At Winton Wetlands we are all about biodiversity. In lay terms, biodiversity is simply about having the widest possible range of native plants and animals and other life forms able to grow and prosper together, in a way that contributes to the health and welfare of all.

The existence of one species contributes to the success of another, by being a source of food, or by helping to clean and purify, or by serving some other purpose.

A planet with biodiversity is a healthy one, much more capable of sustaining human life both now and into the future. A planet without biodiversity is one which becomes severely depleted and
less ‘liveable’ for species of all kinds — including us in the end!

So we all need to get behind activities which help to encourage biodiversity.

Did you know that wetlands make a particularly big contribution to biodiversity simply because of the sheer number and variety of flora and fauna species they can support?

It’s all connected

A major part of the work going on at Winton Wetlands is about bringing back native species which were once abundant in the area, attracted at different times by the varying phases of growth and rebirth that come with water levels naturally rising and falling.

Some species, such as the growling grass frog, became locally extinct during the period that Lake Mokoan existed on the wetlands site. They were not able to adapt to a permanently flooded environment created by humans.

Important work is under way now (subject to approvals) to bring growling grass frogs from other parts of Victoria where they still exist and relocate them back into the Wetlands.

You might ask: Why bother? The reason is that these frogs make a contribution to a more balanced and healthy environment in many ways, including as a source of food for many of the magnificent native bird species once common on our Wetlands. Bring back growling grass frogs and we bring back many more native birds too.

And so it goes on, with each species contributing in some way to the local environment being more liveable for others.

While the word ‘Biodiversity’ can be a bit of a mouthful, it really matters. In too many places around the world, biodiversity is in retreat — but without it, we’re all in serious trouble.

It’s at the forefront of most things we do on the Wetlands. In fact, if Winton Wetlands was to be given a middle name it might just be Biodiversity!