Bundaberg Regional Council has signed up to be a Reef Guardian Council for the 2020-24 period to support a healthy Great Barrier Reef.
The Council was one of the first to recommit to the Reef Guardian Council program, a partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Mayor Jack Dempsey said Council took the Reef Guardian role very seriously.
“Our community has a passionate and very strong connection with the Reef,” Mayor Dempsey said.
“With the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland, and the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region right in our backyard, the Reef is a fundamental part of our identity.”
Council’s commitment includes activities centred around stormwater management, litter reduction and waterways clean-ups.
Council also supports the annual Future Leaders Eco Challenge, a one-day event for Reef Guardian Schools hosted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
The Reducing Urban Glow project is another Council initiative, supported by the Australian Government and a number of project partners.
It uses smart technology to measure and inform the public about urban lighting levels.
This project aims to empower the community to make informed decisions about their use of light and take positive action to reduce urban glow and help protect the nesting population of marine turtles.
Council is also committed to its One Million Trees Program, which sets the ambitious goal of planting one million trees over the next four years.
This project will help to deliver on natural resource management projects and related outcomes, support positive economic and social outcomes, and assist Council in delivering its Sustainable Bundaberg 2030 strategy through carbon emission offsets.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Assistant Director for Reef Guardian Councils, Rebecca Allen, said the Bundaberg Region has an important role to play as a Reef champion and leader of change.
“With the iconic Mon Repos as part of the region's identity, and the southern Great Barrier Reef right on its doorstep, Bundaberg residents are already so passionate about environmental sustainability,” Rebecca said.
“The Great Barrier Reef is an amazingly diverse and complex system – it’s roughly the size of Italy.
“We recognise that establishing effective and meaningful partnerships is critical to managing the Reef.
“Our Reef Guardian Councils, such as Bundaberg Regional Council, are already undertaking a wide range of actions to help the Reef.
“We are proud to partner with them to support these actions, and with the collective power of 18 Reef Guardian Councils, improve the health of the Great Barrier Reef.
“We hope that the Reef Guardian Council program will help spread the message that taking action now, however small or wherever you are in the world, will help the Reef.”
More information on the Reef Guardian Council program can be found on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority website.
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Will the Council link in with the Guardian Reef schools as currently they receive no funding to run this program?