PHCC is excited to be hosting the first Wetlands Weekender this October, a mini festival that celebrates our beautiful Peel-Yalgorup Ramsar Wetland and the amazing wildlife that inhabits these waterways. This festival is supported by the PHCC through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
October is a significant time for the Peel-Yalgorup Ramsar wetland as it aligns with the beginning of the migratory bird season. Every year hundreds of thousands of migratory birds make the epic journey from as
far away as the Arctic Circle to Australia, a staggering distance of 12,500 km, where they will spend the summer months before making the return trip.
The festival was planned specifically for this weekend in October to coincide with World Migratory Bird Day, which falls on Saturday the 12th of October. There are special activities themed around the beautiful and rare birds of the wetland planned for this day such as bird identification lessons at Nairns Bird Hide and the provocative documentary film “Albatross” which will be screening at Makeplace.
The festival program kicks off on Friday the 11th of October and runs until Sunday the 13th of October. It includes a variety of fun activities including an art exhibition, birdwatching, cultural storytelling, a citizen
science event, a movie night, children’s activities including a competition and prize giveaways and a wetland tour by boat.
Caroline Knight, Chair of PHCC said “The activities are spread out across different areas of the Peel-Yalgorup wetland and it’s a great opportunity to visit and get to know parts of the wetland that you may have never visited before. Many of the festival events are free or heavily subsidised and have something for everyone. Whether it’s families looking for something to do for the last part of the school holidays, or people just looking for an interesting activity to fill their weekend, there is a large variety of activities to choose from.”
PHCC partnered with businesses, community organisations and local government to bring the festival program together and envisage that this Wetlands Weekender will be the first of many to come.
“We plan to build this festival over the coming years into a program that attracts not only locals but visitors to our region. Next year is a significant year for the Peel-Yalgorup Wetland site, it will be 30 years since the site has been listed as wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention and the festival will be a fantastic way to celebrate this milestone and our incredible wetland” Caroline Knight, Chair of PHCC.
To view the full program go to: https://peel-harvey.org.au/wetlands-weekender/
This project is supported by Peel-Harvey Catchment Council through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
We acknowledge the Noongar people as Traditional Custodians of this land and pay our respects to all Elders past and present
Peel-Yalgorup Wetlands (Ramsar 482) Photo: David Rennie
