7 Nature Festival events being held in and around SA’s national parks

This year’s theme is ​“flow”, high­light­ing rivers and oceans, cre­ative flow, the imper­ma­nence of flow, as well as what flow means to com­mu­ni­ties and generations. 

From ranger talks to bird walks, restora­tion projects to cre­ative out­door expe­ri­ences, there’s some­thing for every­one. We’ve found sev­en events in and around our beau­ti­ful parks and reserves to get you start­ed – plus, they’re all free!

For the full Nature Fes­ti­val pro­gram, you can check it out here. 

1. A Sto­ry of the Floods – A Ranger’s Perspective

What: This year’s Nature Fes­ti­val theme is ​‘flow’, and a per­fect way to cel­e­brate the fes­ti­val is to learn about the Kini­pa­pa (Coop­er Creek) floods first­hand from an Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice park ranger. Come and join us to lis­ten to their sto­ries and hon­our the ener­gis­ing life force that the floods bring to the Coop­er Creek sys­tem and beyond.

When: Tues­day, 30 Sep­tem­ber – Wednes­day 8 October

Where: Innam­inc­ka Region­al Reserve

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here. 

2. Safe Spaces, Wild Places: Gen­der and the outdoors 

What: Are you inter­est­ed in explor­ing how gen­der shapes our rela­tion­ships with the out­doors? Join us for a unique nature-based gath­er­ing that blends art, writ­ing and open dia­logue. We invite women – includ­ing cis and trans women – to share sto­ries, reflect on per­son­al expe­ri­ences, and con­nect over the joys and chal­lenges of access­ing and cel­e­brat­ing nature.

When: Tues­day, 7 October

Where: Belair Nation­al Park

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here. 

3. Re-meet­ing the Onka­paringa Riv­er Recre­ation Park  

What: Join Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice park rangers as the renowned artist Rebec­ca McE­wan is wel­comed to share her reflec­tions about the riv­er dur­ing her artist in res­i­den­cy at Sauer­bier House. This will be an immer­sive walk as you cre­ate art with Rebec­ca and lis­ten and share in the river’s gifts.

When: Tues­day, 7 October

Where: A.S Per­ry Reserve

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here. 

4. Come & try- Friends of Sturt Riv­er Land­care Group 

What: If you love being in nature and need more excus­es to get out and enjoy it — come along and join the like-mind­ed crew of Friends of Sturt Riv­er Land­care Group! The Friends are wel­com­ing all to come and try for a day, with plen­ty of activ­i­ties on offer. With replant­i­ng local-native seedlings by the thou­sand, embark­ing on win­ter weed patrols, col­lect­ing seeds, shar­ing sto­ries and mak­ing friends, you won’t be short of a good time. 

When: Sun­day 12 October

Where: Oak­lands Wet­land Reserve

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here.

5. Walk in Aldin­ga Con­ser­va­tion Park with Friends of Aldin­ga Scrub 

What: Join in on a delight­ful spring­time walk in Aldin­ga Con­ser­va­tion Park. Dis­cov­er the tran­quil­li­ty of this unique nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment locat­ed in the Willun­ga Basin. At this time of the year, you will see many of the plants in full flower, and also some of the crea­tures who call Aldin­ga Con­ser­va­tion Park home. Your guides will be local experts who can tell you all about the flo­ra and fau­na you will see, and the impor­tance of car­ing for this very spe­cial place.

When: Sun­day 12 October

Where: Aldin­ga Con­ser­va­tion Park

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here.

6. Echoes of the Earth: A Cul­tur­al Walk

What:Join in on a pow­er­ful cul­tur­al expe­ri­ence at the World Her­itage-list­ed Nara­coorte Caves Nation­al Park, led by local First Nations Elder, Aun­ty Michelle Jacquelin-Furr. This cul­tur­al walk and talk will explore the deep con­nec­tion between peo­ple and place, reveal­ing the nat­ur­al flow of the sea­sons, the tra­di­tion­al uses of bush plants, and the wis­dom of First Nations peo­ple liv­ing in har­mo­ny with nature.

When: Sun­day 12 October(2 ses­sions available)

Where: Nara­coorte Caves — Won­am­bi Fos­sil Centre

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here.

7. Enjoy the birds of Peno­la Con­ser­va­tion Park — Bird Lover in Res­i­dence Walk 

What: Join in on this bird enthusiast’s walk in Peno­la Con­ser­va­tion Park, which show­cas­es some of the best wet­land, wood­land and open heath envi­ron­ments in the State’s south east. In spring it is also known for its beau­ti­ful wild­flow­ers. It is home to a large num­ber of native bird and oth­er ani­mals species includ­ing many species of wet­land birds, the strik­ing yel­low-tailed black-cock­a­too, echid­na and red-necked wallaby.

When: Sun­day 5 October

Where: Peno­la Con­ser­va­tion Park

Tick­et: For more info and to secure your tick­et click here.

Park of the Month

Through­out Octo­ber, the Nature Fes­ti­val is being cel­e­brat­ed as the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice’s Park of the Month. There are lots of events and activ­i­ties to get involved in, find them here!

Main head­er image cred­it: Rebec­ca McEwan

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