hero missions

qpsu climate heroes
supported by acf

Climate Heroes - where to from here

Saving our Icons, one BBQ at a time

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is delighted that more than 50 'Save our Icons’ BBQs took place around the nation on Australia Day (that we know of) to draw attention to Australia's natural icons that are under threat from climate change.

Using cutting edge social networking tools to get the message out nationally, ACF was delighted that committed groups of Australians from Newtown in Sydney to Carlton in Melbourne, from Bunbury in Western Australia to Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales held their own sustainable Australia Day BBQs and pegged the events to Australian environmental icons they care about.

Marguerite Marshall, an author and journalist from Eltham Victoria, says she and her husband hosted a BBQ with work friends and their families on Australia Day and that they are all “very concerned about the Government's inadequate response to the climate crisis.”

Rachel Feuerherdt from Gawler in South Australia attended her local community breakfast BBQ (run by a collective of service groups) to which they all rode their bikes and brought their own plates and cups. The event provided the opportunity to “bring the community together, celebrate new Australians and the quiet achievers in our community,” she says.

In Long Beach NSW, Iain Fyfe and family held a ‘Save our Icons’ BBQ at his sisters passive solar, waste water managed property. “As a family we watch the latest developments around climate-change, especially the disappointing response from our government. We were all glad to pose for this one!”

Jenny Bruse from Glenelg in South Australia also sent in a message that ‘We didn’t give the Rudd government permission to give up on the Murray River’.

“On Australia Day we weren't able to go and have a bbq on the banks of the beautiful Murray River. My husband is having chemo at the moment so life for us is to take small enjoyments of it,” wrote Jenny.

“Daryl and I and my Mother (93 years old) went for a short trip to Glenelg Beach, South Australia. We sat on the foreshore grass under a tree, the beach was superb with lots of people enjoying the water. Will there always be a beach with rising seas due to global warming?”

ACF staff and family and friends also held BBQ’s in Melbourne and Sydney, for which fried haloumi cheese, lentil burgers, mushrooms and light beers were the order of the day.

The BBQs that took place all over Australia on our national day send a signal that Australians not only care about the potential loss of some of our treasured national icons, but they are also willing to take tangible action - even in their own backyards.

We'll endeavour to have a gallery of the Australia wide photos up soon.

Click here to read more about the campaign.

Click here to read the oped on ABC online.

To view the gallery of photos click here.

For all queries please email bbq@acfonline.org.au