Julie helps SIMS protect and restore Sydney Harbour's unique habitat.
Sydney Harbour is not just Australia’s most recognised location, it’s an impressive natural wonder, commonly considered the largest natural harbour in the world and home to 675 known fish species.
The harbour has experienced significant improvements in water quality and biodiversity since deepwater ocean outfalls were introduced in the 1990s, but unfortunately some residual degradation and threats remain.
Project Restore, part of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) conducts multi-habitat restoration throughout the harbour and volunteers are making a difference. One focus is the survival of Posidonia australis.
Posidonia is a flowering seagrass which provides critical habitat and refuge for many juvenile fish. It also improves water quality, stabilises sediments, and acts as a significant carbon sink by capturing and storing carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate climate change.
Professor Adriana Verges from the University of New South Wales, a founding member of SIMS and Project Restore research contributor, explains:
“Posidonia meadows are extraordinary ecosystems; they are highly productive and remarkably resilient, yet also incredibly slow growing. Unfortunately, decades of coastal development, pollution and boating have taken a heavy toll. That’s why restoration is so vital, especially in places like Sydney Harbour, where Posidonia is now close to functional extinction.”
Thankfully, volunteers like Julie Keating are fighting back. Julie has been volunteering with Project Restore for more than three years, giving hours of her time every week. Tom Burd, Operations Coordinator at Project Restore explains the work Julie does.
“Every day, Julie walks the various beaches in her local area searching for washed up fragments of naturally detached seagrass, which happens in particular following storm events. She collects them in buckets and brings them back to the collection station at Bundeena Jetty, until SIMS staff collect them for replanting in Sydney Harbour. It can take hours and be gruelling, carrying heavy buckets up and down the beaches!”
“Julie started the collection process in her local Port Hacking and has managed to involve many others through her energy and enthusiasm. She has brought together people for a common goal of protecting their local area.”
(Image) Julie collecting seagrass
Past studies have shown that replanting Posidonia can be successful, and indeed the shoots collected by Julie and now thriving underwater near Balmoral in Sydney harbour. The replanted shoots create a much healthier environment where marine life can live and reproduce.
“I love my local area and all the parts of the ecosystem, and want to do whatever I can to protect it and make sure it stays healthy for a long time to come. Volunteering with Project Restore helps keep me active, keeps me engaged in nature and I’ve made new friends who care about the environment like I do.”
Julie explains why she volunteers with Project Restore.
“While I might not see the impact every day, I know it makes a difference. One day I went to visit the SIMS research centre in Sydney Harbour and visited the restoration sites on their boat. Using an underwater drone we could see the shoots I had collected planted back out into the wild! It was a beautiful experience and made me more motivated than ever.”
Tom reflects on Julie’s dedication, and the importance of volunteers in restoration work.
“Julie really embodies what it means to care about the place that you live in. She takes on the necessary fights with whoever puts local nature at risk, and is a staunch advocate for plants, marine life and birds alike locally. Without our volunteers and especially people like Julie, who have the fortitude to continue hard work with little visible reward, restoration projects would be unable to succeed. We are truly thankful to her and all those who’ve been involved, and we encourage more people to take part in similar community efforts.”
Project Restore is a multi-habitat restoration project based at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. Part of the project involves restoring endangered seagrass meadows in Sydney Harbour. Project Restore is supporting SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, 13 Climate Action and 14 Life Below Water.
For more information about Sydney Institute of Marine Science visit their website.
