NEW PROGRAM: Take 3 SLSC program goes digital
We are pleased to announce that Take 3 is developing the pilot of its new Online Surf Life Saving Clubs program this 2020-21 Nippers season.
The first of its kind in Australia, our new online program will empower SLSCs and their communities to be part of the solution to plastic pollution washing up on their local beaches. The online program will deliver education about plastic pollution to clubs around Australia, with a focus on how plastic affects coastal and marine environments, and provide accessible actions they can take to make a positive impact.
The program is supported by the NSW Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) through the Round 5 Community Litter Grant program, and is a Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.
Five focus areas make up Take 3’s SLSC program;
- educating clubs on litter in the environment;
- litter reduction;
- litter enforcement, in conjunction with the local council and the Hey Tosser! campaign;
- teaching clubs how to run their own beach clean up;
- the importance of data collection.
The South Coast of NSW is the pilot region for the program and will see Shoal Heads SLSC, Sussex Inlet SLSC and Basin Community Nippers Clubs inducted in the first season, before state and national expansion from the 2021-22 season. Take 3 hopes to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between Shoalhaven City Council (who is an ongoing partner of Take 3), surf clubs and DPIE through the pioneer program.
“To date, Take 3’s SLSC program has been delivered to more than 40 surf clubs around Australia, and has seen major positive impacts as a result. We’ve cleaned 1.7 million m2 of beach around Australia, and removed 9,700 tonnes of rubbish from those sites. Take 3 expects to see these impacts multiplied greatly in the years to come, thanks to the accessibility of the new program’s online format,” said Sarah Beard, CEO of Take 3.
“The support from DPIE’s Local Litter Grant to take our SLSC program online is testimony to the huge success the Take 3 SLSC program has already experienced across the state, particularly here in the Shoalhaven, with the ongoing backing from the Shoalhaven City Council,” said Monica Mudge, Take 3 SLSC program Manager. “I am really excited to work with these three South Coast SLSCs and to develop the program to an online platform for surf clubs across the state, and even country, to have access to.”
The new online program embodies the evolution of Take 3’s education programs and will allow the leading education on plastic pollution and waste in communities to be accessed by more Aussie Nippers and communities than ever before.
