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EcoUpdate: November 2025

This week is very important for our Port Stephens environment.  Our exciting Sustainable Living Festival this Saturday 22nd in Medowie is looking fantastic. Come along, you’ll be disappointed to miss it!

And this week, we’d love your quick action please to help protect our treasured Mambo-Wanda Wetlands, ahead of Council’s meeting this Tuesday 25/11. 

We’re all seeing fewer koalas these days, if at all. Without urgent action, our LGA’s wild koalas are becoming too isolated. Take a look at the KKEPS actions and see how you can help save our koalas.

Get into Nature. It’s Bugs in my Backyard Week and the launch of a new citizen science project. Enjoy a bushwalk or involve yourself in a myriad of ways supporting nature.  Or join the Sustainable Home Forum

Enjoy your read, see you at the festival, and help make a difference in nature!

Sue Olsson
Acting Editor this issue info@econetworkps.org

Next issue, please submit stories before 10 December to info@econetworkps.au


Our Sustainable Living Festival this Saturday

We have a fantastic program and range of stalls curated In conjunction with HomeGrown. Talks, workshops, stalls with a sustainability focus, entertainment, and a local Market Place, the essence of good sustainability. See the program and appreciate a hint of the festival’s upcoming diversity

See you in Medowie


OCEAN: stimulating, provoking, disturbing but hopeful! 

EcoNetwork hosted over 120 people who enjoyed David Attenborough’s film OCEAN, brilliant, engaging scenery yet distressing images of our plundered oceans. Surprisingly, it did leave us with a powerful message of hope for the future. 

See the wrap


Build you own wildlife homes at the Festival

Port Stephens Packaging has come onboard to sponsor a fantastic discount for the ext 20 nest boxes and insect hotels, just takes 15 mins with assistance from the Port Stephens Community Woodworkers. 

 More info & pre-bookings


Take ACTION for conservation!

Mambo-Wanda Wetlands under threat, needs your help this week!

The Salamander Bay Place Plan did not reveal the extent of development impact onto the wetlands, clearing an endangered ecological community that is protected under Local Environment Plans, and so much more. Please write to the Council. 

 Find out more

Kings Hill is a critical koala breeding hub for all Port Stephens

New genetic studies demonstrate Kings Hill’s vital role and the desperate need to reconnect habitats and stop additional development. Please sign this petition. KKEPS are concerned that without URGENT ACTION to stop further habitat destruction (at Kings Hill) and to reconnect habitat corridors, koalas in the wild will soon be functionally extinct across our LGA. Take a look at KKEPS campaign actions, supporting evidence and see how you can help save our koalas

 Act now to save our koalas


Help make a difference in the bush ~ our community events are loaded with opportunities – whether it’s in TomareeHunter Wetlands or Barrington Tops national parks, or Port Stephens Council volunteers. Every bit counts.

Our advocacy and submission

You can see all our recent submissions advocating for the environment here.

Submissions here


ECO-extras

● Tomaree Lodge update, check out the November progress update, and the longer-term picture of what’s happening. Preliminary concepts comment and survey CLOSES Sunday 30 November ~ your last chance to contribute.

● Celebrate the inaugural Bugs in My Backyard Week, and join the Bug Hunt, a new national citizen-science project. Australia’s invertebrates, the insects, worms, snails and spiders are the quiet workers of nature. They pollinate our plants, build our soils and feed our most iconic animals.

● A record-breaking Regent Honeyeater release into the Tomalpin Woodlands, the largest remaining woodland on the floor of the Hunter Valley – and a key breeding stronghold for some of Australia’s most threatened woodland birds, reports Birdlife Australia.

COMMUNITY calendar

November 

Wed 19 Clean4Shore: Hunter Wetlands National Park

Sat 22 Sustainable Living Festival, Medowie 

Sat 22 Make Wildlife Homes at the Festival, Medowie (prebook)

Mon 24 Save Money, Live Comfortably: The Sustainable Home Forum

Wed 26 Walk: Tomaree NP, between One Mile Beach & Fingal Bay (one way)

Thurs 27 – Sun 30 Barrington NP: Scotch Broom control

December 

Wed 3 & 17 Clean4Shore: Hunter Wetlands National Park

Various dates, Bush Care with Friends of Tomaree National Park


Promote your environmental events on our Community Calendar

Did you know you can submit your own environmental or sustainability events to our. Community Calendar and then to EcoUpdate?

Here’s how following our website menu – GET INVOLVED / Community Events Calendar / Promote your event.

OR Save our direct link “Promote your event” to upload your environmental event.


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Benefits here

Online membership form here

EcoNetwork Port Stephens

Our Vision: Ecologically sustainable communities existing in harmony with the natural environment.

Our Purpose: To support our members and to educate and advocate on environmental issues that impact Port Stephens communities.

www.econetworkps.org : secretary@econetworkps.org : Facebook