The mighty Duck River is an urban waterway tucked away in Sydney’s western suburbs. Duck River flows year-round into Parramatta River, which means that it plays a vital role in connecting waterways across the city… but that’s not all! Duck River also provides a critical ‘green corridor’, full of native trees and other plants, which allows animals to move around our city.

Duck River forms part of an important endangered ecological community found in Western Sydney, the Cumberland Plain Woodland. Unfortunately, due to the increasing levels of urbanisation and invasion of weed species, we have lost over 95% of this special ecological community.

To tackle this, the community has come together over the past year to protect what is left of the Cumberland Plain at Duck River; removing weeds from the riverbank and removing some of the rubbish harming our wildlife and our oceans.

But all this great work has been done by daylight. What species come out at night? We don’t know… but we’re hoping to change that! We are very keen to whip out our torches and learn about what species use the site at night. Once we know more about the nightlife at Duck River, we are hoping to install nest boxes to increase habitat for the river’s residents.

You will start the night off with a brief introductory workshop – highlighting the ecological significance of the site and the basics of spotlighting. You will also be treated to light refreshments and some nibbles to fuel you for the spotlighting session ahead! You will then get to spend the next hour spotlighting – this will be led by our experienced ecologists.

Meet at Granville Train Station at 5:30pm or meet us on site at 6pm. Finish on site at 7.30pm, with an optional drop off back to Granville station at 8.00pm.

ESSENTIAL ITEMS: Please wear sturdy boots, long pants, a long sleeved shirt and dress warmly! The nights can get very chilly in Western Sydney! It’s a good idea to bring a torch with you if you have one.