Get Involved
Media Releases

Challenging businesses around the Asia-Pacific to innovate for good

Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) and tech giant Atlassian have teamed up to challenge Australia’s leading organisations to apply their innovation muscle to one of the world’s most pressing challenges: the loss of nature.

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 2021

To celebrate Earth Day 2021, CVA and Atlassian are pitting teams from businesses across the Asia-Pacific against one another to develop innovative approaches to increase Australian participation in Citizen Science to protect and restore biodiversity.
During the pandemic many of us have begun to really appreciate the benefits of a bit of time in the forest, by the beach and in the local park. The health and wellbeing benefits of time in nature are well documented, and with the Black Summer bushfires followed by the 2021 floods, people are waking up to how fragile some of our special places are.

With nearly 40 years of experience working with people and organisations who want to make a difference towards a world where humans and nature thrive together, CVA has been a leader in innovative models of community engagement for a while. However, teaming up with Atlassian during the pandemic and seeing the move to virtual working and leisure activities spurred an interesting new concept.

“We all spent more time at home and online than we would normally in 2020, and with our partners, Atlassian, we got to thinking – if we can all work remotely, can we transfer our mission to help more people take action for nature to a remote world, too?” said Jonathan Noble, Campaign Director at Conservation Volunteers Australia

“At Atlassian, our mission is to help unleash the potential of every team, so when we got talking to CVA about their idea to improve on their 2020 Corporate Innovation Challenge, we decided we wanted to support it and show how tech and innovation can be used to tackle the loss of nature. We love citizen science as it can blend technology and education, and reach communities wherever they are, if they have an internet connection.” said Eve Claydon, Atlassian Content Designer and Sustainability Advocate from Atlassian.

“Whether you call it corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, or sustainability, taking part in initiatives that improve the world we live in is a part of being human. Atlassian is excited to be supporting the Corporate Innovation Challenge and solving some of humanity’s biggest problems.” said Eve Claydon, Atlassian Content Designer and Sustainability Advocate from Atlassian.

Teams of up to 5 participants from businesses across the Asia-Pacific will compete to create and submit the most innovative approaches to help increase engagement in CVA’s Citizen Science programs helping to strengthen biodiversity restoration, such as the Eastern Barred Bandicoot’s recovery in Victoria.

During the challenge, participants will have access to an exclusive masterclass session and receive online guidance to support their efforts. Taking the new knowledge from CVA, and their own professional experience and insights from different disciplines, they then develop a pitch for a way to engage Australians in citizen science activities.

“We were delighted by the ideas that came through our innovation challenge last year, but we knew we wanted to harness more of the ideas and bring them to life and make a difference. So, by getting the teams to pitch ideas which closely align with CVA’s mission to build a community of nature stewards, we think it’s an amazing opportunity for some of Australia’s brightest minds to spend a day working together on something fun, which could have a massive positive impact for society.” said Geraldine Rep, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Conservation Volunteers Australia.

Moving the hackathon into a virtual space, and focusing it on a clear and tangible opportunity to make a difference makes The Atlassian Corporate Innovation Challenge a great opportunity for businesses in Australia looking for ideas to engage employees through corporate volunteering days, many of which haven’t been able to be used in 2020 & 2021 because of the pandemic.

The Atlassian Corporate Innovation Challenge kicks off on 20th April 2021, and registrations are open now at: https://action.conservationvolunteers.com.au/innovation-challenge-2021

 

Background

Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) is a national organisation working with communities to rebalance nature for a stronger, more resilient future. We combine evidence-based practices and people power to make real and lasting change at scale. Founded in 1982, CVA is a leader in delivering practical initiatives, community involvement and training programs with opportunities offered all year round online and in the field, to encourage anyone across Australia to take action for nature.
Our work has been recognised through many significant awards, including the United Nations’ Environment Program Global 500, 6 Banksia Environmental Foundation Awards, Coastal Award for Excellence, UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations & Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships.

The Atlassian Corporate Innovation Challenge is part of CVA’s Corporate Challenge Series, and is a virtual event which will take place on April 20th to celebrate Earth Day which falls on 22nd April and encourages a global support for environmental protection in the Decade of Restoration.

This innovation challenge contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

  • SDG 3 – Good Health & Wellbeing
  • SDG 13 – Climate Action
  • SDG 15 – Life On Land
  • SDG 17 – Partnerships For The Goals

For more information about the challenge, visit https://action.conservationvolunteers.com.au/innovation-challenge-2021

For more information about Conservation Volunteers Australia, visit https://conservationvolunteers.com.au

Media Enquiries

Please direct enquiries to Sam Rye, Communications Manager, [email protected]

More info about media enquiries and available stock imagery: https://conservationvolunteers.com.au/news-media/media-enquiries/

Admin Office: 728 Barkly Street, BALLARAT VIC 3350