Local partnerships protecting Yorke Peninsula’s coastline

In a partnership between Yorke Peninsula Council and the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board’s Djulda-wawa Badja project, works have included weed control, revegetation and infrastructure.

With almost 500 kilometres of coastline in the Yorke Peninsula Council region, the Council endorsed a Coastal Management Strategy in 2022, providing a framework for managing coastal land - balancing community need with environmental protection.

“Our Coastal Management Strategy was developed after a lot of community consultation,” said Yorke Peninsula Council Environment Officer Letitia Dahl-helm. “The largest informants to the strategy were people within the progress associations and local groups who are very proactive, know the issues well and understand the local area.” 

Delivering much of the work, in partnership with Council and the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board, is a team of Indigenous Protected Areas rangers, whose vital role has assisted in achieving the goals of the strategy.

This collaboration has achieved:

• 100 days of weed control (boxthorn, acacia cyclops, fountain grass, bridal creeper, lantana, gazania, white arctotis, flax-leaf broom)
• 11 days of feral tree lopping (swamp oak, olive, Aleppo pine)
• 7028 tube stock planted across 29 sites
• Access stairs built at Gleesons Landing

Northern and Yorke Landscape Board Djulda-wawa Badja Project Manager Janet Moore said the coastal works had been a “huge undertaking” over three years.

And the outcomes are significant.

“In the areas where weed control was undertaken, native plants will start to recover immediately because they are not being choked out by boxthorns and other invasive weeds,” Janet said.

“The revegetation will take time to establish and grow, but despite the dry conditions we’re already seeing good results there.

“Where the stairs are installed at Gleesons Landing, pedestrians can now access the beach safely, when they’re moving from the carpark to the beach, rather than attempting to walk down a track via the cliff face.” 

Letitia said the partnership between Council and the Landscape Board had been vital to ensure the implementation of some of the goals of the coastal management strategy.

For the Landscape Board, the partnership has been equally beneficial in ensuring it meets local priorities.

“When Council developed the coastal management strategy, they did a lot of community engagement, so the strategy reflects the community’s priorities in the spaces that council care for,” Janet said.

“Having that level of input and strategy direction is really valuable for the Landscape Board because it means we can better direct our funding and support to the areas where it’s needed most.” 

Djulda-wawa Badja means 'resilient coast' in Narungga language. Over three years, this project has focused on building the coastline’s resilience through practical, on-ground land management activities across Yorke Peninsula. Djulda-wawa Badja’s project partners include councils, Narungga organisations, Landcare and bushfire recovery groups, non-government organisations, landholders, YP Tourism, AGL, Northern & Yorke Local Government Association, and Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North and local schools.