Event Charity Partner

Friends of the Eastern Otways

The Friends of the Eastern Otways share a passion for conserving and appreciating this special part of Victoria, by protecting and maintaining the local fauna and flora. 

The Friends of the Eastern Otways is an organisation committed to protecting the Great Otway National Park for all to appreciate and enjoy, working in partnership with Parks Victoria and DELWP. It’s members share an interest in the natural environment and volunteer their time to help improve the area in whatever way they can.

Examples of their environmental activities include:

  • Protecting flora and fauna and maintaining and enriching biodiversity through removal of environmental weeds.
  • Developing awareness and educating the community about the environmental values of the Great Otway National Park.

The Friends’ have extensive knowledge of the environment that the participants in the Surf Coast Century will be running through. Each plant species has a name, each different bird call can be learned!

Visit their website to learn more: www.feo.org.au

How the Surf Coast Century is helping in 2025

Rapid Ascent highly values the natural environment where we run, walk and live. We want to continue to increase our conservation and understanding of the unique landscape we race through and the animals and plants that live here. Through our partnership with The Friends will prepare and distribute information about the natural inhabitants of the area to add greater depth to runners’ experiences on race day with steps like:

  • signs on the course that explain the unique flora and fauna in that particular area
  • adding wilderness information to course maps and other onlien resources
  • coordinating the receipt of donations and fundraising towards the Friends of the Eastern Otways
  • promoting the Friends of the Eastern Otways to our runners and within the broader community so we an support their work
  • doubling our donation rate for volunteers they bring to the event

As an added part of our commitment to environmental preservation and sustainability we are looking to reduce the amount of event merchandise we provide at our events, and most significantly the amount that is never bought and ends up going to landfill. Merchandise sales will b eby pre-purchase only with minimal on the day sales.