Field Trips

We have organised four Field Trips around Adelaide for Wednesday 22nd September - one full-day trip and three half-day trips. These trips are included in all Full Registrations, however, it is essential to register attendance for these field trips on the conference registration form for bus hire and catering purposes. Lunch will be provided on all trips. Extra tickets are not available except by a one-day Wednesday registration.

The field trips will depart from the Adelaide Convention Centre on North Terrace - the full-day Coorong trip will depart at 8:30am, and each of the half-day Adelaide beaches trips will depart at 1pm. Workshops will be held in the morning prior to the half-day field trips.

  1. Coorong and Lower Lakes: Registraton Code-FT1
  2. Southern Coast: Registraton Code: FT2
  3. Metropolitan Adelaide Beaches: Registraton Code-FT3
  4. Northern Coast: Registraton Code-FT4

1. Coorong and Lower Lakes: FT1

The Coorong and Lower Lakes, the last stop for the great Murray Darling Basin, is an internationally recognised wetland with significant ecological, cultural and social values. This iconic and mystical place supports tens of thousands of migratory and resident waterbirds, is central to the Ngarrindjeri way of life, is a congregation of recreation activity, and above all, is where our greatest river system meets the sea. This dynamic confluence with the coast is under considerable threat. It is understood that the Lower Lakes haven’t been this low since sea levels rose some 7,000 years ago. Salinity is climbing, acidification is occurring and inflow is now less than evaporative loss. Changing climate, sea level rise and continued lack of freshwater inflow may compound what is already a crisis.

This full day field trip will personally introduce you to some of these values and threats and you will get nice sandwiches at Goolwa. Leading environmental managers and scientists will provide technical insight at important monitoring and habitat sites along the way and the ‘Long Term Plan for the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth’ will be explained. Some local knowledge will also tune us in to the day to day concerns. Full itineraries will be provided closer to date.

Arron Broom - Planning Officer
Coastal Management Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage
Tel: (08) 8124 4929

2. Southern Coast: FT2

Adelaide’s southern coast extends over 31km from O’Sullivan Beach in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south. This coastline boasts spectacular cliffs, a number of sandy beaches popular with bathers and surfers and clear gulf waters renowned for diving.

During our field trip along the southern coast we will hear of coastal issues and current management options from NRM and EPA Officers involved with this area. At sites of particular importance we'll stretch our legs and see such work first hand. Coastal issues of discussion will include vehicle access to beaches, dune stability, invasive plants, reef health and coastal water quality. Management options of discussion will include the Onkaparinga Estuary Rehabilitation Action Plan and the Adelaide Coastal Water Quality Improvement Plan.

A special stop on this field trip will be Southport Beach, recent winner of the Australian Clean Beach Awards for 2009/2010. This award is a great example of the capacity of local communities to make change.  

Darren Green, Coastal Environmental Protection Officer
Environment Protection Authority
Tel: (08) 8204 2076

3. Metropolitan Adelaide Beaches: FT3

Metropolitan Adelaide has 28km of sandy beaches. The challenge is how can we sustainably manage the coast in an economic manner. It is not just a question of managing beaches by taking sand from elsewhere; we have to look at better ways to recycle sand, and also to slow the sand movement down. This may inevitably result in the use of some structures, but not necessarily.

A strategy was approved by Government in 2005 to manage the beach system. A sand transfer infrastructure to pump sand from Semaphore South to Kingston Park in four cells over 22kilometres is currently in the tendering stage. An offshore breakwater near Semaphore was completed in 2009 to slow the sand movement in that area, to collect sand to be used in replenishing a seriously eroding area just south of it, and to recycle sand further south.

Elsewhere a few strategically placed geotextile groyne structures have been built to maintain a walkable beach at most tides. New sand sources are being investigated to maintain beaches against loss due to climate change. These management challenges will be observed and explained in a field trip taking in the full length of the Adelaide coastline.

Rob Tucker
Project Manager
Adelaide's Living Beaches Project
Tel: 08/8124 4878 - Mobile: 0417 800 647  

4. Northern Coast: FT4

This trip will visit two very different areas of northern Adelaide, with a wide range of different coastal challenges and opportunities.  The Port Adelaide area was highlighted in the 2009 Commonwealth Report “Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast” as one of the most ‘at risk’ coastal areas in Australia.  Here you can learn about the local council’s sea level mapping project and the development of strategic actions to deal with a wide range of challenges: flood plains, power stations, ports, residential areas and more.  Further north we will visit a new sea wall that is creating new opportunities for a coastal community, and further north again a coastal conservation park with sociological challenges for the local NRM Board.

Alex Gaut
Biodiversity Program Co-ordinator
Conservation Council, South Australia
Tel: (08) 8223 5155

Server Date and time is 01/08/10 02:56 PM