By Natalie Farrell
I was riding my bike in St Kilda one sunny afternoon when I stumbled across the Port Phillip EcoCentre. It was 2019, I was feeling lost after graduating and needed a place to spend my newly acquired free time. Why not spend that time in nature, I thought to myself. All it took was a quick induction and I was welcomed with open arms into a community as warm as that late-afternoon St Kilda sun.
I went to a few gardening sessions at the EcoCentre before finding a spot in the Sunscreen and Bay Marine Life program. The task involved diving into the Port Phillip bay both literally and figuratively. Being waist deep in the bay allowed me to see the importance of taking care of it.
Following this, I did some volunteering in the microplastic research team. Although strenuous, it was rewarding work that ended with lunch and a strong sense of camaraderie.
Picking out and counting bits of broken down plastic from river samples was another eye opener.
I asked myself ‘Why I needed a magnifying glass and head torch to finally see such a large scale issue?’
After COVID-19 and a change of address, I didn’t find myself back at the EcoCentre for a few years. I recently returned to the EcoCentre, this time as an intern. I have been attending events and interviewing the EcoCentre’s diverse volunteers to contribute to the organisation’s storytelling.
My first event back was with the Community Garden. Apart from the obvious benefits of gardening on a Friday morning, one of the best parts was the personalities I met in this group. While chopping leftover plants for the compost and sprucing up an already flourishing veggie patch, I chatted with volunteers about crystal collections, home worm farms and trips to Costa Rica.
The EcoCentre gardening group is so alive with passion and character it is no wonder the plants thrive. What a wonder – listening to a lovely, zealous bunch talk about whatever comes to mind on a sunny Friday morning. With green thumbs in the dirt, they harvest a love for each and every worm in that worm farm.
With the scent of fresh soil easing me back into volunteering at the EcoCentre, I got involved with the Beachkeeper’s of the Bay initiative. This was great for mindfulness as well as learning about native plants, invasive weeds, and the Superb Blue Fairy-wren population that has been displaced from its natural habitat along the Port Phillip Bay. It is encouraging to know that this project has led to increased sightings of the birds.
Participating in the Plastic Free Bay Drain Sorts project was the most surprising part of returning to the EcoCentre. In 2019, a microplastic sorting and counting session consisted of three people hunched over a table in a small room. When I showed up to the Drain Sort project in 2023, to see a packed room filled with sprightly volunteers chattering and working through kilos upon kilos of drain sort samples, I was in shock.
The evolution of the EcoCentre’s community was undeniably evident in that moment. It made me smile to think that with such a large force of community volunteers, the issue of litter in our rivers and oceans is no longer invisible. This time I did not need a magnifying glass or head torch to see the commitment and awareness in that room.
Being heavily involved with the EcoCentre at this point, it was time to head down the peninsula to participate in the PestWatch program. This was another huge learning opportunity, from figuring out how to find and identify Asian Shore Crabs to understanding the importance of eradicating invasive species.
Above all, the PestWatch events were a great excuse to hit the road and enjoy our beautiful corner of the world. It was encouraging to see so many children smiling in the sun, searching for crabs under rocks (and their marine pest look a-likes), knowing they will have great memories with this part of Australia. This nurtures a love for nature and desire to care for it.
To talk about the EcoCentre and not the people who are a part of it would be impossible, as the organisation is a product of those who get involved. During my internship, I met someone from another country who has found a place of belonging with the EcoCentre. I met someone who had to stop work because of a medical condition, only to find renewed purpose in volunteer work. I spoke to someone who had retired from a job on an oil rig, who told me all there is to know about a job role I would otherwise have no understanding of. I had the delight of hearing about the EcoCentre’s origins from the Port Phillip Baykeeper; Neil Blake. I spoke to volunteers who have commented on the same awe for the sunsets and sunrises that came with the Sunscreen and Bay Marine Life project. I have listened to teachers, scientists, economists, creatives and everything in between during my time at the EcoCentre. This organisation is saturated with intricate and diverse stories. Community oozes at its seams.
I am thankful for that sunny Friday afternoon when I stumbled upon the EcoCentre. I stumbled into an environmental organisation that would have me spending my time out in nature, yes, but I really stumbled upon so much more.
To get involved and have your own insights into the wonders of the EcoCentre community, enrol in a volunteer induction. Register at: https://www.ecocentre.com/events
It is eye opening, heart warming and awe inspiring.
