At the Victorian Coastal Awards of Excellence night
last Thursday the Friends of the Hooded Plover, Mornington Peninsula, won the
Species Protection award.
This friends group has been going for 12 years and
in that time has been instrumental in getting Parks Vic to take note of and then
become fully involved in the welfare of the endangered Hooded Plovers
that have to share their beaches with the public, dogs, foxes, etc.
Whilst I am a late comer to the group - I
didn't get involved until the start of the breeding season in 1997 - we still
have members who started their fortnightly [now monthly] surveying, nest
monitoring, beach wardening, etc at the time of the first survey on 27th March
1991.
It's fantastic that the effort, enthusiasm and at
times utter despair of the group has been recognised.
Val Ford
Sorrento, Vic
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