On 19 August 2023 there was a Dugong Symposium on Yarun Bribie Island at the Seaside Museum.
Coordinated by the BIEPA Dugong Diaries group (of which Tracey is a part of), there was a wonderful range of speakers including Dr Janet Lanyon, Gabriella Shuster, Brent Smith and our own Sherry Bruce. In between the speaker sessions Tracey shared love letters from Simone Johnson in Arizona and Kim Robertson in Abu Dhabi. Dugong diaries member Deirdre Reynolds also shared her love letter to the Dugongs.
The Dugong Symposium also included a wonderful cruise on the Pumicestone Passage. To cap off an amazing day – we actually saw 4 dugongs ❤
So why are Dugongs important? They are a great indicator of ecosystem health and their diet consists of sea grass which is the world’s only flowering plant capable of living in seawater. Also sea grass is an incredible ally in the challenges of climate change. Globally, seagrass captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, accounting for 10-18% of total ocean carbon storage despite covering less than 0.1% of the seafloor. Seagrass can also help protect our coast from damaging storms and erosion through dampening the force of waves and is very effective at removing pollutants from our waters. (WWF)
The next project by the Dugong Diaries team is to monitor the local seagrass and its health will impact not only the Dugong but us all.
The Dugong Love Letters project is an evolving collaborative project and you too can contribute your love letter to us at Treecreate by contacting us. Check out the 1st presentation of the love letters by Simone Johnson and Tracey Benson in December 2022
Treecreate 