Bears Doing Their Bitā¦
Us Drop Bears are super passionate about our environment and the planet and so it has always been important to us to give back. Our burning passion for Kāgari has guided us on a journey of self-discovery and huge learning curves. Through our dedication to this magical island and the uniqueness of our customerās experiences, we will always be devoted to defenders of Kāgari.
Each year we support beach clean-up initiatives through Surfrider Foundation, Ocean Crusaders and 4Oceans either through sponsorship or volunteering. The Drop Bear family are continuing to take part in volunteering events that go towards helping us protect our only planet. We know there is so much more to be done and that we cannot change the whole world, but we can change our world and we couldnāt be more committed to change.
Past Volunteering Events:
1. Double Island Point Beach Clean up 2017, Surf Rider Foundation (Sunshine Coast)
Our first true volunteering event that Mumma Bear volunteered at back in October 2017 for the Sunshine Coast Surf Rider Foundation. The beach clean up was based at Double Island Point, a popular spot that locals and tourists enjoy for itās beautiful beach and pristine waters. Run by Craig & Chris, this was a 3 day event that involved cleaning up the beaches from either washed up rubbish or waste left behind by visitors.
2. Kāgari Beach Clean up 2018, Ocean CrusadersĀ
They say by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish and after volunteering in the beach clean up on Kāgari we can see why. 730 volunteers along 75 miles of beach removed 6.973 tonnes of rubbish in just 7 hours. As weāre sure you can agree, a truly staggering amount of waste found. Mumma & Poppa Bear and the Drop Bear team spent their weekend riffling through the thousands of plastic bottles, plastic straws, foam packaging and of course the dreaded plastic bags as well as many other items found washed up onto the beach. 80% of all the debris collected was plasticā¦scary right? This event will be sponsored by 4Oceans, a global movement who are cleaning up our oceans.
3. Australian Conservation Foundation, 2018Ā
The ACF is a Foundation based in all the major cities in Australia, with a community of more than half a million people who āspeak out, show up and act for a world where forests, rivers, people and wildlife thrive.ā It is an independent non-partisan foundation, funded by donations from communities. The ACF on the Sunshine Coast is the first regional group that is not based in a city and started 3 months ago. The group currently consists of 9 like-minded members, including our very own Mumma & Poppa Bear that want to see change in our local area. It is another chance to get involved in volunteering as well as giving us the chance to put on our own events such as an upcoming screening event at our Drop Bear HQ showing ā āGuarding the Gallileeā, a short documentary on the battle to stop the biggest coal mine in Australian history, Adaniās Carmichael project. Check out our new ACFĀ Facebook page with all past and future events to come.
4. World Environmental Day Festival, Maroochydore, 2018
As part of the Sunshine Coast ACF Foundation, Mumma & Poppa B took part in the World Environmental Day Festival this year, a big event that happened on the Sunshine Coast with organisations ranging from the renowned Sea Shepard to more local businesses like Boomerang Bags & Permaculture Noosa. It was an incredible day that brought like-minded people together, all with the same passion on how to help protect and preserve our planet. The Sunny Coast ACF team created a āDid you know? Jengaā which shared facts on plastic pollution, a challenge box for people to take on a new way of reducing their plastic consumption, as well as a raffle offering a chance to win a free trip to our Beachcamp Eco Retreat on Kāgari.
5. Living on Kāgari
Our small team of Drop Bearās that live on the island not only help us run our 2 and 3 day tours but also have ways of constantly volunteering just by picking up rubbish they see on Kāgari every day. Although most of the rubbish is washed up by the tide from places all over the world, we still sadly see waste left behind by the three quarters of a million visitors who come to Kāgari every year. You can check out our Waste of the Week photos on our Instagram page where we share some of our findings.
6. CollaborationsĀ
We LOVE working with other like-minded peeps and welcome the opportunity to join forces to help create something amazing. Over the years we have sponsored many local events with The Surfrider Foundation, Ocean Crusaders, Tourism Noosa, safe The Fraser Dingo, Adventure Queensland, Noosa Come Together Festival, Australian Conservations Foundation and many other local community groups and schools. We have also worked with the likes of Khory from The Environmental Cowboy and lots of USC Students to help provide support for conservation research. It is very important to us that we take our corporate and social responsibility very seriously and are always looking for innovative ways to help educate ourselves and our community.
Future Events…Ā
In October 2018 we are hosting our own Beach Clean up on Kāgari, another chance to keep our beaches clean and protecting our environment from the overuse of plastic items. It will be a 3-day event where volunteers can stay at our Beachcamp Eco Retreat and help the Drop Bear team with collecting waste found on the beach.
In June 2018 we are hosting the screening of the documentary, āGuarding the Gallileeā at our office in Noosaville. An open event for anyone interested in the Stop Adani Campaign, against the coal and mining industry or even for those that just want to learn more about what is going on in their local area.
Mumma Bear is always getting stuck into projects and events to help towards protecting our planet. We are always keen to volunteer in our local area as well as being conscious consumers and reducing our own plastic use in our own lives.
To keep up to date with any of our future events then check out our Facebook & Instagram pages š