Sandringham Foreshore Association Newsletter

Winter Edition 2015

SANDRINGHAM FORESHORE ASSOCIATION (SFA)
Founded January 2007
ABN 42947116512

A CHARITABLE NOT FOR PROFIT VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION

SFA
PO Box 52
Sandringham 3191
E-mail: sandyforeshore@optusnet.com.au
Website: http://sandringhamforeshore.tumblr.com/

From the president of SFA, Dr Vicki Karalis

Welcome everybody to our winter newsletter. We hope you are coping well
and managing to get out regularly for beach walks despite the cold weather.
Professor Tim Flannery
We are blessed to have an article written by our patron Professor Tim Flannery
about our Bayside environment and helping to keep it clean. I was particularly
impressed with his comment "I volunteered to clean the beach around it,
picking up plastic bags and other hard rubbish, but after nearly choking on the

stench as I waded through the sickly grey sewerage-like sludge that filled the
Cowderoy Street drain, pushing aside the dead birds and toxic scum as I went, I
gave up." This is why we love Tim - for his passion, ongoing commitment and
caring for our local environment. Many of us continually pick rubbish during
our daily walks and it is inspiring that Tim is willing to get his hands dirty and
continue being a great role model for our community.
Liz Dawes
In this issue we also feature Liz Dawes, another inspiring local who lives in
Sandringham who has moved from strength to strength after the sad loss of
her beautiful son, Connor in 2013. Liz is well regarded and highly respected by
our local community. Earlier this year she made us proud as a worthy recipient
by being recognised as Bayside's Australia Day Citizen of the Year. The
enormous work as Executive Director of the Robert Connor Dawes (RCD) fund
dedicated to Connor to raise funds for brain cancer research is inspiring.
Please support her cause. As an active member of our community, Liz is also a
regular walker of our local beach which she highly values. Please support the
RCD fund by contacting Liz directly: liz@rcdfund.org
Update on erosion of the Sandringham beaches
We met with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
(DELWP) and Bayside City council to discuss and provide feedback to the
report, Sandringham Sand Management Plan, prepared by Cardno Coastal
Engineers. This report has now been finalised. For a copy of the report, please
contact me directly. We would value your feedback.
Fluker post research for monitoring of Sandringham beaches
DELWP in conjunction with Bayside City Council, have installed two Fluker
Posts at the base of the Royal Avenue groyne and on the Sims St ramp. Beach
users are invited to take photos from these fixed points and send through to
the web link to monitor the beach profile changes. See the below for more
information:
https://picasaweb.google.com/114676241519217510044/SAN1Sandringham
https://picasaweb.google.com/114676241519217510044/San2Sandringham
A Fluker Post allows passers-by to take a photo from the exact same
perspective on different days, which they can send to the Fluker Post Research
Project. Photos are then arranged in chronological order and stored in an
online database. Dr Martin Fluker of Victoria University developed the project
and said the posts aim to monitor the visual condition of the changing

environment, and engage with the community. As the beach changes

over time we will now have a visual record of that.
SFA are organising a demonstration of the Fluker posts on our beach to be
held on Saturday July 18th at 11am, at the top of Tennyson St ramp [adjacent
to the Sims St parking at Sandringham beach] with Dr Martin Fluker.
Everybody is welcome to attend. We hope that the monitoring of our beach
will not delay the necessary management to prevent further erosion of the
base of our cliffs from wave action that we see typically over summer-autumn
starting from February till May, especially with storms, and again in September
with sand movement.
For more information please view the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/fluker.post

Red Bluff cliffs

This beautiful photo illustrates the differences in the Red Bluff cliffs. It was
taken by Doug Gimesy, a professional photographer who grew up in
Sandringham. He has many photos illustrated on the National Geographic
website. Click these links to view Doug's amazing wildlife and landscape
photos:
http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/tags/gimesy/#discussed
www.facebook.com/DougGimesyPhotography
www.instagram.com/doug_gimesy

Note the Red Bluff cliffs have changed very little apart from some upper cliff
erosion due to weathering of the soft Red Bluff sand. The harder Beaumaris
sandstone at the base of the cliffs has changed very little. This stone is richer in
iron phosphates, which explains why it is slower to erode from wave action.
Thanks Doug!

