TNQ Writer
There’s a sense of responsibility that comes with visiting one of the world’s most iconic marine environments, an opportunity to learn about and respect the natural world.
If minimising your impact as a visitor is high on your priority list, here are some ways to get involved and make more reef-conscious choices during your next holiday.
Come and visit
Come see for yourself
Contrary to popular belief, coming to see the Great Barrier Reef is an important way you can help in its conservation. Every visitor to the reef pays an Environmental Management Charge which contributes to the day-to-day management of the Marine Park and funding the research that is improving its long-term resilience. This charge also helps contribute to the Great Barrier Reef status as one of the world’s best managed coral reef eco systems.
Furthermore, if you see it, you’ll truly value and appreciate it; the more of people that do that, the more the world values it and the more the world will do to protect it.
Be a Marine Biologist for a Day
Observe coral planting on Passion of Paradise's Marine Biologist For a Day program
Fancy joining a team of conservationists to physically contribute to reef conservation? Look no further than Passions of Paradise’s Marine Biologist For a Day program, a Citizen Science project that will see you participating in reef conservation projects.
Confident snorkellers can assist conservationists in completing a Rapid Monitoring Survey for the Marine Park Authority to assess the health of the reef. Reef education is also on the cards, as the Master Reef Guide will help them to identify the types of fish and coral that they see.
Certified divers can assist Master Reef guides as they survey reef locations, monitor reef health and coral planting as part of the Coral Nurture Program.
Plant a coral by joining the Coral Nurture Program
Wave length coral restoration program
Wave length coral restoration program
The Coral Nurture Program uses the skills of tourism operators to help coral recovery
The Coral Nurture Program uses the skills of tourism operators to help coral recovery
Just as they did in the bid to have the World Heritage area declared, science and tourism have joined forces for the next wave of reef management in the form of the Coral Nurture Program.
While some conservation efforts are by scientists for science, the Coral Nurture Program uses the skills of tourism personnel who work on the reef to collect broken coral fragments, attach them to underwater frames where they will grow faster and then out-plant them on the reef.
Reef operators Quicksilver, Sailaway, Passions of Paradise, Wavelength and Ocean Free & Ocean Freedom participate in the program, promoting localised reef recovery.
Adopt a coral with the Reef Restoration Foundation
Adopt a coral and help support coral growth on the Great Barrier Reef
People have been adopting pandas for decades, but for the first time in Australian history you can now adopt a coral. The Reef Restoration Foundation’s program sees coral grow in an underwater nursery, from tiny finger-sized babies to large-scale coral colonies.
For as little as $50 you can join the coral crusade and adopt a coral (or store this idea away for that friend who is impossible to buy for). Got a bit more cash to splash? Up the ante with a coral branch, coral tree or sponsor a whole nursery, comprised of 10 coral trees.
The team are on a mission to plant 25,000 new corals on the Great Barrier Reef by 2021, in one of the most sustainable ways to encourage coral populations to flourish. After 6-12 months of growing under the tender love and care of scientists and volunteers, the coral grafts from the nursery are re-attached to the reef to spend the rest of their days.
See the reef with a Master Reef Guide
Learn more about Master Reef Guides
A knowledgeable guide can bring the Great Barrier Reef to life, revealing the stories, wildlife and connections that make this ecosystem so extraordinary. The Master Reef Guides is a program to support the next level of reef ambassador, who earn their title by being endorsed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators and Tourism and Events Queensland as experts in story sharing.
It’s no swim in the (marine) park to earn the status – guides undergo formal training in reef interpretation, storytelling and experience delivery.
When you tour with a certified Master Guide, you know you’re in great hands. And good news for visitors, you’ll find them on board most reef experiences – just keep an eye out for the guide wearing the shirt emblazoned with Master Reef Guide.
Have your own Australian Geographic inspired experience on the reef
Join Coral Expeditions for a tour of the outer reef
For a truly off–the–beaten–path adventure, join Coral Expeditions for a fourteen night immersive scientific expedition to some of the most remote outer reefs, wildlife habitats and cays.
The trip is in partnership with Australian Geographic and includes a myriad of opportunities to learn about marine conservation initiatives and participate in citizen science programs, including biodiversity databases, wildlife rehabilitation and coral science. Connect with the on-board community of just 66 guests and researchers, including guest lecturer Adam Smith of Reef Ecologic and Master Reef Guide Katie Tuesley.
Learn about marine conservation at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on Fitzroy Island, meet with scientific researchers at Lizard Island Research Centre and participate in citizen science initiatives including Eye on the Reef, GBRMPA Sightings Network, Coral Watch and Mangrove Watch.
This is a one-off Citizen Science themed expedition, so you’ll want to get in early to reserve your spot.
Visit the Cairns Aquarium
Learn how to protect sea turtles at the Cairns Aquarium
Learn how to protect sea turtles at the Cairns Aquarium
Learn how to protect sea turtles at the Cairns Aquarium
Learn how to protect sea turtles at the Cairns Aquarium
Not all reef experiences are on the water. On dry land, you can visit the Cairns Aquarium, which showcases the flora and fauna in the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, while supporting education and conservation initiatives. The educational attraction brings the stories of these unique ecosystems to life, inspiring visitors to discover more about the species and habitats that make the region special.
