Dear {{recipient.first_name_or_friend}}
Our teams have enjoyed the sunny days and been busy doing cleanups and surveys around the Sunshine Coast, in Moreton Bay and around the Great Barrier Reef.
This months email includes:
- Action of the Month: Use your Superannuation for Good
- News from the Field
- Brain Food
- Current Coral Affairs
- Get With the Program
Use your Superannuation for Good
Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash
Your super can make a big difference to the future of our planet; but only if you invest it ethically. By simply (well, kind of simply) switching your Super to an ethical Super, you can have a huge environmental impact by making the switch in just a few minutes.
Right now, there's a good chance that all your hard earned super is being invested in direct opposition to your values. 55% of the world's super funds are currently invested in fossil fuels. If you don’t know where yours are invested; there is a good chance yours is too. But you can change that and turn your money into a force for good, you can help both yourself, and the planet.
You might feel like your super is one of the many tasks that are just too hard to tackle. Or maybe its something you feel like maybe you don't need to worry about until you retire. But the truth is, we can be and should be in control of our Super.
Super funds invest your super savings in businesses with the long-term aim of making your money grow. But many funds choose to invest in really unsustainable industries. Without knowing it, your super could be used to invest in coal, tobacco or nuclear weapons. On the other hand, your super could be used as a force for good – like investing in renewable energy. Super, if invested well, has the power to do a lot of good.
So, let's all allocate a little bit of time this month to really look at your Super fund, or funds. Does your investment align with your values? If yes; awesome, great job! If not; think of this as your gentle push to get it on track. Check out this comprehensive blog for more content and assistance in deciding. 1 Million Women
News from the field
Stories and updates from our teams out & about. Check out some of these regional stories on our website!
South East Queensland
Peel Island Clean Up
The Reef Check Australia team headed out onto Moreton Bay and over to Peel Island to assess the debris load caused by the March flooding. Continuing bad weather has hampered our attempts to get to site but evidence of flood debris was still observed on the island.
The team collected 11.5kgs of rubbish in four hours from an 800m stretch of beach. The debris collected included plant pots, 435 polystyrene pieces, plastic drink bottles, 351 pieces of hard plastic and numerous small pieces of poly pipe. The beach was also littered with large amounts of sea grass which we scoured through finding the small polystyrene balls and small pieces of hard plastic. A big thanks to Tony from Wet Boat Hire who managed to get us ashore without the need to swim.
We acknowledge the Quandamooka People, the Traditional Custodians of Moreton Bay and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
This project has received funding support from the Queensland Government’s Community Sustainability Action grant program.
Surveys Mudjimba Island
Our teams have completed a couple of recent surveys with distinctly different conditions;
1) A small but committed team headed out to Mudjimba Island on a Saturday afternoon with high hopes of great conditions to complete some surveys. Surface conditions were pleasant, the same cannot be said about the visibility, but we weren't deterred and successfully completed our 2 surveys and were treated to an amazing sunset on the return to port.
2) The Reef Check Australia team took advantage of the glorious conditions that graced us for a few days earlier this month, to head over to Mudjimba Island, off the Sunshine Coast, to conduct annual reef health surveys on one of their sites on the south side of the island.
Mudjimba Island sits off the coast of the Sunshine Coast, approximately 4km from the Maroochy river mouth, and less than 1km off the Mudjimba beach shoreline. The island is easily recognised off the sunshine coast coastline, and has its own interesting history. In Kabi Kabi legend, the island is the head of Coolum, after a battle between Ninderry and Coolum over a woman; Maroochy, meant he lost his head to the sea.
The water was clear, with the team sighting turtles, wobbegongs, plenty of nudibranchs, cowries, Spanish dancers and high coral cover. This site saw an increase in hard coral and soft coral cover from 2021, and a decrease in the amount of nutrient indicator algae. A higher number of individual coral colonies were impacted by bleaching (the severity), however, the population overall remained low (the extent). Interestingly, target fish were not recorded during this particular survey, although historically, they are recorded here.
