Saltmarsh Profile

Commissioned by the Hawkesbury-Nepean CMA

SALTMARSH plays a key role in many areas where the marine and coastal environments interface. It plays an important part in the capturing and filtering of nutrients which move with tidal or rainfall inundation between land and sea and is a habitat of great importance for a number of species which live, visit or breed there. Being intertidal, it experiences an almost complete makeover every 24 hours, as different species make use of the resources which either inundation or emergence make available.

Conservation and education

LIKE SO MANY habitats which appear to endure harsh environments, saltmarsh appears to be very robust. However, if the conditions are changed under which it thrives, saltmarsh quickly degrades, leading to diminishing biodiversity and knock-on effects which cause dwindling in neighbouring habitats. For this reason, Officers from the NSW Dept. of Fisheries and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority have ongoing education programs in place to help spread the message about protecting saltmarsh and engaging the community in regular conservation projects.

Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority education officers commissioned me to create the art for a large poster depicting a cross section of a typical saltmarsh in the region, which has since been used on an almost daily basis for promoting the values of saltmarsh among many school groups, tour groups and the wider community. Below is an image of the artwork for the sign, an image of the completed sign and some details from the artwork that I created.

Press the images to enlarge.