Page 3 - podsinanutshell

MESSAGE FROM OUR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Embarking on a project of the size and complexity of
PODS is certainly ambitious and has required a great
deal of planning and forethought, but the Lagoon
Society is used to taking on big challenges. None of
this would have come about if it hadn’t been for the
long journey we started back in 2012 by hosting the
1st Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Summit. This amazing
event attracted over 100 stakeholders from all walks
of life, including many scientists specializing in
freshwater and marine research, who met for four days
to discuss how best to conserve and preferably enhance
biodiversity on the Sunshine Coast and to create a
strategy for moving forward. This gathering of minds
eventually resulted in the publication of the Sunshine
Coast Biodiversity Strategy (Evelyn and Jackson 2015).
One overriding conclusion of our discussions was that
there was a desperate shortage of aquatic monitoring
and research.
I believe the progress we have made in the intervening
seven years is indicative of the amazing spirit of Pender
Harbour, which is quite simply legendary. How many
other small communities have come together to
embrace building their own Community Health Centre,
their own Golf Course, and two of their own Provincial
Parks? We certainly could never have gotten this far
without the wholehearted support of so many people,
businesses, NGO’s, and charities who all work so
tirelessly to make Pender Harbour so special. PODS is
our way of showing, yet again, just how much we truly
care for this place, and demonstrating our commitment
to safeguarding the future for our children.
PODS will bring a special additional value to Pender
Harbour. For decades to come, it will benefi t all of
us who live here, as well as wider Sunshine Coast
community and visitors from around the world. In this
crazy world of super high-speed internet, and constant
data overload, PODS will provide a place where we
can all gather and enjoy quietly mingling together and
learning more about where we live and how best to
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protect the amazing biodiversity that surrounds us.
Everyone will be welcome to join in our voyage of
discovery and exploration. With the help of university
students and academics, as well as experts from
around the world, we look forward to investigating the
intricacies of our extraordinary ecosystems, and, most
importantly, determining how to protect and preserve
them in perpetuity. Equally, we need to celebrate our
good fortunes and pass our fi ndings on to others with
music, song, and dance!
How can any of us sit by and witness the consequences
of global warming, ocean acidifi cation, and global
plastics pollution, without feeling we should be trying
to do something about it? Should we just be standing
by watching our resident orca population go extinct,
keeping our fi ngers crossed that we will be able to eat
shellfi sh without ingesting micro-plastics, or relying
on hearsay that our children will be able to keep on
enjoying what we have taken for granted? There has
never been a time in human history when it was so
important to choose to act to preserve and enhance the
precious natural assets we all depend upon.
PODS will be like a lighthouse, protecting our coastal
waters from degradation and destruction and making
sure we look after our watersheds and all the amazing
natural processes that give us clean air, pure water,
and a healthy environment for generations to come.
PODS will be a beacon for the future and another
wonderful example of what makes the spirit of Pender
Harbour so special. Thank you all for helping us to
make our vision a reality!
Michael Jackson - Executive Director