Tech companies sponsor a lot of things worldwide but sometimes we lose track of some of the more worthwhile sponsorships and focus on things such as cricket Teams, Wimbledon etc. Last Thursday at the launch of their Find X3 series OPPO announced their partnership with The Reef Restoration Foundation (RRF) to not only help provide funding to reseed coral back into the Great Barrier Reef but also to bring that colour to Australian homes.
“At OPPO, we are committed to exercising our corporate social responsibility to address both local and global environmental challenges to proactively make a positive change.”
Managing Director of OPPO Australia, Michael Tran
OPPO have created a new app called Recolour the Reef which shows a 3D render of the coral networks that make up the reef using AR. The AR experience itself was developed using images and videos captured on the new Find X3 Pro of the Great Barrier Reef corals just off the shore of Fitzroy Island.
This location is significant because this is also the location of the RRFs ocean-based coral nurseries. RRF is a not-for-profit social enterprise that is establishing a series of ocean-based coral nurseries to assist with the restoration of the reef and help build its resilience. This process of coral regrowth mimics nature and accelerates the growth process to enable reefs to recover from bleaching and cyclone damage faster.
“Last year the Great Barrier Reef experienced its third major bleaching event in the past five years. Reef Restoration Foundation is growing and planting coals that are naturally more resilient for regenerating degraded reefs. We saw this partnership as an opportunity to amplify the restoration efforts of this community-based organisation that is dedicated to preserving this natural wonder that is part of our national identity,” said Tran.
By using this partnership with RRF, OPPO is using the AR app as an education and awareness tool and hopefully grow the social conscience of what is happening to our famous Great Barrier Reef. The app aims to educate users on the risks the reef is facing with a sliding gauge of cumulative stressors which can be moved to show the impact these stressors have on the coral reefs, demonstrating coral bleaching.
Ryan Donnelly, CEO of Reef restoration Foundation said of the partnership:
“We are trying to generate hope and there’s a realistic optimism around the Great Barrier Reef if people are prepared to act.”
The goal of the partnership is for OPPO to support the Reef Restoration Foundation in their mission to bring 1 million new corals to the Great Barrier Reef by 2026. We are slowly losing so many of our natural treasures, not just in other parts of the world but also in Australia so it is good to see OPPO getting behind this cause. For every Recolour the Reef app download in March and April OPPO is donating a further $1 to the RRF to aid in the regeneration of damaged corals.
The app is available to download on both Android and iOS so go and grab it and see just what our once beautiful coral reef is experiencing. For more information head on over to the recolourthereef.com website.
