Nature Glenelg Trust (NGT) often comes up with fun activities for Vollies (volunteers). This time it was down at Nobles Rocks, sieving sand samples in a search for whatever lives there.
It was not just a whim. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is working on a wetland restoration at Deep Creek. On the road to Port MacDonnell, just across the border from Nelson.
This will involve installing infrastructure to retain water within the site. This raises the question of what effect that will have on the creatures that live in the intertidal zone where the creek currently flows out to sea.
NGT have a grant to undertake research to maybe answer that question and will sample the sands before and after the restoration. Nobles Rocks is also being sampled as a control site, ie. to see how the Deep Creek site compares with a similar stretch of beach away from beach driving and much human activity.
Nobles Rocks is a glorious spot at any time, but conditions were perfect on the day we headed out there – aside from the voracious march flies. Jess and Lauren dug samples from the bottom, middle and top of the beach while Christina and I washed the sand through sieves to find the critters. Mostly worms and little critters Jess called Copepods. I found the biggest worm but no prizes on this trip.
We finished in time for a very nice lunch. Thanks Jess, Lauren and NGT for a memorable morning.
Words and pics by M Styles
Links to web posts about the Project
https://www.landscape.sa.gov.au/hf/news/recreating-heathland-habitat-for-threatened-birds
Nelson Coastcare 
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