, he is an avid snorkeler, diver and underwater photographer, and is also president of Marine Care Point Cooke, a friends group devoted to the conservation of the Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary in Melbourne’s west. He is a regular panellist on “Out of the Blue,” a radio show devoted to marine issues, on 3CR Community Radio.

October 14 (Saturday), 2023 - Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre’s Open Day. The day will be full of exciting events with eco stalls, presentations on nature and wellbeing, and children’s activities. There’s a coffee cart and a free sausage sizzle!

September 28, 2023 - Winter talk #4 - Jill Wheeler, a ranger from Parks Victoria, will be delving into the science behind Parks Victoria’s current urchin management program, currently underway in both Jawbone and Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuaries. She will highlight key findings by leading scientists in this space over the last two decades, and the current and future management options to help address the issue of declining algae communities in response to overabundant native purple sea urchins in North Port Phillip Bay.

Jill has spent the majority of her 5+ years working with Parks Victoria as a Ranger with the Williamstown Team, where she has worked closely with the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group. During this time she has also worked with the South Port Phillip and Marine and Coastal Programs Teams, both as a Ranger and as the Marine Diving and Monitoring Officer. Jill has a Masters in Marine Biology and has worked in marine monitoring and community engagement around the world, including in the Seychelles, Mexico and on the Great Barrier Reef.

September 9, 2023 - Environmental Volunteer Showcase - An Hobson’s Bay council community event.

August 24, 2023 - Marine Science Seminar and Panel Discussion, hosted by Deakin University, about the Decline of kelp forests and macroalgae habitat in Port Phillip Bay, the role of the native purple sea urchin, and how we’re using this research to bring back an important ecosystem.

A seminar hosted by local radio celebrity, Dr. Peter Beech (aka Dr Beach), an Honorary Associate Professor at Deakin University and a long time presenter on Triple R’s Radio Marinara program.

August 24, 2023 - Winter talk #3: Nick Olliff (B Sc Hons, M Mgt Econ, Dip Visual Arts) will present the results of the current Sea Slug Census and also introduce us to iNaturalist.

After working at the National Institute of Oceanography as a geophysicist and as an Officer in the Defence Force, Nick spends his retirement volunteering as the rescue boat skipper in the local sailing club, scuba diver in several citizen science programs, and leading Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre’s Citizen Science Team. Nick brings experience in leadership roles in environment groups both in Australia and overseas.

An amazingly funny and instructive video about nudibranchs

A few links Nick shared:

• https://inaturalist.ala.org.au

• https://vnpa.org.au/programs/reefwatch/

July 27, 2023 - Winter talk #2: Dr Ross Cayley on “The Geology of Williamstown and the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary”.

Dr Ross Cayley, Senior Geologist Geological Survey of Victoria (DEECA). The overgrazing of our native sea urchins has exposed some interesting volcanic formations just offshore in Williamstown, and Ross will tell us about some of the latest research into the Newer Volcanics around Melbourne. He’ll tell us about the volcano that the basalt lava at Williamstown erupted from, when that happened, why it was inevitable that particular eruption was going to end up in Williamstown, other volcanic features in the region.”

June 29, 2023 - Winter talk #1: Dr Sandy Webb on “Caring for Jawbone”

Sandy is a long time Jawbone MS Care Group member. She talked about the Marine Sanctuary, our Care Group activities, the challenges facing the Sanctuary and explore ideas on how we could care for Jawbone.

June 23, 2023 - 5-10pm - JMSCG stand at Seaworks Winter Solstice Festival

May 20, 2023 - Members only event - Clean-up day at Waders Beach & BBQ.

Apr 22, 2023 - Asian shore crab ramble at Pt Cooke MS

With Andrew Christie. More from: https://www.ecocentre.com/events/asian-shore-crab-id-field-training/

Apr 22, 2023 - SEA FLOWERS and Lake Stories - FREE event. Cherry Lake Water's Edge, Altona, Access from Millers Road 

March 25, 2023 - Community & family day at the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary

Program: Acknowledgement to country, Indigenous stories, Rockpool ramble, Children’s colouring competition and a FREE sausage sizzle. Detailed program (PDF).

March 5, 2023 - Register for the Hobsons Bay clean up Australia day

Jan 26, 2023 - Invasion Day Swim in Williamstown

Jan 14, 2023 - going snorkelling with the Disabled Divers Association, in Altona

Nov 18, 2022 - Book launch at the Newport Community hub: Jawbone Marine Sanctuary and why it’s important.

