Apart from being home to a rich Indigenous history and some of the most best known quality surf breaks in the world, Bells Beach on Victoria’s Surf Coast is also a raw and beautiful reserve that needs protection from high visitation and over-development. Population increase and growing numbers of visitors means places like Bells are under even more pressure than ever before from human impacts.
Luckily, caring members of the community have taken Bells under their wing; as part of groups like the Surfrider Foundation, Bells Beach Preservation Society and Surfers Appreciating NaturalEnvironment.
Clean Up Australia Day at Bells in March was just one of many environmental events Surf Coast Surfrider Foundation initiate each year, and the day saw the groups get together to clean up Bells with the help of over 50 volunteers from the community. If you haven’t been part of an environmental action day yet, it is just awesome to see the energy, sense of community and good feelings going round, knowing that you are doing something to keep these patches of paradise protected and respected, and raising awareness about the area at the same time.
Surfrider’s Surf Coast Branch president Rich Bennett told me about the local groups’ long history of protecting the Bells reserve; check out what he had to say here.
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