Reef’s future in safe hands
THROUGH THE REEF RESTORATION FOUNDATION, STEWART CHRISTIE IS USING HIS EXPERTISE TO PROMOTE ACTIVE WAYS PEOPLE CAN SUPPORT THE NATURAL WONDER. THE CORAL CRUSADERS ARE A PRIME EXAMPLE
STEWART CHRISTIE WAS BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL THREE-YEAR $400,000 GRANT FOR THE REEF RESTORATION FOUNDATION FROM NAB THIS YEAR
EVERYTHING Stewart Christie has done in his 48 years has been leading to this.
Two years after offering his expertise to help repopulate the Great Barrier Reef’s coral gardens, the Reef Restoration Foundation – of which he is chief executive – has successfully grown coral cuttings in an ocean-based nursery and launched the Coral Crusaders campaign asking the public to adopt coral for a fee.
But these initiatives are not the only firsts for the not-forprofit organisation.
The coral nursery was started at Fitzroy Island in Decem- ber 2017 after receiving a never-before-granted permit from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Since then, Oris watches, Cairns education tour company Small World Journeys, Japanese travel agency JTB and marine tourism consultant Gempearl have come on board as sponsors.
“I was doing some work in the Caribbean in 2013 and saw the work they were doing with coral nurseries and then I came back to Australia and at that time there was no need for such projects,” Mr Christie recalled.
“Then in 2016 I became a mentor on a social enterprise program and Gary McKenna was an electrician who lived on Fitzroy Island and saw what was happening there.
“He had been growing coral cuttings in a fish tank in his home and asked how he could take that idea forward.”
Asked how the father-oftwo feels about being part of one of the largest environmental problems of our time, Mr Christie is typically humble.
He said there were many organisations doing great work in the space of reducing runoff, pollution and investigating water quality and temperature, and the RRF was another instrument designed to help.
“We’ve achieved a lot, but there is still a lot to do,” Mr Christie said.
“Our plan is to be planting 25,000 corals a year and in five years time I hope there is enough money going into research of technology that can help the Reef on a bigger scale and we’d like to deliver that technology.”
A former carpenter, civil engineer, project manager, economic and business development manager, Mr Christie was behind a successful three-year $400,000 grant for the foundation from the National Australia Bank this year.
After arriving in Cairns in 2001 from the United Kingdom preparing to pick fruit and live the backpacker lifestyle, Mr Christie quickly got snap-
WE WANT TO BE OUT THERE WITH FANTASTIC UNIVERSITIES AND GREAT PEOPLE. WE NEED TO BE AT THE FRONT OF THE PACK STEWART CHRISTIE
ped up by a housing and infrastructure project on Cape York.
But, for all his adventures and experience, the football fan rates the RRF as his greatest achievement to date.
“It’s something people are really excited about. At a small scale it’s about giving people an opportunity to do something on a small scale about a really big problem,” Mr Christie explained.
“It’s a bit like in the ’50s and ’60s they designed massive computers that took up a whole floor and they thought how will this ever help – but with all the changes and if we can put someone on the moon with the processing power of something the size of an iPhone, we can definitely do something about the Reef.
“In this part of the world when our economy relies on the natural resources and the natural environment, we need to be leaders in this space about how we’re going to live sustainably and keep this amazing environment around for future generations.
“We want to be out there with fantastic universities and great people. We need to be at the front of the pack.”
With a culture of minimal intervention, Mr Christie believes there has been a reluctance to get involved in active ways to support the Reef.
“Because of the size and significance of the Great Barrier Reef, I’m not sure anyone thought it’d be so hard hit by the two cumulative events (bleaching and water temperature increase) we’ve had,” he said.
“But the stuff that’s coming into it is man-made.
“So now the biggest barrier to us is whether the policy changes quickly enough to get all these projects happening. There is a need for urgent action on the Reef.
“The key thing for everyone is whatever you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. If you want to walk to work, cycle to work, switch off your lights.”