News ·
We're helping farmers help our Reef
With XXXX, we're helping farmers automate their farm irrigation systems, reducing labour, saving energy and improving the quality of water filtering down to the Reef.
#An iconic collaboration
XXXX is the first Australian beer brand ever to team up with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, entering into a $1 million partnership as part of a commitment to protect the environment for future generations.
The unique partnership will see XXXX establish a signature project to support the Foundation’s goal of restoring the health of Queensland’s waterways that flow to the Great Barrier Reef. Together we’re helping to achieve a healthy, resilient Reef and supporting local communities in the process.
Irrigating farmland in the Burdekin
#Good news for farmers, great news for the Reef
By automating at least 600 hectares of Burdekin irrigation, we're helping farmers live the good life while protecting critical coastal habitat.
The project will build upon previous work overseen by NQ Dry Tropics including the Reef Alliance water quality innovations grant project from 2018, and the Burdekin Irrigation Project, a consortium led by Sugar Research Australia and funded by the Reef Trust Partnership.
#What's so special about water?
Water is the reason life can survive on earth.
But declining water quality is posing a serious threat to the health of the world’s largest living ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef.
Behind climate change, poor water quality is one of the greatest threats to the Reef and marine life that calls it home.
Increasing sediment, nutrients and contaminants entering coastal waters in run-off from agricultural, industrial and urban land, combined with rising seawater temperatures and increasing seawater acidity associated with climate change, are decreasing the quality of water and having devastating impacts.
On the Reef, increased sediment and nutrients can cause higher algal growth, build-up of pollutants in sediments and marine species, and reduced light, which can affect coral growth.
For the Great Barrier Reef, the main water quality issues are:
Increasing sediment, nutrients and contaminants entering coastal waters in run-off from agricultural, industrial and urban land uses.
Rising seawater temperatures and increasing seawater acidity associated with climate change.
#What we're doing about poor water quality
Our partnership with XXXX starts upstream – supporting local farmers in the Lower Burdekin to implement innovative practices aimed at improving water quality flowing to the Reef. The project will invest in improving water quality over the next three years to support the Foundation's goal of restoring the health of Queensland's waterways that flow to the Reef.
This exciting project is part of a broader, $200M+ investment in Reef water quality improvement.
We're working with farming families to improve water quality
