The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is a UNESCO World Heritage site home to hundreds of thousands of marine species.
Unfortunately, this vital ecosystem is under threat from a warming ocean, poor water quality, and invasive species — but a restoration project on a river in Queensland is tackling one of the reef's major problems.
The rehabilitation of the Mary River has stopped tons of sediment from reaching the reef and smothering it, killing the delicate corals that provide a habitat for marine creatures and offer a natural defense from coastal flooding in deadly storms, which are becoming increasingly common due to global heating.
According to the Queensland Government, the "vast majority" of unwanted sediments — which can also stop sunlight from reaching the reef and stunt its growth — arrive following streambank erosion, particularly in flooding events.
As Australia's ABC News reported, 16 badly eroded sites have installed pile fields — multiple rows of piles driven into the river bed — to slow down water flow and help collect sediment.
Elsewhere, landscaping work to add 90,000 trees to the surrounding bank areas is intended to prevent sediment from making it to water, while almost 20 miles of fencing and 71 off-stream livestock watering points are expected to halt over 17,600 tons of sediment.
The Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee (MRCCC) has been leading the work, with the group established around 30 years ago to examine the reasons why so much sediment was entering the water source and ending up in the reef.
The organization experienced some pushback in the early days, mainly because of a lack of understanding about why it was trying to instigate changes, and existing members are grateful for the persistence of those who came before them.
Brad Wedlock, operations manager of the MRCCC, told ABC News: "We're riding on the coattails of those people. We don't have the animosity or the adversity that those visionary people dealt with 25 to 30 years ago."
In addition to protecting the reef, the fortifying of the Mary River's banks and associated work on surrounding land has brought further benefits.
The Mary River cod and the "punk bum-breathing" freshwater turtle are just two creatures to have benefited from the MRCCC's work, while local farmers have also been given subsidies to make environmental work a priority.
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