A word from Doug Gimesy

The photo of Red Bluff Cliffs in the foreground was taken from a 1908 post card kindly
supplied to me by the Sandringham and District Historical Society Inc.
I grew up in Sandringham and used to climb these cliffs when I was a young boy - nearly
50 years ago.
The cliffs have always been altered by erosion, however I wonder how the rate we see
today has been altered by human made climate change, and what changes human
impact will continue to have?
Has the rate of natural erosion increased or decreased over the past 100 years since this
photo was taken, and how will this rate of change play out in the future I wonder?

Editors Note:
Doug Gimesys remarkable composition inspires a walk to the cliffs. While youre there, take a
closer look at the lower middle surface area flattened-out from persistent and often clumsy
foot-traffic over the soft tan-coloured sedimentary sands. We can all be a little more careful up
there and prevent the likelihood of the cliffs being closed to public access, should traffic erosion
become further exaggerated. On recent hikes around various parts of ocean-side Malibu and Santa
Cruz (California), I found parts of the beach are closed to protect similar features (though not
sufficiently to prevent a keen hiker at low tide).

Beaumaris Bay Fossil site (BBFS) update

Excavation of site is prohibited
Did you know it is an offence to excavate the fossil site and cliffs and carries a
maximum penalty of $2000? Please view this sign recently displayed by
Bayside City Council at the BBFS.

Fossil finds at BBFS - please email us your interesting fossil finds.

These images were discovered and photographed by Murray Orr, a local
resident passionate about the fossil site. They are fossilised oyster shells and
one is a bivalve fossil shell aged about 5 million years old

National Science Week period (Saturday August 15th to Sunday August 23rd)
We are excited by the free presentations and activities organised by MESAC at
the Beaumaris Yacht Club during the National Science Week period starting
Saturday August 15th till Sunday August 23rd covering key aspects of science
and research, natural history and management of Ricketts Point Marine
Sanctuary and Port Phillip Bay. High quality and engaging sessions will be
delivered by experts across many subjects: marine research, geology and fossil
beds, foreshore plants, Port Phillip Bay history, Aboriginal Heritage and the
role of citizen science and how to participate. The expo of events will raise the
profile of MESAC the (Marine Education Science and Community Centre) a new
venture to re-build the Beaumaris Yacht Club into a multi-user community
facility on the foreshore of the marine sanctuary. For more details see program
featured details below and to book for all sessions click on the following link:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mesac-national-science-week-under-thelens-at-ricketts-point-port-phillip-bay-tickets-16651127972

The Great Bay

By Professor Tim Flannery
Palaeontologist,
Environmentalist and Patron of
SFA
I grew up beside Port Phillip
Bay, just up the road from
Melbournes most striking
natural feature, the Red Bluff
cliffs. In those easier days as a
child I was allowed to wander to
the beach to fish, beachcomb or
swim.
When I was 10 I took up snorkelling, and at 15, scuba diving. From
Sandringham to Mornington I came to know the bays waters intimately. I
loved it in all of its seasons - even mid-winter, when my face would ache from
the freezing water. In that season life was in suspended animation like a
frozen tableau - but the water was crystal clear. As the spring rolled on,
strange visitors arrived. Big-eyed, silvery elephant sharks, made bizarre by a
fang-filled pseudo-mouth atop their head, would slip into the Bays shallows to
lay their eggs. I caught one once, thinking Id feed the family, but was repulsed
to discover that its flesh was green.
Later in the season vast schools of baitfish would arrive. Floating
suspended in the mass of fish, they would cast a fishy shadow around me,
despite the violent dashes of the barracouda scattering them on all sides.
Relentlessly surging north, always north, they manifested the irrepressible
pulse of life itself.
Then came the season for dusky flathead, and flounder, which would lie
disguised on the rocky reefs, awaiting the chance to eat, and reproduce.
The background to all this activity was the reefs that lined the shore, their
rocks encrusted with pink and purple coralline algae. Cricket ball-sized heads of
temperate water coral, yellow and orange pot-shaped sponges, and featherheaded worms studded the pink and purple, bringing astonishing colour and

