The British & Irish Lions are ensuring they leave a lasting legacy Down Under through Global Charity Partner, Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
The Lions selected the Foundation, which finds and funds solutions to issues facing coral reefs, as part of its commitment to make a positive contribution to conservation and biodiversity in Australia.
As a touring team, alongside an estimated 40,000-strong sea of red in Australia, the Lions have an undoubted carbon footprint, but Foundation managing director Anna Marsden welcomed the way the Lions have embraced the issue and hopes they can raise greater awareness back home in the UK and Ireland.
“It is certainly an Aussie icon and pretty much everyone who comes from the UK to Australia will visit the Great Barrier Reef” said Marsden. “We have got this common focus point so it made a lot of sense.
“That the Lions wanted to give back to the environment and chose a tourist destination, really seemed to fit in with the unique properties of the British & Irish Lions as a touring team.
“We really hope that message has cut through to some of the passionate supporters, and all the Aussies who went out and saw the matches.
“You can’t deny that the Lions are a touring team so it is going to have a consequential footprint from touring around the world.
“They recognise by their nature that they have a footprint, but they can be purposeful in addressing and reducing that footprint but also try to draw attention to it across the fanbase.
“A big part of why the Reef is an icon is because it’s a marine park, it is there to be enjoyed and loved. It’s how do we find a way to create that balance.
“It is great that the Lions aren’t shying away from the fact that tens of thousands of people have hopped on planes for a long time.
“There are a lot of airlines that can offset that direct impact, but they can also draw attention to the ecosystems that aren’t doing so great because of climate change and turn it into a force for good.”
While the Great Barrier Reef will soon be a long way away when the Lions head home following the conclusion of the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour of Australia in Sydney on 2 August, Marsden hopes the partnership will help leave a lasting impact on those who visited during their time on Tour.
Josh van der Flier, Henry Pollock, and Duhan van der Merwe were amongst some of the tourists to visit the Reef, and Marsden is hopeful that there are now supporters of the Foundation’s work all the way back in the Northern Hemisphere.
“We were really lucky to host some of the players to come out to the Great Barrier Reef. We did some tree planting and took them out to show them everything,” she said. “I think they were surprised by how cold the water was!
“We want there to be awareness and we don’t want people to give up on the Reef.
“Even if it’s parked away in the back of their minds, they’re able to point to good news stories about the work being done.
“We are doing the work but we want to make sure we have got a cheer squad cheering us on and the Lions have given us a hell of a cheer squad on the other side of the planet.”
