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Garnier & Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership
Stretching almost 2,300km along Australia’s north-eastern coastline, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s seven natural wonders and is home to more than 9,000 known species of marine life. Rich in biodiversity, the Great Barrier Reef is both environmentally significant and culturally important to First Nations communities and Reef Traditional Owners – but climate change poses a major threat. Luckily, some great work is being done to help support the Reef, but there is still more to do.
The Great Barrier Reef Plant A Coral campaign is a partnership between Garnier and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to raise funds to deliver coral conservation and restoration solutions to reefs in the Great Barrier Reef.
What is happening to the Great Barrier Reef?
Made up of around 3,000 individual reefs, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in Australia. It includes coral reefs, which are formed when baby corals settle and grow hard skeletons. Over time more and more corals settle, to eventually form reef ecosystems.
Corals and the reef they form provide food, shelter, resting and breeding grounds for other marine species, acting as nurseries and refuges to protect critical biodiversity.
But the Great Barrier Reef, and coral reefs around the world, are some of our planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems. Already, climate change has claimed half the world’s reefs. If we don’t take bold action now, they could vanish completely in our lifetime.
Campaign main image: ©Queensland Museum, Gary Cranitch.
Bleached Coral image credit: The Ocean Agency / Ocean Image Bank and Underwater Earth/XL Caitlin Survey Team
Underwater filmed and supplied by @benanddi
Video production company for Garnier: Hotglue
Warmer water temperatures caused by climate change are leading to more frequent and severe mass coral bleaching events, where corals eject the algae that gives them their vibrant colours and turn white. Bleached corals are not dead, but they are more vulnerable to starvation and disease.
Rising water temperatures also force marine species to move to cooler habitats, disrupting food supplies, breeding cycles and entire ecosystems. Climate change is considered the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef, as well as all the species that call it home.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef important?
The Great Barrier Reef is home to around 10% of global fish species, 6 out of the world’s 7 turtle species, and 153 types of sharks and rays. Around 30 varieties of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been seen on the Reef and 215 kinds of birds visit each year. Its diversity extends beyond animals too and includes countless varieties of plants and micro-organisms – making it one of the most remarkable and important areas of biodiversity in the world.
The Great Barrier reef also shelters important carbon sinks, protecting coastal mangroves and seagrasses that clean the air by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The environmental and ecological significance of the Reef makes it an irreplaceable natural site.
Working with the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are Australia’s First People, who for 60,000 years have cared for their land and sea Country.
They are the first scientists, farmers, engineers, innovators, and conservationists. They have successfully nurtured and protected their environment through changing seasons and climates, guided by traditional knowledge and customs passed down through generations.
As there are 70 Traditional Owner groups that span the length of the Great Barrier Reef, who have ongoing connection and custodial responsibilities, working closely with Traditional Owner groups on Reef restoration activities is essential.
Today, in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Traditional Owners are at the forefront of the largest ever co-designed Reef protection effort. By weaving traditional knowledge with western science, they’re developing and applying innovative solutions to the challenges threatening coral reefs.
Genuine co-design and co-delivery partnerships with Traditional Owners and Reef communities result in better, stronger and more enduring outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation acknowledges the Traditional Owners of all lands on which we work, and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We recognise the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of this continent and additionally, acknowledge the important contributions made by both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in contributing to a strong and vibrant Australian society. We recognise the enduring connection that land, sea and sky have to the identity, strength and wellbeing of First Nations individuals, families, and communities. We extend our gratitude and acknowledgement to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals who are employees of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
We also acknowledge the Traditional Owners of all the lands on which Great Barrier Reef Foundation sites are located as well as the many nations in which our on-Country work takes place.
How is Garnier partnering with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation?
As part of Garnier’s Green Beauty mission, we’ve joined forces with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to plant hundreds of thousands of corals, helping to regenerate our Reef.
For every Garnier product purchased in Coles from 27 September to 7 November 2023, the Foundation will plant a coral. Garnier’s goal is to plant up to 500,000 baby corals this year to help restore and repair damaged reefs.
Coral restoration
The Garnier X Great Barrier Reef Foundation campaign will support continued Coral IVF in the iconic Whitsundays region. This world-leading technique is used to grow baby corals and restore damaged coral reefs.
What is Coral IVF?
Each year during the November or December full moon, a synchronised natural phenomenon occurs when millions of coral spawn simultaneously. During this event, researchers capture coral spawn from healthy reefs to rear millions of baby corals in specially designed floating pools before dispersing them onto damaged reefs to restore and repopulate them.
The baby corals settle onto those reefs and in years to come produce their own coral babies, building resilience and coral diversity.
How can we protect the Great Barrier Reef?
Want to get involved in supporting the Great Barrier Reef Foundation? From 27 September to 7 November 2023 , your Garnier purchases at Coles can help fund the dispersal of up to half a million new baby corals using the Coral IVF technique. Planting locations are carefully considered, selecting the reefs best placed to have flow-on benefits to nearby reefs. Coral IVF is a nature-based solution that delivers greater volumes of coral larvae onto reefs, boosting the number of coral babies that survive to maturity - a massive helping hand for the health of the Reef.
Damaged reefs need help to recover from coral bleaching events and other impacts of climate change , and being able to scale Coral IVF and planting is a key part of the restoration toolkit.
Coral reefs need our help. If you’d like to donate to the Great Barrier Reef to support their Coral IVF program, visit the Plant A Coral donation page.
Donate Now
Buy one product, plant one coral
In October this year, you can visit a Coles store to play a part in our mission to help the Reef with our buy one Garnier product, plant one coral campaign until we reach our goal of up to 500,000 baby corals dispersed.
All Australians can join this mission to plant new corals today, for a healthier Reef tomorrow. For every Garnier product bought at Coles from 27 September through to 7 November, Garnier will plant a coral on the Great Barrier Reef, with the goal of dispersing up to 500,000 baby corals during the 2023 coral spawning season. We will be sharing updates on the project, so revisit this page to learn more about the Plant A Coral campaign as it progresses!
Explore The Range
Garnier’s commitments
Explore Garnier’s Green Beauty commitments and learn how we’re working to make a difference.
Great Barrier Reef FAQs
Learn more about the Great Barrier Reef.
What is the Great Barrier Reef?
A World Heritage listed site, the Great Barrier Reef is a system of around 3,000 individual reefs. It is the largest barrier reef system on the planet.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef important?
Our planet needs healthy oceans to survive, and healthy oceans rely on healthy coral reefs. Their role as a nursery for over a quarter of all marine life is fundamental to ocean biodiversity and health.
The 1,050 islands and 2,300km of coastal wetland ecosystems along the Great Barrier Reef also support some of the highest biodiversity on the planet and store carbon up to 50 times more efficiently than tropical rainforests.
Where is the Great Barrier Reef located?
Located in the coral sea, the Great Barrier Reef runs vertically along the coast of Queensland, from the northern most point of Australia - the Cape York Peninsula – all the way to Bundaberg in the south. Around 2 million tourists visit the Reef each year and some of the most popular destinations include Cairns, Port Douglas and the Whitsundays.
How old is the Great Barrier Reef?
Considering its expansive beauty, it’s surprising to discover that the Great Barrier Reef is believed to be the world’s youngest reef system. While the Reef in its modern form began developing around 10,000 years ago, there’s speculation regarding its true age. The outer core of the Reef may have begun forming as far back as a million years ago, while the structures on which it lives in its modern form are likely around 600,000 years old. Garnier is supporting the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to help protect and preserve this natural relic.