variety. Under rocks lurked multi-coloured starfish, colourful crabs, shrimps,

worms and blennies. To me, the waters of the Bay were as glorious as any
tropical sea. Perhaps more so, because the tropics are boringly uniform across
the Pacific, while many of the glories I saw in the Bay were ancient Gondwanan
survivors, unique to southern Australia.
I left Melbourne in January 1980, aged 24, to study in Sydney. I cant
remember my last dive, but Im sure that I had no idea Id be away for 32
years. Then, in 2013 family drew me home. The first thing I did was to revisit
my favourite underwater haunt the rocky reef at Beaumaris. For me, it is a
special place almost a sacred place a touchstone of memory and
experience so vivid I frequently dream of it. What makes it important is that its
rocky reef is a fossil bed containing he bones and teeth of creatures that lived
in an ancient Bay more than 6 million years ago. The teeth of sharks larger than
those of any great white, and the jaw bones of mighty sperm whales, lay on
the bottom there, awaiting pick-up by a curious boy. I had discovered the place
when I was 9 years old and had dived it hundreds - perhaps thousands - of
times searching for fossils.
When I plunged into the water in 2013 I knew immediately that the place
of my childhood was gone. Instead of a beautiful rocky reef covered in coral, I
floated above a cesspit of green scum. Algae were growing on every surface,
and it had trapped a layer of mud that had suffocated almost all of the life that
once thrived there.
In the weeks that followed, I snorkelled at my old haunts from Mornington
to Black Rock. Everywhere I saw sickly green algae crowding out temperate
corals and other life. The phenomenon is well known to biologists who study
partially or completely enclosed waterways. Its called eutrophication, and its
caused by an excess runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus. With a surface area of
nearly 2,000 square kilometres Port Phillip Bay is huge, so it takes time for
eutrophication to be felt. But it also takes a very long time to flush out
pollutants, because only 1% of the bays water is exchanged with the ocean
each year.
The truth is that Melbourne is slowly strangling its bay. Year by year the
suburbs creep further south alongside its waters, and the infrastructure builds

up, with more hard surfaces and less greenery to let storm water soak into the
soil. So every storm carries ever-more dog shit, rotten food, spilled petrol and
oil, excess lawn fertiliser and other toxic substances straight into the bay
through the 300-odd barrel drains (more than one for every kilometre of
shoreline) that act like open sores on virtually every Melbourne beach.
Some of the nations most expensive real estate fronts Cowderoy Street,
West St Kilda. But the Cowderoy Street drain looks like it emanates from the
slums of Mumbai, rather than the affluence of Australia. I volunteered to clean
the beach around it, picking up plastic bags and other hard rubbish, but after
nearly choking on the stench as I waded through the sickly grey sewerage-like
sludge that filled the Cowderoy Street drain, pushing aside the dead birds and
toxic scum as I went, I gave up. That such private opulence and public squalor
can exist side by side in Melbourne speaks of something repugnant buried
deep in our society.
Ive asked environmentalists why Melbournians tolerate the filth. Some say
the Bay so industrialised its beyond hope; others its only used on a few
summer days a year, so nobody cares. Having returned from Sydney, where
residents would lay down their life for the Harbour, that is shocking to hear.
Thirty years ago Sydney Harbour was as polluted as the Bay. But hard work and
pride have restored it.
So what needs to be done for the Bay? Some work has already been done.
The Yarra is cleaner than it was 30 years ago, the banks of the Merri Creek
have been magnificently restored, and the Elwood Canal no longer stinks
enough to make you gag. But those odious barrel drains continue to discharge
their slow poison. They need reed beds to catch and soak up the toxins. In
most places theres more than enough flat land to do this. The Andrews
Government has pledged to get rid of the 50 worst level crossings in the state.
What about cleaning up the Bays 50 worst barrel drains?
But the Bays problems do deeper than drains. Flathead are the staple of
Bay fishermen. When I was a kid anyone could catch 30-40 flatties, all over 30
cm long, in a day. The species has declined by 97% in recent years. In the 70s it
took a male flathead 7 years to grow to legal take size of 27 centimetres. Today
it takes up to 13 years. Many have pointed to dredging as a cause, but the
decline predates dredging. More important might be the reduction of the
ghost mud shrimp, the sand flatheads food species. In the 1970s it was

