Fraser Island Clean Up 2021 – Highlights
Every year Fulcrum Suspensions supports and sponsor’s the Fraser Island (K’gari) Clean Up. It’s such a fantastic cause, as it aims improve recreational four-wheel driving, protects and cleans the environment, encourages education, whilst creating a fun event for active outdoor communities across Queensland. The Fraser Island (K’gari) Clean Up transpires yearly however due to COVID-19, the 2020 clean up had been cancelled.
This year however, 2021, the clean-up was in full swing and the team here at Fulcrum Suspension were excited to be back and give a helping hand. The event was held on the weekend of the 21st to 24th of May 2021.
Reminiscing about the 2019 Fraser Island (K’gari) Clean Up, ficu.org.au noted that a whopping 7,059kg of waste was removed! It was a huge effort from 754 volunteers from 24 x 4WD clubs that cleaned 125km of beach. This year not as much waste was removed (which is a good thing!) but we’ll dive into how the Fulcrum team started off their Fraser Clean up journey.
The team that made it down to this year’s clean-up was Michael Keen (Signature Store Manager), Shane Boyle (Retail Support Coordinator) and Doug Steindl (Digital Marketing & eCommerce Manager). They started bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with a 3am drive up to Inskip Point to grab the first barge across. Having poor radio reception, they resorted to Michaels 70’s and 80’s music compilation which certainly raised eyebrows and put some people to sleep.
The first day on the Island was a day to check in at Eurong beachfront, grab some Fraser Island (K’gari) Clean Up merchandise and raffle tickets, setup camp, travel and explore the east side. The heavy work was then to begin the next morning. According to the team, those that ventured up earlier had a beautiful day with sunny skies but were then faced with EXTREME weather through the night. This again met the team the next night, thankfully it was well after their dinner. Michael states that Doug faired the worse having to sleep in a damp swag from the first night. The day of Sunday the 23rd of May 2021 the clean-up began. At 8am all clubs and volunteers were designated cleaning / weeding areas with a quick brief from Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Rangers on clean-up safety procedures.
A full day of beach clean-up was then completed. Once all rubbish was collected, the waste was left to the event organisers to sort and compile. Some of the team then ventured off to the west side of the Island to explore a little more and some left for home straight after the clean-up. After arriving home and talking to the Fulcrum team, Michael stated, “What a weekend, there were plenty of memories to be shared!”.
Overall, the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, an Australia-wide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris stated that over the 4 Day event, 6,135.65kgs of waste was removed. The actual number of items removed were just over 161,000 units which included plastic bits, bags, drink bottles, packaging, rope, nets, cans, fishing line, glass and a heap more. This was an incredible effort by all participating parties, 4WD communities and event organisers.
Here at Fulcrum Suspensions, we appreciate being involved in such an amazing environmental cause and aim to continue our support and provide helping hands in the years to come.
“Fulcrum Suspension acknowledges the Traditional Owners of K'gari (Fraser Island), The Butchulla people as well as the Australian Marine Debris Initiative, The Morris Family Foundation, and the community organisations / clubs and individuals involved in the collection and provision of data used in this report.”
