“We must re wild the world…A century from now our planet could be a wild place again.”
— Sir David Attenborough
The Macpac Fund for Good is our giving back scheme, founded to support charitable organisations working tirelessly on environmental protection or social initiatives like outdoor education/adventure therapy programmes. Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to support over 100 organisations doing good in Australia and New Zealand.
In 2021, we met with 'Jimmy HalfCut’, an environmental activist and the founder of HalfCut, an Australian charity dedicated to expanding the Daintree Rainforest in Northern Queensland and plant 1 million trees by 2025.
We learnt devastating facts from Jimmy – that over 50% of the world’s forests have been destroyed or irreparably damaged and that less than 3% of rainforests are left on earth. Rainforests are the lungs of the planet and without them, no matter their location, the impacts on climate change and life as we know it, are dire. As Sir David Attenborough said, action needs to be taken immediately to prevent a global ecosystem disaster.
All of this inspired us to think more specifically about supporting natural regeneration and the protection of our remaining rainforests. It is the most important thing we can do for the planet right now. And the way to create the greatest positive impact is through collaboration, so we decided HalfCut was the right organisation to support.
HalfCut did not just want a cash donation from us, they wanted full engagement - for Macpac and our customers to join their social and environmental movement that brings people together to raise funds for forest regeneration and conversation. The HalfCut team are visual disrupters with their half-cut hair dos, to highlight the fact that over half of the planet’s forests are gone.
HalfCut aims to protect crucial forests for habitat for threatened and endangered species, support Traditional Owners with handover to manage and heal country and culture, expand Rainforest Lots back into National Park, and engage in mass rainforest tree planting projects, ultimately being part of the solution to the growing climate emergency, ensuring a safe future for all species on Earth.
So in 2021 we partnered with them, joining their crowdfunding campaign to buy-back some of the 1,026 at-risk properties in the Daintree lowland rainforest, Queensland.
“The Daintree Lowland Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests on Earth having survived undisturbed for over 120 million years. It holds exceptionally high biodiversity and conservation value and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia” — Jimmy HalfCut.
Through the generosity of our customers in Australia and a Fund for Good cash grant, we donated over $106,000 AUD last year to HalfCut that helped purchase 3 properties in the Daintree. These properties are now protected from destruction forever, as part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site.
Marjon de Boer an Area Manager for Macpac was lucky enough to represent Macpac for the April 2022 ceremony to transfer these properties back to the traditional owners, the Kuku Yalanji people.
“This trip and experience made me realise that to gain a real understanding of a place and its people, we need to open our heads and hearts to it, listen well and dive in. It gave me respect for the way the Jabalbina and Kuku Yalanji people have kept true to their origin and culture and are shaping their future with such hospitality.” — Marjon deBoer
It’s now 2022 and we’re continuing our partnership with HalfCut, joining their August crowdfunding campaign to help raise money to buy back a further 3 properties in the Daintree rainforest that will enable the native forest to regenerate and thrive; habitat protection for at-risk native species; the ownership of the land to be transferred back to the traditional owners; and, the land to become part of the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
We’re excited to once again be part of this global movement and hope you join in, by learning more about the state of the world's rainforests, sharing this campaign or donating something large or small. It only takes $2.50AUD to buy one square metre of land. So come on and join one of our 86 Macpac stores across New Zealand and Australia and get involved! Find out more here: https://go.halfcut.org/t/macpacbasecamp