present on muddy bottoms in astronomical numbers. Today its totally absent

from many areas. Surely overfishing isnt helping. The Bay desperately needs
more marine reserves. Those that exist are pitifully small, their margins
thronged with fishermen eager to take anything that wanders outside their
bounds. The Bays margins have also been battered by inappropriate
development. Even the Beaumaris fossil bed has been partially destroyed to
make a car-park for motor-boat users.
In Sydney, great swathes of harbour-side natural vegetation have been
reserved, inappropriate infrastructure removed, and commercial fishing
banned. As a result, fish stocks recover spectacularly. Enormous kingfish,
bream and other species are now a common sight in Sydney Harbour. Even
southern right whales have returned. When I moved to Sydney in 1981 such
things were unimaginable. The Harbour and the Bay were pretty much equally
blighted. But the people of Sydney have cared enough to make a difference.
Surely we Melbournians can, over time, do an equally good job with the Bay
The Sydney Harbour Authority has done much good. A powerful Port Phillip
Bay authority, properly funded and accountable, could deliver the strategic
vision, and the means of delivering it, that the Bay requires. It also needs a
much beefed-up a Port Phillip Bay Institute of Marine Sciences. Research might
show that seaweed farms could soak up the excess nutrient now poisoning the
Bay. We might even be able to reintroduce species. An old resident at Black
Rock once told me that as a child he used to dive for crayfish among on the
rocky reefs there. Imagine that crayfish in the Bay.
The alternative business as usual is ghastly to contemplate. Last year
experts feared that an algal bloom would develop in the Bay. We dodged that
bullet, but inevitably the nutrients will build up until one summer, a vast algal
bloom will be triggered. A toxic Bay, its waters green with algae and covered in
dead fish, it shores piled with stinking vegetation and animal life, will be the
result. The people of Melbourne must have enough pride in their citys
astonishing natural heritage to grant their children a better future than that.
Copyright Prof. Tim Flannery. Published in www.themonthly.com.au

Bayside City Council update

Draft Sandringham Foreshore Master plan
Discussions to date with stakeholders and Council consultants, Matt and Nelly
from Thomson Berrill Landscape Design have taken place in preparation of the
draft Sandringham Foreshore Master plan process.
For further information please contact Amy Weir of Open Space Planning and
Policy Officer (Monday, Tuesday & Friday) at Bayside City Council
New Friends of Bayside Support Officer Jill Robinson
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Barbara Jakob for her
invaluable contribution to the Bayside Environmental Friends Network and
passionate approach to environmental volunteering in Bayside as the former
Friends of Bayside Support Officer. We sincerely thank Barbara for her work
with friends, volunteers and Council since 2008 and wish her all the best for
the future.
Jill Robinson is passionate about Bayside's natural environment, having grown
up in Beaumaris and demonstrates a keen desire to engage with the broader
community to highlight the significance of and protect Bayside's flora and
fauna and promote volunteering opportunities.
Jill's background involves over nine years of volunteering experience at
numerous organisations in Australia and abroad (inclusive of Bayside
Community Nursery and The Briars Nursery, Mornington Peninsula). Jill has
directly managed volunteers at the Koori Night Market and has six years'
experience at the Port Phillip Eco Centre in a variety of roles including
coordinating environmental projects, events, marketing and corporate
relations. Jill also has extensive customer service and retail experience and
qualifications that include a Bachelor of Social Science and Environment and a
Bachelor of Arts (Sociology, Indigenous Studies, Philosophy and Politics).
This position will be based at the Bayside Community Nursery as a precursor to
the development of the retail area as a hub for Bayside's environmental
volunteers.

