Cotton On Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cotton On Group, has committed $2 million to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef to co-launch a world-first conservation project; ‘The Reef Cooperative’. This will establish a collaborative working model to scale up conservation efforts on the Great Barrier Reef.

The new partnership, coordinated by Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, brings together Traditional Owners Yirrganydji Land and Sea Rangers, reef scientists from James Cook University, reef restoration experts Mars Sustainable Solutions and leading tourism operator GBR Biology.

An Aussie icon, the Great Barrier Reef is home to some of the largest carbon sinks in the world and over 5,000 marine species. However the story of the Great Barrier Reef is nuanced, with some areas remaining pristine and others severely affected by mass bleaching, the latest of which took place in March of this year, as well as cyclones and crown-of-thorns starfish. What is clear is that the Great Barrier Reef needs our help.