 The Shorebird Conservation Project (SCP), funded by the Natural Heritage Trust and coordinated by WWF Australia, aims to increase awareness, understanding and involvement by communities in conservation of shorebird habitat, and where possible enable communities to conserve and wisely manage important shorebird sites.
Ten priority shorebird sites have been selected across Australia for a range of community-driven shorebird conservation projects. These sites include Roebuck Bay and the Peel-Harvey Estuary (WA), Gulf St Vincent (SA), Clarence Estuary (NSW), Boullanger Bay/Robbins Passage wetlands (TAS), the Great Sandy Strait, Gulf of Carpentaria and Mackay (QLD) and Western Port Bay and Cheetham Wetlands (VIC).
The SCP has supported a diverse range of activities aimed at delivering conservation outcomes for shorebirds as well as outcomes for project participants and groups (eg. building capacity of groups to network, access organisations with expertise in shorebird and wetland management and attract grant funding). Activities have included, for example, education and awareness raising (eg. community forums, signs, brochures, case studies), threat abatement (eg. human disturbance, weed control) and assistance with management planning (eg. surveys, values mapping). Birds Australia has successfully tendered for this project.
Cheetham Wetlands are considered vulnerable to the impacts of expanding residential development to accommodate a growing population in Melbourne's western region. There is an urgent need to develop and tailor a shorebird extension program to educate 'new neighbours' of the wetlands about its importance for shorebirds and facilitate community stewardship of the wetlands.
 Project Area
The Cheetham Wetlands comprise 420ha of artificial lagoons and a natural lagoon, and are a conservation reserve managed by Parks Victoria. The wetlands support internationally significant populations of seven species of shorebird including the Double-banded Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Red-necked Avocet, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Banded Stilt and Pacific Golden Plover. The wetlands also support nationally significant populations of the Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper. The Australasian Wader Studies Group conducts regular shorebird counts in the wetlands, with maximum summer and winter shorebird counts recorded as 12,362 and 3,395 respectively in 1994.
Located approximately 20km south west of Melbourne, the wetlands are situated on the western shores of Port Phillip Bay, adjacent to the rapidly expanding City of Wyndham. Wyndham residential area is expected to experience the second highest housing growth of all municipalities in metropolitan Melbourne. Encroaching residential development, such as the Sanctuary Lakes Estate, presents a threat to shorebird values through the potential for human disturbance (eg. uneducated residents, pets and trail bikes), development impacts on water quality and quantity (eg. stormwater treatment and drainage) and the effects of invasive weeds on shorebird habitat.
The wetlands are Ramsar listed - and subject of a Draft Future Directions Plan developed by Parks Victoria. The wetlands are also a focus site for the Revive Our Wetlands Program established by Conservation Volunteers Australia and BHP Billiton. The Revive Focus project at Cheetham Wetlands involves a wide range of community members in practical conservation projects associated with the wetlands. Activities include reducing the extent of invasive weed species, bird monitoring, tree planting, weed mapping, and restoration works to various channel and flume systems.
 Aims
To develop a shorebird extension program, inclusive of all stakeholders, to facilitate community stewardship of the wetlands and thereby minimise the effects of human disturbance and development impacts on shorebirds and their habitat in Cheetham Wetlands.
Scope of the project
The proposal aims to employ a consultant Shorebird Project Officer to:
- Establish a monitoring program - levels of disturbance, compliance with regard to pet restrictions and levels of community awareness (shorebirds/values of the wetlands) - Identify and consult with stakeholders - user, interest and management groups, and landholders - to develop and tailor a community shorebird extension program to target the 'new neighbours' of the wetlands.
- Advocate for appropriate by-laws/regulation of pets in urban areas adjoining the wetlands - Sanctuary Lakes developers, Wyndham City Council, Hobsons Bay Council. Also, advocate to ensure appropriate signage is installed in areas where pets are prohibited.
- Monitor the effectiveness of the extension program (disturbance, compliance, awareness)
The data obtained on human disturbance within the wetlands has been mapped and analyzed. It will be used to predict future impacts of human disturbance on the wetlands following the completion of proposed housing estates along the southern boundary. A paper based on the data obtained is being prepared for publication in a scientific journal. Extension material produced as part of the project includes a Cheetham Wetlands poster and a pamphlet aimed at pet owners living near wetlands. These are available by contacting
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Note: The wetlands are also home to the nationally endangered Orange-bellied Parrot, with two birds being located there in 2004. Any shorebird work needs to ensure no impact occurs on OBP habitat.
 Cheetham Wetlands Phase 2
Due in part to its nature as a wildlife sanctuary, the local residents near Cheetham are often unaware of what a special ecosystem they live next door to. While the area may be officially protected, its conservation value will be heavily degraded if the wildlife is unable to enjoy the use of the habitat due to unwanted activities of local residents. Prescriptive signs warning against unauthorised intrusions and activities may have some effect but nobody is going to want to curtail their behaviour for something they know nothing about. With this in mind this phase of the Cheetham Wetlands Project aimed at both enhancing people's knowledge of what they have on their doorstep and developing opportunities for an ongoing relationship. A "Welcome to the Neighbourhood" kit for new residents was developed and sent to 500 new households in the area. Combining existing material with new specifically produced pamphlets, the kit was a welcoming, informative and gentle introduction for new residents to gain an awareness of the value of Cheetham Wetlands. The kits focussed on the wonderful and varied inhabitants of the wetlands and how the residents can help them to continue calling Cheetham home. So rather than resenting being prevented from walking their dogs or riding their motorbikes through the wetlands, new residents will become aware of the impact of their actions and hopefully will not take up such detrimental activities in the first place. We aimed at nurturing a culture of understanding where rather than being seen as a restrictive negative, living next door to the wetlands is regarded as a bonus.
 This phase of the project also involved developing a series of workshops to train novice volunteers in the arcane art of shorebird identification and counting. The conservation of shorebirds relies on the monitoring of numbers- we can't protect a species if we don't know where it is congregating and what habitats it is using. And we can't monitor very much at all without volunteers. The difficulty of identifying this tricky family of birds can be extremely daunting and off-putting for the novice volunteer. Workshops held onsite at Cheetham Wetlands were aimed at investigating the most effective methods for training novices in the basics of identification and censusing techniques while at the same time introducing them to the amazing creatures that inhabit Cheetham, and many other wetlands.
This phase of the Cheetham project was funded by Price Waterhouse Coopers via WWF (Australia). Anyone interested in learning more should contact the
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Conservation 
