Celebrating #SEAMember Richmond Football Club’s conservation achievements
23 November 2021
By SEA Research Volunteer Natasha Nosiara
With less than 4,000 tigers left in the wild, the fight to save this majestic species is critical and requires immediate action.
As an active #SEAMember, Richmond Football Club has found a way to harness its supporters’ passion to help save endangered tigers in landscapes thousands of kilometres away.
Their partnership with WWF-Australia brought the strengths of each organisation to provide a compelling front for tiger conservation.
While the Club has a large and loyal community to seek support from, WWF has the resources, research, connections, and knowledge required to make the change.
“The tiger is an iconic animal special to our club,” stated Brendon Gale, Richmond Football Club CEO. This icon has given access to a partnership with the “privileged opportunity to raise awareness and support programs that assist tigers to thrive in the wild.”
An opportunity, according to Airlie Johnston, Commercial Partnerships Manager at the Club, where “we are able to focus our attention and efforts where it is needed most and where it can make a tangible difference in saving tigers.”
This collaboration has led to two overseas trips to tiger landscapes, Sumatra and India, where a team from the Club, including player ambassadors, learnt about tiger management strategies, threats, and met the local people who are facing this challenge every day.
In a significant achievement, a group of the Club’s Coterie members have come together to fund a Tiger Patrol Unit in Belum State Park in Malaysia. In a location which has faced severe poaching casualties over the past ten years, this patrol unit is removing snares, monitoring tiger numbers, and disrupting poachers’ activity.
SEA CEO Dr Sheila Nguyen said that this is yet another great example of what can be achieved when great planetary minds come together and play to each other’s strengths.
“SEA #enviroloves celebrating new solutions to environmental challenges and supporting #SEAMembers’ {sport & planet} efforts. Initiatives such as these continue to remind us of what can be achieved when we work together to do more {for the world} with less {footprint},” she said.
SEA celebrates Richmond Football Club’s continued effort to make a difference to tiger conservation and the wider #SEAFamily looks forward to seeing the long-term impact their brilliant work will have on tiger communities.
Please view a detailed case study of this initiative here and join SEA to become part of a growing network of planetary change-makers.
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To download this media release, please click here.
Check out Richmond Football Club’s brand new Tiger Conservation Membership.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact communications@sportsenvironmentalliance.org