Learn about the protection of Australian sea turtles with a visit to the on-site Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. 100% of proceeds from the tour go towards caring for the turtles and are used for food, medicine, veterinary care and operating costs.
Learn about the reef from the original custodians of the World Heritage-listed wonder
Discover coastal and rainforest habitats with Walkabout Cultural Adventures
Discover coastal and rainforest habitats with Walkabout Cultural Adventures
Uncover the culture of the Traditional Custodians with personal interpretation by local Indigenous rangers on Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel
Uncover the culture of the Traditional Custodians with personal interpretation by local Indigenous rangers on Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel
Who better to learn about the reef’s deep cultural connections than the Traditional Custodians of Sea Country?
Join Juan Walker from Walkabout Cultural Adventures, for a full or half day tour through Kuku Yalanji country, to discover the cultural connection with land and sea. On the tour you’ll learn firsthand about traditional hunting practices as you explore one of the reef’s most important ecosystems – the mangroves that support it.
For a different take on reef and rainforest, join Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel to discover two outer reef sites with guided interpretation from indigenous sea rangers.
Explore the reef while supporting rainforest restoration
You can sail easy knowing your trip is entirely carbon neutral
You can sail easy knowing your trip is entirely carbon neutral
Sailaway has taken carbon offsetting into their own hands with a tree farm
Sailaway has taken carbon offsetting into their own hands with a tree farm
Passions of Paradise help plant more than 1200 trees in the Daintree Rainforest every year to offset their reef tour’s carbon emissions
Passions of Paradise help plant more than 1200 trees in the Daintree Rainforest every year to offset their reef tour’s carbon emissions
Sailaway supports carbon offsetting through a 27–hectare tree farm in Port Douglas. In return for every passenger onboard one of their reef cruises, Sailaway contributes $20 of the price to re-vegetate this ex–cane paddock. You can snorkel easy knowing your trip supports a revegetation initiative alongside your reef adventure, onboard a vessel that offers a unique way to experience the Great Barrier Reef.
For another reef experience with recognised environmental practices, join Passions of Paradise who similarly help plant more than 1200 trees in the Daintree Rainforest every year to offset their reef tour’s carbon emissions.
Join Tusa for a day on the Reef. They take steps to reduce environmental impacts through low-impact diving practices, such as refraining from dropping anchors on the reef, recycling all possible waste, using plant based wetsuits, and providing guests with information on responsible diving and environmental conservation.
Discover the work of the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre
Pay a visit to the CTRC and learn about the plight of Sea Turtles
If you like to holiday with a heart, sit up and pay attention – there are plenty of ways to support turtle rehabilitation and learn about the challenges facing marine turtles. To find out how, pay a visit the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on Fitzroy Island, whose mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and research.
Its location, smack bang in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef, is no coincidence since the Great Barrier Reef is home to six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles. You can help their cause by volunteering or touring the complex, learning about the sea turtles plight and what actionable steps you can put into place, even at home, to help them.
Get to know reef with the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef
Learn more about the Great Reef Census
If you thought the census only affected households every 10 years, think again. The Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef have designed The Great Reef Census for the world’s largest living organism to discover which of its reefs have been recently damaged and which have high levels of coral.
The premise is simple – knowledge is power – and when you know which parts of the Great Barrier Reef need management and which don’t, resources can be allocated to the right place. Anyone can participate in contributing to the coral census open source data. Even if you’re not on the reef, you can still take part in the Great Reef Census digitally by helping to analyse reef images coming back. By becoming a reef citizen scientist, you can contribute observations and data that support reef research and management.
You can also join up as Citizen of the Great Barrier Reef and see what else they’re up to.
Contribute to Eye on the Reef program
Crown-of-thorns starfish
Run by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), Eye on the Reef relies on the input of day-trippers, tourists, fishers, rangers, researchers and scientists alike to gather information on reef health, marine animals and incidents for the reef’s long-term protection. Anyone can contribute to this program via an easy to use app that allows you to share photos and information of what you’ve seen on the reef including wildlife spotted, Crown-of-thorns starfish, pollution or coral spawning. All data collected allows GBRMPA to keep up to date with information on reef health status and trends, species distribution and early warnings of environmental impacts.
For those more skilled in the marine space, the program also runs a variety of surveys, including the Rapid Monitoring Survey, which asks contributors to use an underwater monitoring slate for more in-depth data collection.
Attend a beach clean-up
Volunteers help remove litter from beaches
Volunteers help remove litter from beaches
Did you know that plastic pollution can pose risks to marine environments? Tangaroa Blue Foundation is dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris under their Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI). AMDI is an on-ground network of volunteers, communities and organisations that contribute data from rubbish collected during beach and river clean-up events to the AMDI Database, and then work on solutions to stop the flow of litter at the source.
Tangaroa Blue Foundation organise beach clean-ups around Australia and help communities care for their coastal environment through providing resources and support programs. Carpooling options to participate are usually available from Cairns and Port Douglas to areas including Cape Kimberley Mapoon and Chilli Beach.
You can also volunteer for a beach clean-up with Parley Australia.
