LUA proudly supports Greening Australia with i=Change. Each time you purchase a candle from us, you have an opportunity to support important projects across Australia, like restoring The Reef.
The Issue
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living organism and one of the most bio-diverse places on earth. It’s under threat. The Reef also supports the culture and livelihoods of 70 Traditional Owner groups, who have been its custodians for over 60,000 years. Since 1985, the Reef has lost 50% of its coral cover due to climate change and poor water from land-based run-off. More than 10 million tonnes of sediment from eroded gullies flow onto the Reef every year, smothering corals and seagrass, creating algal blooms, degrading water quality, and weakening the Reef’s ability to recover. Coastal wetlands are essential. They act like kidneys, filtering out the sediment from agriculture, industry and urban land use. But over 50% of wetlands have already been lost. Greening Australia and Traditional Owners are working to restore 2,000 hectares of eroded land and 10,000 hectares of wetlands by 2030. This will prevent 400,000 tonnes of sediment from polluting the Reef each year, improving water quality, the Reef’s resilience to climate change, and the livelihoods and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s most extensive coral reef system, containing over 2,900 individual reefs, more than 1,000 islands, 6,000km2 of seagrass beds, and supporting the 60,000-year-old culture of over 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As stewards of this natural icon, Australians know it’s more than a reef – it’s a culture, an inspiration, an income, and a home. Greening Australia is taking practical, science-led action through our Reef Aid program to tackle the biggest threats to facing the Reef: climate change and water pollution. In only five years, we’ve broken ground on over 30 projects from Rockhampton to Cairns and, working with 35 different landholders and First Nations groups, have restored 1,750 hectares of gullies and wetlands. As a result we have made an immediate and tangible impact to protect our reef – achieving an average 80-90 percent improvement in water quality leaving our gully projects and stopping over 22,000 tonnes of sediment from polluting the Reef. The scale of this challenge means we must collaborate for impact. We’re inviting everyone to join our efforts, to give the Reef the best chance to be resilient, and recover from, climate impacts now and into the future
*Words from Greening Australia, provided by i=Change