Community

The Margaret River Chocolate Company has been supporting a wide range of community and charitable organisations throughout Western Australia for more than 20 years.

These groups have included the Make-a-Wish Foundation,  Cancer Council,  Lord Mayor’s Disaster Appeal,  ToyBank,  Ngala,  STEPS Youth Dance Company,  FORM,  Barking Gecko Theatre Company,  Oxfam,  Lifeline,  the Tour of Margaret River and hundreds more, many of which are listed here.

Two of its most significant funding partnerships have been in the areas of conservation and research of local endangered fauna, specifically the Quokka and Western Swamp Tortoise.

Quokka Conservation and Research

In 2016 The Margaret River Chocolate Company launched a major partnership with The Rottnest Foundation and Rottnest Island Authority to fund ongoing quokka conservation and research.

It also made a major donation and contribution to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to purchase radio collars  for 30 quokkas identified as the last remaining of a population of approximately 500 that were devastated by the Northcliffe bush fires.

The quokka is a unique and much loved Western Australian icon and its smile that has captivated the world.

Native to the South West and Great Southern regions of WA, the quokka is listed as “vulnerable” by both State and Federal Governments and is on the ‘International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species’.

Rottnest Island has the largest remaining population of quokkas.

Over a 12 month period The Margaret River Chocolate Company designed a chocolate mould for the unique and endangered marsupial and then approached the Rottnest Island Authority to look at how funds from the sale of chocolate quokkas could be used to ensure their long term future.

As a result part proceeds from the sale of every chocolate quokka go to The Rottnest Foundation, to fund quokka projects both on Rottnest Island and throughout Western Australia.

Below is a list of web links that outline some of the projects that will be supported by the sale of chocolate quokkas:

Rottnest Island Authority (RIA):
Quokkas The happiest animal on Earth… & Protect Our Local Wildlife  or Rottnest Foundation (RF)

WWF Save Quokkas:
Quokka in Crisis Appeal

Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW):
Approved recovery plans

Saving the Western Swamp Tortoise

In 2011 The Margaret River Chocolate Company joined with Swan Valley based community group the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise  (FoWST) to help save Australia’s oldest and rarest reptile and is now the group’s biggest supporter.

The Western Swamp Tortoise was thought to be extinct for over 100 years until small pockets of them were discovered in a number of wetlands in Perth’s historic Swan Valley in the 1950s.

Work by the Western Swamp Tortoise Recovery Team, including the Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth Zoo and FoWST, has brought the plight of the critically endangered species to international attention and has subsequently seen numbers in the wild slowly increase.

However the fight to save the Western Swamp Tortoise is far from over and funds are always needed to keep breeding, education and fieldwork going.

Given its location and strong links to the Swan Valley, The Margaret River Chocolate Company decided to take a proactive role in helping to raise awareness and funds for the Western Swamp Tortoise and FoWST.

It has manufactured and sold a special chocolate tortoise called “Swampy” since 2012 with a percentage of all sales donated to FoWST.

FRIENDS OF THE WESTERN SWAMP TORTOISE

Parenting with Confidence

The Margaret River Chocolate Company has been supporting WA’s oldest charitable organisation Ngala for more than 10 years and since 2013 has featured Ngala collection tins at each of its outlets.

Ngala helps more than 40,000 families with young children each year, providing a range of services and advice on parenting, breastfeeding, child development and sleep.

About Ngala