MESAC Update

Science Week Activities 2015 (August 15th - 23rd)

Location: Beaumaris Yacht Club
Activities & Talks over the Science Week
MESAC offers a series of free presentations and activities during the 9 day National Science
Week period - covering key aspects of science and research, natural history and
management of Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and Port Phillip Bay.
Sessions will be delivered by experts across many subjects: marine research, geology and
fossil beds, foreshore plants, Port Phillip Bay history, Aboriginal heritage and the role of
citizen science.
Science Week will raise the profile of MESAC the (Marine Education Science and Community
Centre) a new venture to re-build the Beaumaris Yacht Club into a multi-user community
facility. The Schedule follows:
Saturday August 15 - 9:30 to 12:30
Marine Science and Research in Port Phillip Bay
The session will cover important topics and questions from the extensive Discovery, Science
and Research across the diversity of species and habitats in Port Phillip Bay: What does
research in the marine national parks and sanctuaries tell us? How big a threat are marine
pests? What is the ecology of the Burrunan dolphin species?
Presenters and Topics
Dr Mark Norman, Museum Victoria: The importance of scientific discovery for the
incredible marine life of the Bay.

Dr Matt Edmunds, Australian Marine Ecology: The ups and downs of life in the
marine parks and sanctuaries in the Bay 18 years of monitoring.

Jan Carey, University of Melbourne: Marine pests What are the pests and how are
they spreading in the Bay.

Dr Kate Charlton-Robb, Australian Marine Mammal Conservation Foundation: The

journey of discovery: Port Phillip Bays unique species, the Burrunan dolphin.

From 1:30 pm: Coastal Foreshore and beach walk -led by Marine Care Ricketts Point
volunteers. Marine Photographic Competition voting.

Sunday August 16 - 9:30 to 12:30

Natural History of Port Phillip Bay
This session will provide an insight into the amazing pre-history of the local Beaumaris
geology and fossils at the close of the Miocene period, some 5.5 million years ago. It will
cover the history of Bay sea levels over the more recent thousands of years and examine the
evidence whether the Bay almost dried up in this period. The Aboriginal history of use of the
Bay will be explored.
Presenters and Topics
Prof. John Buckeridge, RMIT University: The geology of the local rocks at Ricketts
Point and fossil history over millions of years.

Dr GR Holdgate, University of Melbourne: Did Port Phillip Bay nearly dry up between
~2800 and 1000 cal. yr. BP.

Adam Magennis, Cultural Heritage Advisor, Mornington Peninsula Shire: Aboriginal

culture and coastal middens.

From 1:30 pm: Beach Walk Fossil History led by John Buckeridge.
Marine Photographic Competition voting.
Saturday August 22 - 9:30 to 12:30
Marine Environment issues and solutions for Port Phillip Bay
The pollution of our rivers, seas and oceans by manmade plastics is now recognised as a
major global environmental problem. This threat to the health of the Bay requiring science
and community action. This session will inform of the physical and chemical impacts of
plastics upon aquatic life including pollution from micro-plastics. It will also present results
of studies into the interaction between kelp forests and sea urchin barrens in the Bay, and
inspire action to restore the important shellfish reef habitats in the Bay.
Presenters and Topics
Assoc. Prof. Mark Osborn, RMIT University: Plastic Pollution in our Rivers, Seas and
Oceans.

Neil Blake, Port Phillip EcoCentre Director & Port Phillip Baykeeper and Fam Charko,
Port Philip EcoCentre: Tracking Plastic Pollution in Port Phillip Bay.

Dr Paul Carnell, Deakin University: Kelp forests and urchin barrens in Port Phillip Bay.

Chris Gillies, The Nature Conservancy: Bay shellfish regeneration project.

