World Environment Day spotlight: Ulladulla coastline

A 1km beach walk, maintained by the Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council, wraps around picturesque bushland and takes visitors from the carpark to the sand.

As well as being a useful and attractive landmark, it has helped save native vegetation for the past 2.5 decades.

We spoke to Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Shane Carriage about the organisation’s projects which protect the coastline.

‘People used to walk down from their cars, creating dirt paths,’ he said.

‘Then we would have heavy rain and it would all wash away and people would start walking down again and a new track would form,’ he said.

‘It was terrible for the native vegetation. After we built the timber boardwalk part of the track in 1994 everything started to regenerate. We’ve maintained it ever since.’

Mr Carriage said a bush tucker trail, highlighting bush medicines and natural food had also been created by the land council.

‘School groups and corporate groups book in and come down for the tour,’ he said.

‘We tell the story of the track and how the native plants can be used for food and to treat minor ailments.’

See our video of the Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council’s coastline projects on YouTube or watch it below.