The Spit Nature Conservation Reserve and the adjoining Big Marsh are some of the most significant areas of saltmarsh in Victoria due to the diversity of the site’s flora and vegetation. The majority of the Big Marsh area falls within the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site, a wetland of international importance. In the 1980s, the area was an important feeding area for the now critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster), at times being a reliable overwintering site for half the population. However, the diversity and general condition of saltmarsh vegetation, particularly in the upper saltmarsh, is understood to have declined since and Orange-bellied parrots are no longer observed.

Working in partnership with Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water, this project proposed to undertake hyrdological improvements and habitat restoration works to restore this significant saltmarsh community and hydrological regimes.