From 1:30 pm: Rock pool life survey: Sea Search - led by Gould League and Marine Care
Ricketts Point volunteers. Marine Photographic Competition voting.
Sunday August 23 - 9:30 to 12:30
Community involvement and Citizen Science
This session will explore some of the fantastic marine and coastal programs that have been
supported by volunteers in recent years. It will provide opportunity for sharing volunteer
and friends groups projects and citizen science activities that support management of

marine protected areas, the Bay and Victorian coastline. Includes Reef Watch, Great Fish
Count, the Two Bays program, Coastcare and Beach Patrol.
Presenters and Topics
Chris Smyth, Victorian National Parks Association: Volunteer involvement in
conservation.

Randall Lee, Environment Protection Authority Victoria with Natalie Davey, Saltwater
projects: Science and community engagement studies in Port Phillip Bay.

Dr Ross Headifen, Beach Patrol Australia.

Parks Victoria and Coastcare: Local volunteers groups - Community involvement and
action.

12:30 pm: Science Week closing words Bayside Mayor Felicity Frederico
Marine Photographic Competition Judging and Winner.
From 2:00 pm: Rock pool life survey: Sea Search - led by Gould League and Marine Care
Ricketts Point volunteers.
Weekday Presentations
Monday August 17 Friday August 21 10:00 to 11:00 am
Monday August 17 - 10:00 to 11:00 am
Batting 4 Bayside
An informative presentation by the Friends of Native Widlife on the life and needs of
Bayside's 10 species of microbats. Batting4Bayside aims to learn more about microbats in
Bayside through community-based research, and to ensure there is effective action to
conserve them.
Presenter: Elizabeth Walsh, Friends of Native Wildlife
Weekday Program
Tuesday August 18 - 10:00 to 11:00 am
Birdlife of the foreshore and sea birds
A fabulous opportunity to learn about the birds along the Ricketts Point coast and rock
platforms with local experts who will provide identification and bird watching tips. Includes
an outside foreshore walk and talk demonstration.
Presenters: Michael Norris and Kim Croker:
Weekday Program
Wednesday August 19 - 10:00 to 11:00 am
Foreshore Plants & Coastal Protection
Join the Bushland Coast Crew who look after the foreshore and vegetation for an
informative presentation on the indigenous flora and fauna management within the coastal
reserve. Includes an outside foreshore walk and talk.
Presenters: Citywide: Scott Withers and Andy Ross

Weekday Program
Thursday August 20 - 10:00 to 11:00 am
Local Aboriginal heritage
Gain an understanding of the rich Aboriginal history of Rickets Point and Beaumaris and how
Aboriginal people used the local plants and animals with local history experts. Includes an
outside foreshore walk and talk.
Presenters: Bob Whiteway and Ray Lewis
Weekday Program
Friday August 21 - 10:00 to 11:00 am
Wildlife & Landscape Photography
Improve your knowledge of wildlife photography with an experienced landscape and wildlife
photographer. Suitable for beginners and those with a passion for capturing the natural
world on film.
Presenter: Pauline Reynolds
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL: to book for all sessions https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mesacnational-science-week-under-the-lens-at-ricketts-point-port-phillip-bay-tickets16651127972

Weeding of Bayside coastline organised Bayside Bushwalking Club

Next working bees at Black Rock scheduled for winter:

Tuesday 7th July, 9 am to noon

Location:
Meet at 8:50 am at Half Moon Bay car park, Melway 85 H3. (B15 car park). The area
to be weeded is on the Black Rock side of the car park, about 100 m from the
meeting point. You will need to sign a registration form for Council insurance
purposes.
Purpose:
Remove as much Cape Ivy as we can before it flowers and sets seed.
Preparation:
Please dress for gardening, bring gardening gloves and your own morning tea for a
10:30 am break. Bring wet weather gear if it is likely to be damp and a small hand
cultivator or garden fork is useful for getting at roots and runners.
Support:
Bayside Council through Citywide Services will support us with bags and personnel to
direct the location of weeding and cart away the removed weeds.
Non-BBC members will be very welcome.
Contact Rob Carseldine [rob.carseldine@bigpond.com] or just turn up on the day and
register.

