The Oyster Harbour Miaritch 2026 Showcase was held on Saturday at Emu Point Marina, emphasising the past, present and future of the catchment group’s environmental projects.

The event was both a family fun day and an opportunity to demonstrate to about 200 people how the environment around Albany has changed in the past four decades.

Oyster Harbour Catchment Group project officer Cassie Dressler said the organisation wanted to complement the city’s bicentenary celebrations with an event which put the environment front and centre.

“We looked at the bicentenary agenda and felt there was nothing specific about the environment, which is one of the most beautiful reasons people come here,” she said.

“We wanted to take the bicentenary theme of past, present and future and tie it in with our event.

“Looking at the 1980s in Albany, Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour were on the verge of ecological collapse and we wanted to paint that picture.

“Then in the 1990s all these community-led landcare groups came into being, got funding and the result is obvious — the sea grass is lovely and thick at Oyster Harbour and there is aquaculture which there wouldn’t have been 30 years ago.”

A group of marine science students from Albany Senior High School gave a talk looking to the future.

“They gave a great presentation,” Ms Dressler said.

“This is not a finished story; if we all stopped doing what we do, we risk everything going backwards.”

The Oyster Harbour Catchment Group carried out a recent audit of the activities it has held since being founded in 1992.

Among the 140 projects they have completed so far, they discovered they had helped install more than 2000km of fencing by working with private landholders.

“We don’t have our own land, and we don’t work on public land — that is the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions — so we work with private landowners in areas like nutrient management or soil testing,” Ms Dressler said.

“When we were sharing our results, we highlighted that we only have five staff and that all our achievements have come through working with the help of the broader membership and the landowners in the community.”

On the day there were interactive displays and talks, as well as boat trips on the Kalgan Queen and a series of conversations reflecting on caring for country with Menang Noongar representatives.

This event was supported by the State Government’s NRM Program and Healthy Estuaries WA, Oyster Harbour Catchment Group, Southern Ports, Lotterywest and the City of Albany.