Operation Crayweed - how time and commitment can create real change

When it comes to the environment, thinking about the bigger picture can be overwhelming. You might think, ‘There’s no way I alone can effect long-term change.’ In fact, the overwhelm puts many of us thinking about our Earth’s future altogether.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

In this blog post, we discover how by thinking about the bigger picture and working together, we can inspire - and achieve - substantial and long-term change.

Today’s story begins in the early 2000s when a group of dedicated locals named the ‘Friends of Cabbage Tree Bay’ initiated the process of cleaning the area and protecting it from future damage.

This topic is very close to my heart. As you may know, I swim with the ‘Bold and Beautiful Swim Group’ in Sydney every day, across one mile of coastline from Manly Beach to Shelly Beach.

However, you might not know that the area we swim one mile across is the very Cabbage Tree Bay we’ll discuss in today’s article.

Thanks to the dedication of those locals who worked for several decades to restore this area, including Operation Crayweed, Cabbage Tree Bay is now the most biodiverse marine environment in Sydney.

One such local was Dorset Sutton, who together with his wife Sue helped lead this extraordinary project. He joined me to discuss their work, with additional insights from leading scientist Adriana Verges.

How a retiree used his strengths to effect long-term change.

While the underwater habitats within Cabbage Tree Bay had been thriving 40 to 50 years ago, they’d since been eroded by pollution in the decades since.

Back in 2000, the friends of Cabbage Tree Bay petitioned the state government to say they needed to do something about it. This led to legislation and regulations that prevented the same levels of pollution from occurring again. So the process of rewilding the bay has been decades in the making.

And, from there, the mission of cleaning up the bay began. The work may have taken decades but it paid off; the bay is now a World Heritage Marine Park with 500 different species. Despite his work with biodiversity today, Sutton was never good at science at school. But, as Sutton puts it, ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re a C-streamer and not so good at anything. Focus on what you’re good at or have a natural tendency for and you might surprise yourself at how successful you can be in a smaller box, by doing what you love.’

And Sutton loved marketing, so that’s where his professional journey really started. He soon realised he had a gift for being comfortable with people; he had a knack for helping bring people out of their shells with humour and positivity. During retirement, he ended up speaking with academics from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (also known as SIMs), who were looking for someone to help bring morale around their mission to provide regeneration and sustainability of crayweed grass in the bay - Operation Crayweed.

Sutton was already spending a lot of time swimming there, so it was a fantastic partnership. ‘If you’ve got a partnership with purpose and passion, you can really make anything happen,’ he says.

What does it take to recreate an underwater forest? The importance of collaboration

Sutton points out that the collaboration between several groups transformed a one-off project into many ongoing missions around Sydney. And the local community were a huge part of that, alongside the team of academics.

One such academic was Adriana Verges, a Professor in Marine Ecology, a teaching and research academic whose work is focused on the restoration of coastal habitats and the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. ‘We create seaweed populations that then expand naturally,’ she explains. ‘Our team was near the Ferry Bower Cafe last week where we saw the crayweed adults, which is brilliant because we didn’t plant it there.’

Their work is very hands-on. ‘On a planting day, we get up really, really early. We launch from Rose Bay, sail up to Lion Island, collect the seaweed (from North of Palm Beach or the South of Cronulla to include specimens from both sides) and then we do the planting. That’s a pretty full day.’

Verges agrees that collaboration is essential. ‘What we love about involving the community is that people get to learn about these underwater trees that play such an important role but have been unnoticed by most people, including scientists, for a very long time.’

‘I think it helps people gain a sense of stewardship. They’re better able to look after [their backyard] once they have that knowledge.’

Verges also notes the assistance of community plantings. One group even helped them with collecting data on crayweeds, which involved measuring their length, seeing if it was male or female, and checking if there were any signs of it being eaten.

Operation Crayweed received the Green Globe Award from the New South Wales government for environmental impact. ‘Too often academics like me spend time studying the problem super well. But we can use the same science to develop solutions. I think it can be incredibly powerful and very rewarding from a personal level of love.’

Now protection programs are going on all around Sydney Harbour. The impact of their work keeps getting bigger and bigger; now the SIMs share their information with four or five foreign governments.

More locally in Australia, Sydney has now created ‘Project Restore;’ a holistic umbrella overseeing SIMs version for the next 25 years. These missions aim for marine species' survival, clarity of the water, preservation of natural beauty, and more. This includes the Living Seawalls Project; a plan to regenerate marine species in the harbour by protecting the living seawall habitats, which you can read more about in my upcoming blog post.

‘[Cabbage Tree Bay] is the most biodiverse place in Sydney,’ points out Verges. ‘The size and the diversity of the fish is a testament to the local community that stood up and worked for it to be protected all those years ago.’

The joy of community work.

Not only has the work of SIMs and the community done wonders for the Sydney coastline, but it also has a positive effect on those volunteering, too - one that goes beyond spending more time outdoors.

Sutton admits ‘It’s been a unique life experience. It’s rich, it’s ongoing, and it’s sustainable for me. I’m 72, almost, and I feel still young… I’m expressing what worked for me as a guy who’s interested in life, interested in people, and good at bringing ideas together.’

Since Sutton has always been good at figuring out people’s strengths, he’s still helping people get involved by using their unique skills. Even his neighbours ended up becoming ambassadors after discovering Sutton was one of the people assisting with recreating the bay! ‘[They’ve] grown up on the Northern beaches. As [my neighbour] says ‘We’ve gotta look after this. This is so beautiful.’’

A fantastic culminative effect happens just by making people aware of the good work that people in their community are doing - more and more people want to join in. These days, there’s a sign on Shelly Bay saying which fish have been spotted today, making even more people aware of the biodiversity. And they even have small lecture days in the local cafe with marine scientists talking to the community.

In Sutton’s case, he gets to work with his values and strengths daily. He gets to meet new people and help them effect rewarding, long-term change. He’s also learning new, unrelated skills, such as joining a writing club - he’s even ready to have his first collection of life stories published! ‘I never thought I would’ve had the interest, capability, and patience to write about my life. But at 72, it’s not a bad time to do it.’

Connection is so important for our personal happiness, as is a feeling of purpose and that we’re being the best version of ourselves.

‘I can’t measure the return investment’ says Sutton. ‘It’s given me life. It’s given me longevity, and all of my longtime old friends have seen a rejuvenated mindset. When community work is collaborative, purposeful, and engaging, it really can make a huge difference - to our planet, and ourselves.

What one thing can you do to make a difference in your community?

Sutton has some fantastic final advice for anyone reading this and feeling inspired to do good in their communities.

‘Follow your passion and don’t be afraid to step up, reach outside the box, and say ‘I want to learn more!’ Ask people how you can learn new skills or join in. Go beyond the first step of volunteering - really follow your passion and make a statement.’

‘I was Joe Corporate and needed to come down to be Joe Community… Joe Citizen! The learning comes from coming down off your high horse, getting down to the grassroots, and learning to be a [community] person. It takes a bit of work, I can tell you. But it’s worthwhile.’

If you’re in Sydney and would like to find out more about Operation Crayweed and how you can get involved, check out OperationCrayweed.com to see what new projects are coming up. Also find link to the original podcast Re-wilding Cabbage Tree Bay