Fred is the Reef Authority’s Director of Reef Education and Engagement and has been with us for over twenty years. He has spent much of this time inspiring future generations of Reef leaders around the world to take action for the future of the Reef.
“We work with those people and encourage them to have a greater understanding of the Great Barrier Reef, its beauty and wonder, and in particular its need for protection and the things that they can do to help protect it now and into the future.”
“The youth of today, the students of today, are the decision-makers and the stewards of the reef's future.”
Tell us about the first time you saw the Reef
I'm a north Queensland boy, born and bred, so I come from a sugarcane farming community in Innisfail. I've grown up, in the rainforest, on the Reef, and I just love how amazingly spectacular that Great Barrier Reef ecosystem is.
The first time I remember going out to the Reef fishing with my brother in his boat, I had the opportunity to stick my head under the water to have a quick look. It was just mesmerising.
What do you love most about the Reef?
To put your head under the water on the Great Barrier Reef and see it drives curiosity. What's that fish doing? Why is that little thing bubbling over there? What was that small volcano that just erupted on the ocean floor? What's happening underneath? Underneath the sand? All those questions are firing through your mind when you're looking at the Great Barrier Reef.
And they are just the small things. Next minute, a big Māori wrasse the size of a small vehicle comes into your vision, and well, you realise that you’re a little insignificant in the scheme of things.
That's what I love so much about it is because, as an educator, you can harness the curiosity that the Great Barrier Reef inspires in people.
How can education help in protecting the Reef?
Most humans are curious by nature. Harnessing human curiosity and building on that to help people better understand things leaves them with a fuller understanding of what is going on out there.
That is why we do our job in education and engagement. I've always taught geography and biology as a school teacher, and I guess a lot of my teaching colleagues used to say I spent more time out of the classroom than in the classroom, but my classroom was the environment.
Being able to share and showcase the special nature of the Great Barrier Reef with others and encourage them to know more about it, to be enriched by experiencing it.
By giving these kids inspiration, introducing them to the Reef, and sharing that beauty and diversity, it will have positive knock-on effects. There is no way that could not be a good thing.
Reef CLASS
Fred and his team live by the principles of Care + Learn + Act + Share = Stewardship.
- We encourage everyone to:
- Care and love the Reef as much as we do.
- Take every opportunity to learn more about the incredible wonders that take place in the diversity of ecosystems across this world heritage site.
- Take actions in your day-to-day life that can help to protect this world heritage site
- Share your stories, your memories and what you have learnt with your friends and family.
- Encourage each other to be stewards in your local area. Everyday actions by everyday people all over the world will help in protecting the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.