Matt Hewson
Local environmental community groups the Deakin Ecological Collective and 3220 Beach Patrol have invited the public to join them for a fun and educational event beside Corio Bay.
A free event, Everything Aquatic will be held at Eastern Beach on April 20 between 9am and noon, featuring a range of informative stands, community market stalls and interactive activities for the whole family.
Intended as both a way to bring together many of the different community organisations working to improve environmental health and sustainability and raise public awareness of the beauty of our aquatic ecosystems and the challenges they face.
Everything Aquatic organiser Juliet Doling, a 22-year-old Deakin honours student who came to Geelong from Vietnam in 2022 to pursue her studies, said Geelong’s people and places inspired her to spearhead the event.
“I just fell in love with Geelong, honestly,” she said.
“The community has been so great. They brought me in, looked after me, made me feel so at home in a new country.”
In addition to her honours studies in zoology and animal science, Ms Doling is a member of numerous community organisations, serving in a leadership role with many of them, including Geelong Beach Patrol, Corangamite Catchment Authority and Deakin’s Water Watch, the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project and Study Geelong.
She said Everything Aquatic struck her as a good way to bring many of Geelong’s environmental groups together.
“I was working with so many groups but they weren’t really interlinking,” Ms Doling said.
“I felt that was such a shame, because all the groups are doing their best to help the environment, so why not work together?”
Visit the Everything Aquatic Facebook event page for more information.
