The Lower Blackwood LCDC and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) will host the the annual Hardy Inlet Estuary Forum this month, showcasing the on-ground work and research being undertaken to better understand and protect the health of the region's precious local estuaries and rivers.
This Forum is an opportunity to share our research and results... It will give us genuine, up-to-date information on our estuary health, and about what we can do as a community to protect our fragile aquatic ecosystems.
- Jo Wren, Lower Blackwood LCDC
The event is open to everyone in the Lower Blackwood Catchment and beyond, and is an opportunity to discuss the local water quality and aquatic ecology.
Jo Wren, Executive Officer of the LCDC said the event was a vital forum to update the community on the proactive work and challenges of managing estuary health.
"We've been working in partnership with DWER on the Healthy Estuaries WA program for the last three years, focusing our work on practical, on-ground outcomes to improve the health of our unique Hardy Inlet," she explained.
"This Forum is an opportunity to share our research and results with the local community, and also to gain insights from experts who are studying our rivers and estuaries.
"It will give us genuine, up-to-date information on our estuary health, and about what we can do as a community to protect our fragile aquatic ecosystems."
Mr Wren said the forum would include a foreshore walk, as well as presentations from scientists, researchers, and local experts from the Lower Blackwood LCDC.
"This year, we will be starting the event with a foreshore walk out front of the Colourpatch Café, with an opportunity to look at samples of seagrass from the inlet, and demonstrations of how DWER monitors water quality," she said.
The Hardy Inlet Estuary Forum will be held at the Colourpatch Café in Augusta from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Tuesday 21 November.
Q&As and a light supper will follow the presentations.
Anyone keen to attend should visit lowerblackwood.com.au/events/hardy-inlet-estuary-forum-2 to register.
Tickets are free, but registration is essential for catering purposes.
The event is part of Healthy Estuaries WA - a State Government program aiming to improve the health of South-West estuaries.
