Protecting the Reef Together

Helping the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water deliver a national campaign to show how farmers and communities are working with Reef Trust to protect the Great Barrier Reef and inspire collective action.

Client & context

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) engaged Redboat Ventures to extend the Reef Trust animation suite. Building on earlier work, two new animations were commissioned to highlight water quality initiatives and collective community efforts. These animations form part of a wider Reef Trust social media and partner campaign aimed at deepening public engagement and visibility of on-ground action.

Challenge/objectives

Many Australians know the Reef is under pressure, but fewer understand how they can play a role in its protection. The challenge was to reduce confusion about how to get involved by showing tangible examples of projects already underway. Specific objectives included:

Encouraging farmers to work with Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups to improve water quality.
Inspiring community members and citizen scientists to contribute to conservation efforts.
Demonstrating the breadth of projects, from regional programs to hyper-local initiatives.
Focusing attention on activities and outcomes rather than dollar figures.

Redboat’s approach

Redboat worked as both creative producer and strategic advisor. We helped frame the messaging to emphasise activities, outcomes, and participation, rather than funding amounts. To maintain continuity, we reused visual assets from previous Reef Trust animations and kept the established painterly style. Draft scripts were streamlined from 75 seconds to concise 30-second formats, ensuring they were engaging and adaptable. AI-generated voiceovers were adopted to give flexibility for use in both organic and paid campaigns without the constraints of talent licensing.

The solution

Redboat delivered two 30-second animations:

Inland Water Quality: focusing on sustainable farming practices, wetland restoration, and improved land management.
Supporting Collective Action: showcasing community stewardship through citizen science, marine debris cleanups, habitat restoration, and Indigenous-led projects.

Both animations were produced in multiple formats (landscape, square and vertical) for distribution across social media, partner networks, and the Reef Trust microsite.

Results & outcomes

The animations equipped the department with flexible, multi-use content to reach diverse audiences. Previous Reef Trust animations demonstrated strong partner uptake and visibility at public events, and these new videos are expected to deliver similar impact across campaigns and networks.

Why it matters

These animations illustrate how the Reef Trust program turns investment into action, showing Australians how they can actively participate in reef protection. The project:

Improved public understanding of what Reef Trust supports and how to get involved.
Reinforced trust in government stewardship of the Reef.
Mobilised collective action by highlighting the contributions of farmers, communities, and citizen scientists.
Delivered reusable, scalable content to support a wider social and partner-led campaign.