No. 38
One Community, Endless Stories (OCES), FoMBS' Volunteers Committee Meeting, MBS Quarterly Meetings, Announcement from Member for Bicton of funds for MBS
Hello everyone,
Welcome to our first Newsletter for 2025. Having just returned from an exhilarating 2 ½ weeks’ overseas break, there really is NO place like home, especially when that home is in our beautiful locale ❤.
We’d like to share some exciting news about the Melville Bird Sanctuary!
City of Melville’s campaign: One Community, Endless Stories (OCES)
OCES is a mechanism for the City of Melville to feature feel-good stories about people, places and projects in the City of Melville. The main format to share these stories is a 30-90 second reel video on Instagram and Facebook.
We were approached by the City to participate in this campaign. The following OCES reel featuring the Melville Bird Sanctuary was filmed on 10 January 2025. You can watch it at this link Facebook A number of you may have seen it already as the City has published it and we’ve done so too on our Facebook page. Its a concise way to highlight the MBS! (You may need to click at bottom left hand corner for audio)
Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary Volunteers’ Committee Meeting – 17 January 2025
We had our first Committee Meeting for the new year on 17 January 2025 and discussed our main focus for 2025 We agreed that increasing MBS awareness and education within local and wider communities is of paramount importance.. We will endeavour to address this through:
2 monthly ‘gazebo’ events in both the East (Alfred Cove) and West (Pt Walter/Blackwall Reach) regions of the Melville Bird Sanctuary. Events will be advertised in advance. Birdlife merchandise can be made available including books.
2 monthly Birdwatching Walks alternating in the East and West regions of the Melville Bird Sanctuary.
Joint events with the City of Melville, DBCA, Birdlife WA, SERAG, BEAG eg. for World Migratory Bird Days (in May and October)
Focus on youth through school visits, talks, birdwatching walks, wherever possible involving parents as well.
Information Shelters, already at Troy Park with informative material. We’re expecting a similar refurbished Shelter at Blackwall Reach (Kent Street) at a future date.
Enhancing our FoMBS website.
Send us any ideas you may have?
MBS Quarterly Meetings with the City of Melville, DBCA and partner Friends Groups: FoMBS, SERAG & BEAG
The first Meeting was held today, 26 February 2025 at the City of Melville. These will be held on a quarterly basis and chaired by the City of Melville’s Manager Natural Areas and Parks, Jeff Bird. The group of attendees includes senior DBCA officers and representatives from the abovementioned Friends’ groups. It's exciting that 2025 will mark the commencement of the Pt Waylen Revitalisation Project Plan! Stay tuned.
Announcement from our Member for Bicton Lisa O’Malley MLA, of funds to be delivered for Friends of MBS.
In Lisa O’Malley’s announcement on 14 February (published on our Facebook page), a re-elected Cook Labor Government will deliver $145,000 for the FoMBS, to fund a bird viewing platform in the East Region of the MBS as well as equipment for visiting school students.
Over her 2 terms of office since being elected to the seat of Bicton in 2017, Lisa O’Malley has strongly supported the creation of a Melville Bird Sanctuary and our Friends’ group. Her reliability, consistent efforts, strong lobbying and advocacy for the Melville Bird Sanctuary and the environment have brought the Melville Bird Sanctuary to the favourable point at which it now stands. It was through Lisa's previous pre-election funding commitment to our group that the lovely Pt Waylen Bird Viewing platform was built in 2022 with the assistance of the City of Melville.
Last year, we asked her to be our Patron because we trust her to do the best possible for the Melville Bird Sanctuary and our environment as the continuing Member for Bicton.
All the best,
Jenny Christenson & Tom Lubin
Co-founders: Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary
Donations may be made to our Westpac Bank Account. Details as follows:
Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary
BSB: 036-084
A/c: 494777
Contact Melville City Rangers
Business hours: 08 9364 0666 or 1300 635 845
After hours: 0418 943 219
Contact Wildcare Helpline (Parks & Wildlife - DBCA)
08 9474 9055
Containers for Change
Please note that our barcode has been updated for correct identification. We’d appreciate if you would make a note of this and please donate via the new barcode to Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary. Thanks to our volunteer Pete Wilshaw for organising this.