Earlier this year, volunteers rolled up their sleeves to build fish hotels at Blue Rock Lake, creating safe places for native fish to feed, shelter and breed.
Now the community has returned to take the next step in restoring the lake's shoreline.
Students from local schools, Landcare volunteers and partner organisations came together for a community planting day led by the Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network, adding native trees, shrubs and aquatic plants along the foreshore.
The planting day follows erosion-control works completed earlier in the year along 130 metres of the shoreline. The works were designed to protect the foreshore track from further erosion and ensure visitors can continue to access and enjoy the lake.
A $43,000 investment from Regional Development Victoria’s Tiny Towns Fund supported the project, with large rocks placed along the track edge to create a natural beach and shield the foreshore from wave and weather impacts.
The Blue Rock Lake Foreshore Stabilisation and Community Path Renewal works were delivered through a partnership between the Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network, Southern Rural Water, West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority and Tanjil Valley Landcare Group.
With the erosion-control works complete, the focus turned to establishing native vegetation along the shoreline. The new trees, shrubs and aquatic plants will help stabilise the soil as they grow, while providing food and shelter for birds, frogs, insects and native fish.
Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network Facilitator and Project Officer Caroline Hammond said Landcare's role had been to bring the community into the project.
"The Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network has been responsible for bringing the community into the project. While Southern Rural Water, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority have led the engineering and environmental works, our role has been to ensure local people have an opportunity to be part of the site's restoration."
“Our aim has been to create a project that not only repairs the environment but also builds community pride and stewardship for Blue Rock Lake.”
The planting day builds on the fish hotel installations earlier this year, with aquatic plants providing additional habitat for native fish and other freshwater wildlife.
Habitat Creations Director, Steve Haughton from Habitat Creations Steve Haughton said the aquatic plantings would support the fish hotels, providing valuable fish habitat and cover from predators. The plants will also help support other species and contribute to the long-term health of the shoreline.
"Aquatic plants also provide habitat for many aquatic invertebrate, such as dragonfly nymphs (mudeye) and small fish which are a food source for larger fish," he said.
The restoration work has brought together government agencies, environmental organisations, Landcare groups, schools and volunteers, giving the community a hands-on role in caring for Blue Rock Lake.
While the benefits will take time to develop, the growing vegetation and improved habitat will help support a healthier lake and stronger foreshore for the future.
The work will ensure Blue Rock Lake remains a place where wildlife can thrive and the community can continue to fish, boat, walk and enjoy the outdoors for generations to come.