Wildlife in Bayside
Vicki took this photo of a brown snake at Black Rock beach earlier this year. Fortunately it
was not alive- almost certainly run over by a car crossing Beach Rd. It is a wonderful sign of
the varied wildlife found in our coastal scrub:

The police to the

rescue; discarded dead
snake into the bushes:

SFA profile
of Liz Dawes,
Sandringham
resident &
Bayside's
Australia
Day Citizen
of the Year
2015

Liz Dawes:
I have a walking loop I take from our home on Royal Avenue with our
two dogs Maddie & Marley several times a week: down the stairs and
left to Red Bluff and back up the ramp. Every single time I walk this I feel
how lucky to have this beautiful beach virtually outside our door.
Most weekends I walk with my husband Scott, our dogs and sometimes
kids to one of the cafes for breakfast in Sandringham. We walk along the
beach to get there, along the beach, over the rock outcrops and up to the
Sandringham pavilion. It's a beautiful way to begin our day.
Liz Dawes is the Founder and Executive Director of the Robert Connor Dawes
(RCD) Fund, operating in Australia and the United States. Driven by her son's
own battle, Liz is leading a new movement; inspiring the young and young at
heart to support pediatric brain tumour matters in the areas of Research, Care
& Development. Prior to starting the RCD Fund, Liz was Founder & Director of
the creative fundraising business, Art By Kids, which she sold to focus her
energy on building Connor's legacy. Lizs experience includes presiding over
community committees including American Women's Association, Firbank
Grammar & Brighton Grammar Parents Association. Before moving to
Australia, Liz held various sales & marketing management positions at the

Brady Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Liz graduated with a BBA in

Finance/Marketing from the University of Wisconsin. In 2015, Liz was
recognized as Bayside's Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
The Robert Connor Dawes (RCD) Fund supports brain matters in the areas of
Research, Care & Development. Inspired by a big heart and brain, the Robert
Connor Dawes (RCD) Fund was created in 2013 in the memory of 18 year old
Robert Connor Dawes. We are battling brain cancer and supporting pediatric
brain matters in the areas of Research, Care and Development in Australia &
the United States. This involves contributing funds to brain tumour Research,
supporting young people with at home rehabilitation Care like music & yoga
therapy, as well as Development initiatives inspiring the next generation
of brain cancer practitioners & researchers. We do this because the brain is
where the heart lives.

Beach cleaning
Have you noticed our beaches are cleaner due to the enormous efforts of
volunteers with Beach Patrol? But they need your help! More volunteers are
required particularly to pick up the growing amount of plastic! For more details
about your local Beach Patrol contact Ross Headifen at
admin@beachpatrol.com.au
We hope you have enjoyed reading the winter edition of the SFA newsletter
2015.
Yours with kindness,
Dr Vicki Karalis, SFA President
SFA committee members:
Alison Horton, Vice-President
Salva Crusca, Secretary Mental Health worker
Craig Francis, Treasurer
Ike Solomon, Engineer
Helen Gibson, Geologist and editorial assistant
Paul Hede, Architect
Adrienne Smith, IT consultant
Cristian Silver, Editorial assistant

Free SFA Membership

The Sandringham Foreshore Association is a charitable not-for-profit
association. Membership is free. Our self-acclaimed role is to foster and
promote good natural conservation principles to Bayside foreshore
management. Our current focus is to assist public education by aligning
ourselves with scientific experts in fields of conservation and natural
environment, and to facilitate effective communication between community
council and state governments and established environmental science
publications and position statements.
The role of SFA is to care for and help protect our local beaches and cliffs, but
also to educate, raise awareness and preserve our local archaeological,
geological, cultural, indigenous and heritage sites such as the Beaumaris Bay
fossil site.
If you are interested in joining our free membership, to receive notices and our
Quarterly Newsletters Please respond via our website
http://sandringhamforeshore.tumblr.com/MembershipForm