Connecting people
and place
Living Bung Yarnda is a community-led environmental stewardship program designed to care for Bung Yarnda (Lake Tyers) and its catchment.
The aim of the project to:
Share the knowledge and passion the community of Lake Tyers has for this special place;
Train community members in recognised methods of scientific monitoring and how this can be used;
Provide a portal for sharing information, telling stories and showcasing artworks, soundscapes and images.
Through this, we can all better understand the natural beauty and variability Lake Tyers, as well as advocate for its protection.
The project involves regular monitoring programs for a range of indicators including: birds, fish, water quality, litter, vegetation and pest species. It will also help capture the lived experience of “place” – what you value, what has changed, what are your concerns. This knowledge is gathered and shared through an online database, which will track environmental changes over time and allow new discoveries.
The Living Bung Yarnda project follows a co-design model in partnership with local government agencies and community groups, including Lake Tyers Coast Action, Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, FLOAT artists community and Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation.
About Lake Tyers
Part of the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar wetlands of International Significance, Bung Yarnda (Lake Tyers) is a forested drowned river estuary in East Gippsland. It hosts a wide diversity of rare and vulnerable flora and fauna in the warm temperate rainforest, including Little Terns, Limestone Blue Wattle and Long-Nosed Potoroo. The area has a rich history and is home to the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, timber industry, a large artistic community and passionate recreational fishers. Lake Tyers is also a place that tourists visit year-round to enjoy the tranquil surroundings through camping, kayaking, bushwalking, fishing or swimming at the beach. All of these communities are connected by their love for this beautiful corner of the world.
Environmental issues and threats
Whilst the overall condition of Lake Tyers is considered to be near-pristine, the lake has experienced significant impacts in the past and faces several impending threats. A significant portion of the catchment has been selectively harvested for the timber industry. Farming of freehold land around the lake has been primarily for grazing. Town settlements are also established at Nowa Nowa and Lake Tyers Beach and the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust. Mining of limestone and mineral sands has occurred within the catchment and an iron ore mine has been approved above Nowa Nowa. The lake also supported a significant commercial fishing industry as early as the 1880s until 2003 of predominantly bream, luderick, mullet, silver trevally and prawns.
The removal of commercial licenses in Lake Tyers has increased use by recreational fishers. Lake Tyers is a prime fishing spot and attracts large numbers of visiting fishers in popular holiday periods, such as Christmas and Easter. Whilst the local and regular fishers in Lake Tyers are very respectful of bag limits and maintenance of the fishery, the holiday fishers can have a significant impact, including leaving behind rubbish and not making appropriate use of facilities. This is in part being addressed by the Lake Tyers State Park Camping and Access Strategy.
The beach is also a contested zone. The use of the beach, particularly by humans and dogs, can have a significant impact on shore-nesting birds, such as the Little and Fairy Tern populations. The vegetation behind the Bluff has a high biodiversity value, but is also considered a fire threat by some within the community.
Current threats to the system include artificial openings of the berm – which, interrupts the natural spawning cues for migratory fish. The natural berm openings are caused by freshwater building up behind the berm met with storm conditions during a very high tide, usually with a full moon, when the sandbar bursts allowing the waters to mix (Thorpe, 2017). The freshwater must be allowed to flood the low-lying land to mobilise the silts and nutrients that then flow out through the opening to re-nourish the nearshore environment. Marine fish then swim up through the lake opening to feed and breed in the calm nursery of the lake waters. If the berm is opened too soon, the waters will not be able to provide nourishment for the fish and therefore stocks will be depleted.
Drier conditions in the east of Victoria have led to decreased river inflow into the lake catchment. When low lake levels are maintained, without flushing of freshwater, nutrient levels increase, prompting the growth of algae in warmer weather and influx of sea jellies. After the Millennial Drought, the lake suffered significant die-back of both aquatic vegetation and invertebrates, including barnacles, and also fish. Although the cause of this has not been confirmed, acid sulfate conditions, caused by low lake levels, exposing natural iron-sulphide, pyrite in the nearshore environment may have been a cause,
An impending threat to the system is the proposed iron ore mine in the upper catchment, near Nowa Nowa. As well as clearing and possible sluicing of sediments downstream, the mining operations will see further water resources diverted away from the lake, furthermore decreasing flow.
One of the major threats to Gippsland and the high-country areas of Australia are invasive deer populations. Deer are destructive to the vegetation of the catchment and impact slope stability and sediment load to the waterways. Deer populations in the Lake Tyers catchment have increased significantly over the past 10 years.
The other major impact on vegetation in the catchment is fire – both wild and planned burns. A balance needs to be achieved between the protection of human lives and protection of wildlife in decisions regarding when and how to burn and clear.
The role of Indigenous knowledge and Traditional Owner practice has a long history in the Lake Tyers region. Living Bung Yarnda offers the opportunity to explore both traditional and contemporary ways of knowing and managing place. We welcome all voices.