The project, ‘Connect Conserve Cultivate’, responds to the divide between local attitudes towards tourism which was uncovered during the co-creation workshops. Many locals appear to be frustrated with behaviours of non-locals and the intensity of the tourism industry, yet business owners rely on tourism economically. There is significant overlap between the intense population influx from 1,000 locals to 10,000 people within the fire season. Economically Mallacoota is reliant on tourism, yet the tourism season only lasts six weeks, making income extremely unbalanced and reliant on this holiday time. We are proposing a series of three symbiotic interventions which aid in the coexistence of tourists and locals; these include a Maurice Avenue streetscape garden network, fishing awareness at the foreshore, and a research pavilion at Bastion Point.
 

The project aims to encourage the growth of education and knowledge sharing on the environment, therefore changing the ‘type of tourist’, creating the ‘untourist’ - a concept proposed by ‘School for unTourists’. Through creating sensitivity, awareness and education. Importantly, the project aims to improve the experience of tourism for hosts creating a tourism industry which is sustainable environmentally, socially and economically for the future of Mallacoota.

The Maurice Avenue streetscape garden network aims to build relationships and connections between residents and tourists. It will be a key place for knowledge sharing and education on the biodiversity in the area, as well as a sustainable system for the growth of local produce.The main street becomes a library of locally found biodiversity that encourages further exploration of wider Mallacoota through walking trails and national park. The intervention importantly aims to re-center local use of this significant waterfront land by connecting the main street to the foreshore environment. The streetscape also aims to bring back the mud brick vernacular to the main town center. The foreshore’s intent is to create awareness about recreational fishing and the negative impact it has on the environment; it is also about educating recreational fishers about the effects of unsustainable fishing. The Bastion Point Pavilion aims to create a space for the application of research projects which target the issue of the development of the boat ramp and water break, which has had major impacts on Bastion Point marine life. When not used for research or event purposes, the Pavilion can act as a shelter for beach goers, which was a highly requested aspect from the workshop. These interventions are coupled with existing locations to create a holistic event network which transforms the tourism experience over the whole town. This new network of events can then be implemented into a timeline form which caters for events throughout the year, therefore altering the economic reliance on that peak season. The places that are being activated through events include The Muddie, The Abalone Co-Op, the Coastal Walk, Gabo Island and the Mallacoota Hotel Motel.