Ocean Grove Voice - Your Local Newspaper

OCEAN Grove Beach has won the Victorian ‘Friendly Beach Award’ thanks to the work of Barwon Coast and the locally based Disabled Surfers Association.
Barwon Coast was awarded the KABV Clean Beaches - Friendly Beach Award at a ceremony held last week at Docklands, ahead of the other finalists from Dromana and Hobsons Bay at Altona.
The Clean Beaches - Friendly Beach Award recognised the construction of an all abilities ramp at the Ocean Grove Main Beach that provides beach access to people in wheelchairs.
The ramp was fully funded by Barwon Coast during the recent construction of a new seawall and promenade at Ocean Grove being a $1m plus project funded by the State Government and Barwon Coast.
Barwon Coast General Manager Bob Jordan said: “The award was a great recognition of the foresight of the Barwon Coast Committee members to see the need for the ramp construction but more significantly recognised the major contribution of the local group of the Disabled Surfers Association.”
The Disabled Surfers Association has provided a number of aquatic wheelchairs that has enabled users to gain access to the beach and with the help of trained volunteers, get their first access to the ocean.”
Bob Jordan praised the work of the local group who had held training programs for volunteers to assist with the support of participants at the “carnivals” run by DSA at the Ocean Grove Main Beach noting the sucess of the special event run in March 2010
This was the third year in a row that Barwon Coast had been a finalist at the Clean Beach Awards and follows on the 2008 success in the Zero Waste Category for the recycling and rubbish collection program at the Ocean Grove Beach. Barwon Coast is currently building new toilets at the beach.