Greater Dandenong Environment Group volunteers have salvaged dozens of golf balls and sackfuls of plastic packaging from wetlands over the past two weekends.
The group worked throughout the morning at Dandneong Wetlands on Clean Up Australia Day on 1 March, filling 10 bags of rubbish from the bushland.
Items included plastic chip packets, fast-food packaging and drink containers, president Isabelle Nash said.
“Single use plastics are a huge concern for our environment.
“They are not biodegradable and just break up into little pieces instead. This means that they then can spread out more and become harder to collect.
“We really don’t want that happening as they then also enter the waterways and are digested by the skinks and birds,” Nash said – who observed a few skinks during the day.
The prior Sunday, the group also cleaned out 251 golf balls from a dry Tirhatuan Wetlands in Dandenong North.
“The lack of rain over summer has seen the water level drop, and it has become obvious that this wetland is also a great repository for golf balls.
“The GDEG embraced the spirit of Clean Up Australia, and boldly entered the almost dried up pond to pry the golf balls from their resting place.”
The environment group have reported a haven for birdlife and water bugs at the wetlands within the Dandenong Creek catchment.
Some of the species seen include the tawny frogmouth, the spotted pardalote, needle bug and flat worm.
“It is disturbing that there were this many golf balls in the wetlands,” volunteer Michelle said.
“I can only imagine the number of birds that have had close encounters with them.
“The other thing that disturbs me is the fact that a walking path occupies the land between the golf club and the wetlands pond.
“How many people have had close encounters, or lucky escapes from being walloped with the full force of a golf ball?
“Do Melbourne Water and Rowville Lakes Golf Course need to rethink the barrier between them? A row of native trees could be just the answer, making for a greater tree canopy, safer people, and a less littered wetland.”