The book, compiled by one of our long term member and scientist Dr Sandy Webb, has now been launched and is available for sale. Order the book from https://JawboneBook.eventbrite.com.au

Talk: Regular litter watch surveys, by Jill Wheeler

Marine ranger Jill Wheeler talks about current Litter Watch Surveys being undertaken by Parks Victoria and Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group.

Talk: Wader Beach for Birds not Litter, by Pete Smith

Pete Smith of the Friends of Williamstown Wetlands talked about this research project carried out in 2014 and its results.

Mar 1 and 4, 2022 - Jawbone MS hosted two more primary school field trips, with the assistance of several of our members and Parks Victoria.

Feb 18, 2021 - The day after our 5 day lockdown ended..… Jawbone Marine Sanctuary enjoyed hosting a big primary school group, with the support of some JMSCG members and Parks Vic…the kids enjoyed rockpooling, the touch tank and…..the temporary toilets on which they were carefully briefed!

Dec 5, 2020 - We had good conditions and a great turnout for this year’s Great Victorian Fish Count which we held at Jawbone.

Nov 8, 2020 the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group presented a conversation with Ashwin Naidu, founder of the Fishing Cat Conservancy

Fishing cats are an amazing and very rare species of cat that have adapted to live in mangroves in South and South-East Asia

Ashwin established The Cat Conservancy to help protect the fishing cats and their mangrove habitat in Andhra Pradesh in India, and also the communities who live around them - working with the community to find ways to make money without damaging the mangroves has been an important part of this project, ensuring that local people could save the habitat and fishing cats without losing their livelihood.

The cost of the presentation was $10 AUD per person - all funds raised were donated to the Fishing Cat Conservancy.

Winter Talks 2020 Here are videos from these fascinating talks, plus a beautiful presentation on Protecting Jawbone Marine Sanctuary given by Ranger Ellie.

•  2020 Winter Talks - Dr. Jacqui Pocklington - Marine Pests of Victoria - The Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group, in partnership with Parks Victoria, are excited to present this fascinating talk by Dr. Jacqui Pocklington.

• 2020 Winter Talks - Jane Ellem - Lessons learned onboard the CSIRO's RV Investigator. Talk presented by the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group, in partnership with Parks Victoria,

• Protecting Jawbone Marine Sanctuary - Park Victoria Ranger Ellen explains the intricate connections between the marine species living in Jawbone Marine Sanctuary. Find out how a Parks Victoria ranger works.

Winter talks 2019

• Jun 27 and Aug 8…Dr Marilyn Olliff spoke on the upcoming Hobson’s Bay Wetlands Centre and Mr Jack Breedon spoke about the Galapagos Islands.

• Mar 17, 2019 Shared event with VNPA : Sea Slug Census

• Feb 24, 2019 Underwater Photography workshop with Robert Gardiner

• Jan 15, 2019 Under the supervision of Dr Hugh Kirkman we undertook a beam trawl at Seaholme Beach.

Oct 25, 2018 Matt MacArthur and Sandy Webb gave a fascinating presentations on diving in Antarctica.

Sept 13 2018 PT Hirschfield gave an outstanding presentation on her life and experiences a diver. PT is an underwater photographer specialising in marine life portraits and marine animal behaviour videos. She shares her images, short films and her 'Scuba Vs Tumour' adventures on her Pink Tank Scuba Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and blog at www.pinktankscuba.com . She is a monthly columnist for Dive Log Australasia magazine, and in 2017 she led the Project Banjo #RaysAwareness campaign to champion improved regulation regarding the treatment of stingrays throughout Victoria, an initiative which was awarded a Victorian Coastal Award in 2018. While PT loves diving in countries like the Philippines, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Maldives, Solomon Islands and Indonesia, she is even more passionate about sharing the marine life she meets in Victoria's Port Phillip Bay where she dives several times each week. She was recently additionally awarded the overall Australasian Underwater Photographer of 2018 in the Australasian International Dive Expo (AIDE), featuring images taken beneath her favourite local piers. In her presentations, she hopes to inspire a love of life, resilience regardless of what life throws in our direction and a greater sense of awe and wonder about marine life that can develop into an even greater sense of custodianship.

For those who are not familiar with PT, you may be interested in checking out the short 3 minute video: https://pinktankscuba.com/2018/01/30/interview-with-the-dodo/.

Oct 18, 2017 Andrew Christie (of Melbourne Polytechnic and the Point Cook Marine Sanctuary Care Group) gave an amazing presentation about our local rays and provided us with information about these wonderful inhabitants of our two local marine sanctuaries. Click here to see his Quick Guide to the Rays of Jawbone Marine Sanctuary