BAYSIDE is a finalist in both the 2009 Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria's Clean Beach Challenge and Sustainable Cities Awards.

Bayside is a finalist for the Friendliest Beach Award for the Ricketts Point Foreshore and is a finalist for Community Government Partnership Award for the Bayside Environmental Friends Network.

Bayside Mayor Councillor James Long said he was thrilled that Bayside was a finalist for two awards.

“Being a finalist recognises the hard work of Council and our community in keeping the foreshore beautiful and clean; and creating a more sustainable city.

“I am really proud of the Council staff and the community for the effort they put in,” Cr Long said.

Keep Australia Beautiful will announce the winners at a presentation evening on 29 May 2009. Clean Beach Challenge – Friendliest Beach Finalist – Ricketts Point Foreshore Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary in Beaumaris is one of Bayside’s most popular destinations attracting more than 50,000 visitors a year. After widespread community consultation, Bayside City Council underwent extensive works to protect the coast banksias, a highly significant example of native vegetation in Bayside, and the coastal dunes at Ricketts Point.

Many of the coastal banksia trees are approaching the end of their life. Council carried out work to reduce the risk to foreshore uses as the trees decline. Council extended the garden beds and added boardwalks under the trees so that they can decline naturally. This in turn has provided an ideal habitat for wildlife and a more aesthetically pleasing foreshore gardens.

The footpath along the foreshore at Ricketts Point is on a sand dune that is constantly on the move. Normally, plants and trees help stabilise dunes and prevent sand movement, but heavy foot traffic at Ricketts Point had resulted in a loss of dune vegetation and the subsequent movement of sand onto the footpath, causing risk to foreshore users.

Council undertook works to stabilise the dunes and reduce the movement of sand through appropriate fencing. The fencing directs visitors to concentrated access points and reduces the amount of vegetation trampled over the site. Native revegetation works are planned in spring to restore the dunes and provide vital coastal dune habitat.

Sustainable Cities – Community Government Partnership finalist – Bayside Environmental Friends Network

The Bayside Environment Friends Network (BEFN) was initiated by Bayside City Council in early 2008 to provide a forum for environmental volunteers to discuss ideas and exchange knowledge, skills and experience, to encourage networking with Friends and others in Bayside and beyond, to plan events and publicity and to work on developing and expanding the Friends program within Bayside.

The BEFN is a passionate part of the Bayside community. It offers partnerships with organisations, schools and individuals. The BEFN provide opportunities for people to have a positive impact on the environment, contact with nature and establish a relationship with it. The network also offers the opportunity for those interested to discover an unknown neighbourhood in their own backyards.

The BEFN was established to engage the public in environmental activities and works on developing strategies to communicate the importance of Bayside’s natural heritage to the wider Bayside community and beyond.

The BEFN strives to achieve a mixture of local engagement and profile experts, to stimulate new ideas, and to embrace and celebrate what has already been achieved. It is about discovering new ways of engaging and activating different generations to become involved. The natural areas of Bayside are highly valued by the Bayside community and the BEFN seeks to build on this passion within the community and ensure the long-term sustainability of environmental volunteering within Bayside.