Victorian scientists are using insects to help stop nutrient run-off from farms and keep waterways clean.
Eastern Victoria MP and Minister for Water Harriet Shing stopped in at a dung beetle nursery in Tonimbuk to inspect Melbourne Water’s dung beetle breeding program on Monday 19 September.
“Dung beetles are amazing insects, with benefits for water quality and agriculture,” MP Harriet Shing said.
Established a year ago, the breeding program includes 16 dung beetle nurseries on Cannibal Creek Landcare Group farming properties in the Macedon Ranges, Nillumbik Shire, Western Port and the Mornington Peninsula.
The dung beetle monitoring will take place with Landcare citizen scientists gathering and uploading observations and images of dung beetles to the BioCollect project app with Atlas of Living Australia.
“This project will help us understand more about them, while farmlands will benefit from the ecosystem service they provide,” she said.
Dung beetles are commonly known as “ecosystem engineers” because they bury dung underground and turn nutrients into natural fertiliser.
Nutrient runoff has been reduced significantly and helped keep the waterways healthy.
“The health of our waterways and land is essential to our native wildlife, and to our way of life today, tomorrow and for generations to come,” she said.
Melbourne Water will measure the success of the program by the number of dung beetles reared and released from local nurseries, and aim to expand the program fourfold.
“Melbourne Water is water and so much more. We are excited to deliver this project in collaboration with Landcare volunteers and recognise its potential to be replicated by other regions,” Melbourne Water Acting Managing Director Gavan O’Neill said.
