Take 3 presents commendations to Ground Swell participants at NSW Tourism Awards
An exciting new partnership with Business NSW saw Take 3 for the Sea presenting commendations in the Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park for Thursday night’s 2022 NSW Tourism Awards.
The NSW Tourism Awards are the annual opportunity for the New South Wales tourism industry to gather and celebrate best practice. Under the big tent, in front of 600 of the state’s tourism industry community, Take 3 awarded well-deserved commendations to three businesses who participated in their Ground Swell program, an initiative that empowers NSW tourism businesses to work together to tackle the problem of litter left behind by visitors
Jenny-Lee, Head of Partnerships at Take 3 told attendees ‘The tourism team from Take 3 is thrilled to be part of the celebration. Tourism is a wonderful economic success story, but the litter left behind is not so welcome. We would like to say “bravo” and recognise all the 160 tourism operators working with us on Ground Swell. You have taken the lead and empowered your teams, your guests and customers to collaborate, to join you on your litter reduction journey. You are stepping up, doing what you can to protect our precious natural environments and dependent economies from the impact of visitor litter. After all, visitor litter is everyone’s business’.
Take 3 awarded commendations to:
The 2022 FOCK Festival in Kangaroo Valley. A new annual event which celebrates the area’s natural waterways and the importance of caring for these life sustaining environments. FOCK showcased floating fun, adventure and entertainment with an environmental education theme, demonstrating it is possible to hold a 3-day event with no litter.
Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures on the Central Coast. Glenworth Valley have been litter champions since Take 3’s Pilot Project and walk the talk every day, educating visitors and overnight guests as to how they can take care of the beautiful valley, its wildlife and resident horses. The Glenworth team have proved that a planned, manageable, step-by-step approach to reduce litter can have a very positive impact.
Sealy Lookout/Niigi Niigi in Coffs Harbour’s East Orana State Forest. They have engaged the gentle power of conversation and communication. The Forest Stewardship Team from Sky Pier on the glorious hilltop overlooking the stunning Coffs Coast joined together with the Lookout’s commercial partners, workshopped to find solutions to frustrating and complex visitor litter problems. They are now equipped with a clear way forward!
Roberta Dixon-Valk, Jacquie Riddell, Jenny-Lee Scharnboeck and Rebecca Dawes of Take 3 with representatives from the winning organisations Glenworth Valley, FOCK Festival and Niigi Niigi (Sealy Lookout).
‘Take 3’s tourism team has loved working with tourism businesses this year’ said Juliette Myers, Ground Swell’s Project Manager. ‘We are heartened by the passion and dedication from the tourism community. We’ve seen a real mix of similar and unique challenges, all of which are interesting but no problems are insurmountable! We’ve listened to the issues, determined and understood the causes and provided solutions from our Litter Reduction Toolkit for NSW Tourism Operators. You can sense that everyone’s overwhelm melts away, and armed with an action plan, participants feel equipped and positive for the future. It’s been an exciting journey and we’ve only just touched the surface. There’s still so much we can do together.’
2023 will see a deeper Take 3 partnership with the Tourism Awards.
For more information about Ground Swell, contact juliette@take3.org
This project is a NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.
