Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 30 Sep 2026 - 31 Oct 2026
- Time: All Day
Great Barrier Reef Clean-up 2026
From catchment to coastline to the Great Barrier Reef, join thousands of people removing marine debris and collecting citizen science data this October.
What is the Great Barrier Reef Clean-up?
The Great Barrier Reef Clean-up mobilises communities across the Reef region and its connected inland catchments, waterways, coastlines and islands — because every piece of debris removed upstream is one less that reaches the Reef.
- It starts inland: A water bottle dropped in a town hundreds of kilometres from the coast enters a stormwater drain and begins its journey.
- Down the creeks & rivers: Creeks feed rivers; rivers fan out into estuaries. Debris rides the current across the floodplain toward the sea.
- Washes onto the Reef: Tides push debris onto beaches and into coral lagoons, smothering coral, entangling wildlife, leaching toxins.
Ready to protect the Great Barrier Reef?
Lead a clean-up at your beach, creek or local park. We’ll equip you with kits, data sheets and volunteer promotion. Turn your community’s effort into citizen science and register your clean-up today!
The Great Barrier Reef Clean-up is a ReefClean program delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation in partnership with Clean Up Australia and funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.