Grants support local coastal volunteer groups

Four Bellarine Peninsula coastal volunteer groups have received Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program funds.

Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant announced successful applicants for the 2025 grants program and they will share $220,000 in grants from the state Grant recipients on the Bellarine include Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management Inc, Bellarine Catchment Network, Friends of the Bluff and Swan Bay Environment Association.

They are among 27 successful grant recipients, stretching from Portland in the state’s west to Mallacoota in the east.

Funding will support projects across Victoria that build the capacity of marine and coastal volunteers, improve environmental and cultural values, support community adaptation, and improve ecosystem resilience to climate change.

“I’m really proud to support the dedicated efforts of local volunteer groups working to look after our iconic and special coastal and marine environment,” Ms Marchant said.

“Supporting community projects like these is vital to help volunteer groups adapt and plan for changes to their local coastal environment.”

The government said it was building Victoria’s resilience to climate change and is continually improving how it plans for and adapts to rising sea levels and more coastal erosion as a result of climate change.

For more information on the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program, including a list of recipients, visit marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/coastal-programs/coastcare-victoria/coastcare-victoria-community-grants