Brits can support our Reef Citizens

AN INTERNSHIP has been opened up for a young and passionate environmental crusader from the UK to spend six weeks in Australia with the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef team.

STA Travel has come on board to fund the program in what the movement’s CEO Andy Ridley hopes will be the first of many corporate intern partnerships.

“They will be over for six weeks, working on the Citizens team, which is very small – there’s only four of us,” he said.

“They will go out and work with the crown of thorns guys, they will blog and write about their experiences meeting farmers up on the Tablelands, or brewers down in Bundaberg.

“So they’re going to get a real flavour for what’s going on with the Reef, the challenges, and what people are trying to do about it.

“And, of course, they will get to see the Reef themselves.”

The current offering is restricted to the UK, but Mr Ridley plans to raise funds and secure buy-ins from partners here in Queensland and abroad.

“The idea is they go back to wherever they come from, Birmingham or Glasgow or London, and they become a champion for the Great Barrier Reef and a champion for Citizens,” he said.

“We want them to inspire people and communities to become citizens themselves.

“That way, we continue to build our voice.”