A $41,790 grant has been awarded to Earthcare St Kilda, a volunteer group established in 1989 to monitor and help care for an estimated 1,400 little penguins residing at St Kilda breakwater. The grant will be used to develop a better long-term monitoring program that will enable volunteers to track their movements, population size and deliver more targeted support.  

Another grant of $7,000 awarded to the Port Phillip Eco Centre will trial the installation of twelve new plant guards. The guards have been specially designed so little penguins won’t get caught in the guards while protecting newly planted vegetation. The trial will test the success of the new guards to give plants time to establish their root systems before the penguins start accessing them for nesting materials.   

Created in 1956 for the Melbourne Olympics, the St Kilda breakwater quickly became an unintentional breeding haven for the little penguins. The thermal heat conducting nature of the volcanic rocks and the gaps created in construction, delivered the perfect burrows to hide eggs from predators.  

As the population of little penguins grew, tourism to the area has too. The colony is one of Melbourne’s most popular tourist attractions with as many as 3,000 visitors a night arriving to watch the little penguins scamper back to their burrows at dusk.  

St Kilda's little penguin colony draws large crowds of onlookers

These grants will enable volunteers to monitor the health of the little penguins and the impact of new viewing areas that will be opened to the public in 2024, when upgrades to the St Kilda pier are finalised. 

Until work on the St Kilda pier is complete, get your little penguin fix with this fascinating documentary Meet the Penguins.  

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