The Narrandera Koala Festival returns this weekend, 19 and 20 September, to celebrate one of Australia’s great wildlife conservation stories.

Once considered locally extinct, Narrandera’s koala population was re-established with the reintroduction of just 19 koalas in the 1970s. Today, more than 300 koalas are estimated to live in and around the Narrandera Flora and Fauna Reserve.

That remarkable recovery is at the heart of the festival, with Saturday’s program, combining wildlife experiences with the science behind conservation, before putting that knowledge into action during Sunday’s Koala Count.

The festival opens at Brewery Flat Reserve on Saturday, with guided bushwalks, kayak adventures, expert talks, reptile encounters, habitat tours, creative workshops, live music, and more activities encouraging visitors of all ages to learn about the natural world.

Dive into a magical underwater adventure, with actor, puppeteer, children’s TV presenter, Abi Tucker – whose credits include Play School and the new series Rainforest Rangers. Abi will be performing at 11.30am and 3pm on Saturday.

Festivalgoers can also meet ecologists, researchers, and conservationists in the Expert Tent, explore the landscape through guided wildlife, flora, and Wiradjuri culture walks, and discover how research and community action continue to support koala conservation.

The weekend culminates in the Koala Count on Sunday 20 September – one of Australia’s longest-running citizen science events.

Working alongside expert guides, participants will help search for koalas and collect valuable information about the local population. No previous experience needed with guides sharing practical tips on spotting koalas and identifying the signs they leave behind.

Registration for koala count is free but essential due to the limited number of guides available.

From learning about the natural world on Saturday to experiencing conservation in action on Sunday, Koala Festival invites you to become part of the story – and help write its next chapter.

View the full festival program and register for Koala Count at narrandera.com

Australian Koala Foundation

Deborah Tabart OAM, chair of the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) will be a speaker at the Narrandera Koala Festival on 19 September and will be announcing the purchase of a magnificent piece of Koala habitat formerly owned by Mrs Lindsay Hayes, renowned journalist and wildlife carer.

“I am delighted to say that her property ‘Numeralla’, so carefully managed in her lifetime, will now be protected in perpetuity by the AKF.”

Deborah will be accompanied by a film crew and a scientific team all of whom will all attend a Koala workshop on 18 September and the Annual Koala Count on Sunday 20 September.