At the Noosa Festival of Surfing, we are proud to have been involved in establishing Noosa as a World Surfing Reserve, protected from development and destruction and preserved so that future generations may enjoy tomorrow what we cherish today.
Our commitment to giving back goes beyond the stunning environment we are blessed to call home. We are proud to take all the steps we can to make the festival as sustainable and low-impact as possible, but also proudly support worthy charities and organisations. We also strive to create as much benefit as possible to the local community from our 9 day event, partnering with businesses to provide exposure and an income for them and valuable services and facilities to our many thousands of visitors from across Australia and around the world.
Here are just a few of the ways we assist in local and further afield initiatives:
Provision Of Recycling Bins
Every year, we organise the provision of both waste and recycling bins by Noosa Council, emptied daily throughout the event. With the assistance of Plastic Free Noosa and our Waste Warrior volunteer program, we regularly encourage all attendees to be aware of their own trash, as well as that of the less considerate visitors to the venue.
Efforts to Reduce Environmental Damage
We plan our event with significant consideration to the location, minimising the risk of natural areas, such as lawn and grassed areas, the shoreline and the wooded areas. We arrange infrastructure to enhance this, diverting foot traffic to prevent these places becoming damaged or used as thoroughfares.
These measures drastically reduce the need for regeneration or rehabilitation after the event.
UNITY WATER
Unity Water, ‘Back to Tap Van’ project provides low-cost stainless steel drink bottles. We ask all competitors and guests of the Festival to refill and reuse bottles we saved over 10,000 plastic water bottles (600ml)! We are stoked to bring back the ‘Back to Tap’ Van in 2022!
Plastic Free Festival
In 2019, for the first time, the Festival went plastic free! Plastic Free Noosa provided clear and colourful waste station signage and bin covers and education to our Waste Warriors, who in turn educated our competitors and visitors on where to compost, recycle and place their waste. The Plastic Free initiative will carry through to the 2022 event and beyond.
The Board Meeting – Helping Local Families in Need
We understand that we have been given much in life, but the unexpected can happen and there are families in our community who are without. Therefore, it is a privilege to partner with the The Board Meeting Surf Charity, which helps local families with kids with disabilities in need. Every year we welcome over 170 guests to the annual Board Meeting Charity Dinner. The dinner raises much needed funds for families who ‘slip through the cracks’ with government support and in the process of raising these funds we have a lot of fun with special guest speakers and entertainment. The Board Meeting will continue to raise awareness of the needs of kids with disabilities long into the future.
SurfAid
SurfAid was created in 1999 by surfer and doctor, Dave Jenkins who after visiting a remote island chain of Indonesia’s mainland known only as the Mentawai Islands, decided more needed to be done to support local communities.
Puzzled by the lack of hygiene, health education and access to nutrients, Dave set up a charity now known as SurfAid which aims at supporting around 80,000 people surrounded by some of the worlds best surf breaks.
In 2021, SurfAid was the Noosa Festival of Surfing’s official charity partner and together with our competitor entries and a charity gala held at the beach bar, we managed to raise much needed funds which were donated to these local communities.
Encouraging Ethical Practice
We work closely with our suppliers, sponsors and vendors in every aspect of the Noosa Festival of Surfing’s creation and development, always searching for new ways to increase sustainability and reduce environmental impact. Working with environmental causes, such as Plastic Free Noosa, Oceanic Global and the Sunshine Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, we bring attention, both through the event itself and our social media network, the numerous issues.
We also encourage sponsors to take a more ecological approach, reducing the usage of single-use waste and utilising products that promote reuse or natural, less chemical-based options, such as sunscreens.
Minimising Power
There is a necessity for significant electricity consumption to allow the festival to function efficiently and professionally. Sound systems, computers, monitors and timers are all essential for the judging alone, and our evening entertainment is also dependent on electricity. But in every area of the festival’s infrastructure we endeavour to be as efficient and limited on electricity consumption as possible, opting for reduced lighting, minimal supply for stallholders and ensuring that power is used only when absolutely necessary.
Traffic Management
With very limited parking and to alleviate congestion within Noosa Heads’ CBD, as well as to reduce emissions and pollution, we have a team of traffic controllers to allow for efficient and effective use of parking spaces available. International competitors and visitors are directed towards accommodation within walking proximity to the festival, while those staying further afield are directed to the town’s efficient Park and Ride system and excellent public transport network.
We know we’re not perfect, but we are always striving for better ways to improve and reduce our environmental footprint. Partnering with ecological causes and brands, looking for ways to minimise waste – such as limiting single-use products and utilising biodegradable packaging – and increasing the public awareness are just the beginning.
If you or our business would like to join the Noosa Festival of Surfing as an Ecological Partner, or if you have any good ideas of ways to create a more sustainable festival, please contact [email protected].
It is the responsibility of us all to make the change and protect the environments, so that future generations can continue to enjoy this paradise we call home.
Promotion of being Sun Smart
We have partnered with local suncare company, bakslap who promote sun smart awareness to the community and will be leading our Melanoma March.
bakslap is a patented sunscreen application tool to reach tricky area’s of your body like the back.