Reef Check Acknowledge the Kabi Kabi people of the Sunshine Coast, Traditional Custodians of the land and sea country on which these activities took place and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
These surveys are made possible with the support of the Sunshine Coast Council Environment Levy Grant.
St Helena and Green Island Surveys
Light winds and acceptable visibility meant it was time to survey St Helena and Green Islands in the beautiful Moreton Bay. Our team braved the chilly water to complete all four surveys. Whilst there were not many invertebrates or molluscs observed and the silt loading was still relatively moderate the team was happy to report that the corals looked very healthy with very few impacts observed.
We acknowledge the Quandamooka People, the Traditional Custodians of Moreton Bay and we pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
These surveys are made possible by the support of Port of Brisbane.
Your Mates Brewing Fundraiser
A group of volunteers helped out with another fundraising raffle at the amazing Your Mates Brewery. Big congratulations to our winners and a BIG thanks to Your Mates Brewery for making these events possible. Not only does it raise some funds but it also helps us spread the word on how amazing our reefs are and what people can do to help protect them.
Great Barrier Reef
Nelly Bay Clean Up
On Sunday, 19th June the Reef Check Australia’s team visited Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island to conduct a marine debris clean up as part of @Tangaroablue’s #reefclean project. We were impressed with the little amount of hard plastics to be found, however most debris were from food and drink items. Underwater we were pleased to find zero marine debris!
The @reefclean project is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and delivered by @tangaroablue Foundation and a number of partner organisations including Reef Check Australia.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on where these activities take place, the Wulgurukaba people. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our community today.
Nelly Bay Surveys
The RCA Great Barrier Reef team took to the waters of Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island on Sunday 19th June to conduct underwater surveys. We were met with some chilly tropical winter conditions, however some bleaching was still present. A big thank you to our dedicated Reef Check volunteer surveyors, and Pleasure Divers for supplying equipment!
Reef Surveys were supported from funding from the Townsville City Council and as part of @ReefEcologic’s Integrated Coral Reef Citizen Science 2.0 Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on where these activities take place, the Wulgurukaba people. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our community today.
Alma Bay Clean Up
On Saturday 25 June, Reef Check Australia and 10 wonderful volunteers visited Alma Bay on Magnetic Island for our annual @reefclean project with @tangaroablue. Among the 207 pieces of broken glass we found around the rocks on the beach, we also had a surprise find of an old penny! Hard plastic remnants were the second most common debris found, with 141 pieces found along the 200m beach.
The @reefclean project is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and delivered by @tangaroablue Foundation and a number of partner organisations including Reef Check Australia.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on where these activities take place, the Wulgurukaba people. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our community today.
Brain Food
Reviews and details on books, documentaries, and podcasts that we have come across, & wanted to share.
Podcast: Bioluminescence with Edie Widder
If you haven't had time to read her book, now you can just listen to a podcast on her amazing work. Check it out on the Deep Sea Podcast
Current Coral Affairs
Check out some of the latest news and research about our ocean
Greenland Shark found in the Caribbean
Even the sharks are getting tired of the cold water. Read more: 9news
Just off the coast of Italy, a group of scuba divers are growing basil 25 feet underwater. It's part of a novel type of aquaculture focused on sustainability.
Get with the Program
Here's what we've got coming up in the next few weeks, keep checking the website for more updates.
Saturday 6 August | Gold Coast Whale Festival
Come along and see our team at the Gold Coast Whale Festival at John Laws Park Burleigh Heads
Tuesday 9 August | Coast to Corals
This month Dr Christine Dudgeon will be talking about Leopard Sharks. Head on over to our website to register so that you get the zoom link.
If you missed any of our Coast to Coral online events, remember you can always catch-up by taking a look at our YouTube Channel here 
Thanks for reading! If you want to help our work to empower more people to protect Australian reefs, please consider making a monthly tax-deductible donation.
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