The Western Linkage Biolink plan focuses on the works required to achieve the Western Linkage on private properties. Four private properties are covered in the Plan. Additional complementary works on public land in the biolink alignment (including South East Water Treatment Plant, Mt Martha, and The Briars Park, Mt Martha) are also covered in the Plan, but not in as much detail as these works were already planned and underway prior to the Bay to Bay Biolink project.

Western Linkage Biolink Plan*
Western Linkage Appendix 3A: Western linkage works on private land – actions required and indicative costings*

*Landholder names have been redacted for privacy reasons.

If you are a landholder in the Watson Creek biolink area or the Sheepwash Creek biolink area, we invite you to join us. Become an active contributor to this initiative and restore a section of your land to benefit local wildlife. Enjoy watching the fruits of your labour in the future. Meet your neighbours as you learn more about the landscape you live in.

The success of this exciting project will depend on the involvement of landholders – the more people become involved, the better the outcome!

If you are a landholder in the Watson Creek biolink area or the Sheepwash Creek biolink area, we invite you to join us by:

Hosting an introductory visit by an ecologist

An ecologist with expertise in local vegetation and wildlife can visit you on your property. This is an opportunity to ask questions about areas on your property that you believe may be suitable for inclusion in the biolink.

Attending a local field trip

Join your neighbours on a short field trip of either the Watson Creek biolink area or the Sheepwash Creek biolink area, followed by a social lunch/afternoon tea. An ecologist with expertise in local vegetation and wildlife will provide expert commentary on the anticipated challenges and opportunities of the proposed biolink.

Attending a local workshop

You will have the opportunity to hear from local landholders who have participated in biolink projects by reserving sections of their properties for native wildlife. You will work with your neighbours to put together a local biolink plan. A local ecologist will be on hand to advise about the value of different types of vegetation and areas for wildlife.

Joining your local landcare group

Linking the Mornington Peninsula Landscape will support Landcare groups, in the catchments covered by the project to work with landholders on biolinks.

Contact us to get started.

As a landholder, hosting a section of biolink on your property means setting aside a portion of your land for native vegetation. What benefits can flow from this?

• Well designed indigenous plantings can act as shelter belts for stock, protecting them from the extremes of wind, rain and sun.
• Increasing the area of your property under perennial (year-round) native vegetation will:

• reduce surface water runoff – reducing soil loss and increasing soil water retention
• improve soil structure and nutrient cycling through year-round addition of organic matter (leaf litter, root mass)
• reduce wind erosion of soil.

• Participation may assist you to gain access to in-kind and financial support in future for control of weeds and feral animals (i.e. foxes and rabbits), fencing, and purchase and planting of native vegetation.