Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas
Experience Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy
Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy is a program that offers meaningful travel, allowing you the opportunity to create a positive impact as you explore and build deeper connections in local communities when you stay in our hotels.
With over 100 curated experiences, the program focuses on three pillars – Environmental Protection, Community Engagement, and Marine Conservation.
Discover how you can contribute meaningfully to Marine Conservation with us at Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas.
Marine Debris Cleanup: Why It Matters
Plastic Pollution Threatens the Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s oceans are deteriorating as plastic pollution increases exponentially, and today, the Great Barrier Reef – one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems – is struggling to survive.
There are 40,000 pieces of plastic estimated to be floating in each square kilometer of earth’s oceans. Harmful toxins from microplastics are also leaking into the ocean, upsetting the delicate ecosystem that thrives in the reef. Larger pieces of plastic discarded by commercial fishing vessels and cargo ships also pose issues as they are endangering larger species of marine life, choking animals that mistake them for food or entangling them until they drown.
These pollutants are destroying one of the world’s natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef, which spans 348,000 square kilometers and is home to nearly 9,000 species of marine life.
Marine Debris Cleanup: The Experience
Join a Beach Cleanup and Nationwide Research Project
Guests are invited to Four Mile Beach for a beach cleanup. The data they collect will help address the global environmental problem of marine debris.
The day will kick off with an informational presentation explaining the impact of pollution on the ocean’s various ecosystems. Guests will then head down to Four Mile Beach for a beach cleanup led in partnership with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, an Australian non-profit dedicated to protecting and preserving marine and coastal environments.
After the beach cleanup, guests will input their waste collection findings into the Australia Marine Debris Initiative database. The database comprises critical marine debris data collected by volunteers, communities, and organizations across Australia to help the industry and government create change on a larger scale.
Marine Debris Cleanup: The Impact
Protect the Great Barrier Reef from Marine Debris
In partnership with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, guests will make a direct impact on the conservation of Four Mile Beach through a hands-on beach cleanup experience.
They will also play a key role in collecting marine debris data that will be used by researchers to make a lasting impact on Australia’s beaches and the Great Barrier Reef.
The data is currently being used to create “Source Reduction Plans” that will help reduce waste production; and various “Reef Clean” initiatives that will help divert debris away from the Great Barrier Reef to appropriate disposal sites.
Since 2004, the Tangaroa Blue Foundation has removed over 19 million pieces of plastic from the ocean and logged over 20 million pieces of data into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database.
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