New Project coming to Annandale & lilyfield in 2025
What's it all about and can i have a wren on my house?
I started the Wren projects after learning that Suberb Fairy Wrens used to be a common sight in Sydney but small bird numbers had dropped almost 50% from 2014 to 2021. Mostly due to habitat loss, cats, pesticide use and aggressive larger birds.
I decided put some (painted) wrens back into Sydney suburbs and put QR code links next to them with information on small birds and ways to get involved in habitat protection.
In Annandale & Lilyfield I'll still be using the wren as a symbol but the focus will be on the wildlife still in our area such as the long necked turtles and blue tongue lizards and how we can expand the amazing patch of natural habitat we have at Whites Creek into our streets.
I'll be stencilling over 40 wrens on houses and linking some of them together with a couple of mini murals as a walking trail. (Click here to register for a free wren).
The preschoolers at Explore and Develop on Booth St will be designing signs to help people care for and protect the turtles at the wetlands.
And Aboriginal Horticulturalist Terry Lennis will be giving a free walk and talk around the Whites Creek Wetlands on the 15th February. (Click here to get tickets.)
What else can you do?
There are three big things we can do to help the wildlife in Annandale & Lilyfield:
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Be a responsible pet owner - Keep cats inside and dogs on leash around natural areas.
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Plant habitat - Make a wild area in your garden, make a verge garden or choose native plants to attract the species you want to help.
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Get involved - join a bushcare group, volunteer at a local nursery or participate in citizen science
Click below for more information on each of these topics.
Be a responsible Pet Owner
Plant Habitat
Get involved
Do you have a spot on your property where a wren could live? Fill out the form below to be in the running for a free wren.(Wrens are approximately 20x20cm.)
Inner West Council has over 50 natural areas and parts of Whites Creek Parkland are natural. Natural areas are places that do not look trimmed and manicured but are representative of our pre-1750 landscape. They are part of a network of green corridors providing habitat for plants and animals. Because we are so close to a patch of natural area any plantings we do in our gardens and verges in Annandale helps expand this habitat corridor out into the suburb.
The natural areas of Whites Creek are teeming with wildlife including blue tongue lizards, ringtail possums, frogs, turtles and even a waterdragon. Dogs kill bluetongues in Whites Creek and people have even taken the turtles out of the wetlands and destroyed the ringtail posum dreys. Tread lightly and be aware animals share the space and please keep your dog on a leash around these areas.
More Information on Inner West Biodiversity