Hayman staff clean to save reef
A WHOPPING 82 kilograms of marine debris was collected on Hayman Island during a major island clean up recently.
Organised by Courtney Aroha, One&Only Hayman Island staff welcomed Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) reef campaigner, Cherry Muddle and Whitsunday Residents Against Dumping (WRAD) spokesperson Sandra Williams.
The duo ran a number of workshops, helped with the clean up and launched Great Barrier Beer in the staff bar.
Ms Aroha said the day was a huge success and was inspired by the work of WRAD and AMCS and their achievements.
"The reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and I've been lucky enough to call it home this year,” she said.
"It's heart breaking to see first hand the damaging impact of human consumption, pollution and global warming on the reef.
"I realised that we all have our part to play in protecting the reef, which is why I started the volunteer Green group on the island.”
AMCS campaigner Cherry Muddle said that having a World Heritage Reef in the region's backyard was an honour often taken for granted.
"The Great Barrier Reef is an international tourism icon generating $6 billion a year and supporting 69,000 jobs the reef provides for us,” she said.
