The Sapphire Project launches in Sydney
Take 3 for the Sea CEO Sarah Beard and our ambassador Lizzie Welborn were among the guests for Tuesday night’s launch of The Sapphire Project in Sydney.
The Sapphire Project (by Protect What is Precious®) aims to educate and inspire our Australian community to unite in taking action to protect our oceans, with Take 3 honoured to be one of the chosen charity partners.
On Tuesday, to coincide with UN World Oceans Day, under their 2021 theme “Life and Livelihoods”, The Sapphire Project launched with an invite-only event at The Calyx Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney in line with World Oceans Day.
Joining Sarah and surf ironwoman Lizzie were a host of famous faces, including former Olympic swimmers Ian Thorpe and Ky Hurst, surfer and Take 3 ambassador Ace Buchan, Sam and Cameron Bloom, the real-life couple behind last year’s biopic, Penguin Bloom, model Jarrod Scott and Take 3 friend Valerie Taylor, who recently attended our CEO Clean Up in Manly.
Take 3 CEO Sarah Beard and former Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe at the Sapphire Dinner
Less than 2% of all charitable giving in Australia goes to the environment and within this, even less goes to the oceans.
The goal of The Sapphire Project is to change that, by providing a platform to showcase organisations committed to ocean conservation and connect the Australian philanthropic community to this critically underfunded area.
Take 3 CEO Sarah Beard said: “The Sapphire Project is a game changer for ocean conservation here in Australia.
“It will enable Take 3 to significantly expand our reach by providing funding to take our education programs to rural and remote Australia, where there is a huge gap in ocean conservation education and where little work is being done to combat the plastic pollution and other human impacts on our oceans.”
The Sapphire Project’s focus for 2021 is on the Great Barrier Reef – a World Heritage Site, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the largest living structure on Earth and one of Australia’s proudest cultural assets.
The Great Barrier Reef is often referred to as the lungs of our planet. It is even more bio-diverse than the Amazon rainforest. Like the Amazon rainforest, the reef has been burning – underwater.
In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef supports 64,000 jobs and contributes $6.4billion dollars to the economy. It is an important nursery for fish populations that provides food security, feeding millions of people around the world. It is also an important reservoir for ground-breaking medicine.
Global warming has seen the Great Barrier Reef suffer from repeated bleaching events, and if global warming reaches two degrees Celsius, we can expect to lose up to 98% of reefs worldwide.
In 2021, The Sapphire Project is proud to partner with these charitable organisations, supporting the ocean and the reef in the following areas:
- Rehabilitation – Blue Carbon Lab – Deakin University
- Science & Research – Lizard Island Research Station – Australian Museum
- Education – Take 3 for the Sea
- Advocacy – Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef
- Protection – The Great Barrier Reef Foundation
- First Nations Leadership – Girrungun Aboriginal Corporation
For more information on The Sapphire Project (by Protect What is Precious®) click here
