Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society

24/08/2026

Oatley Park Bee Walks

In July, Nikki Leung gave a very popular talk on Native Bees in Oatley Park, setting a new record for attendance numbers. This month, OFF took a different approach to its monthly field day, which was comprised of three small group tours of Oatley Park with Nikki. Although the limit of 5 per group meant we had to disappoint some people, those lucky enough to go experienced a close up and detailed introduction to the native bees of Oatley Park.
We learnt about the bees we saw busy at work on wattle, pea and hardenbergia. We inspected tiny bee nests in sandy embankments, old tree trunks and along some tracks. Our local native bees range in size from just 3 mm to 20mm, and are not impacted by varroa mite. They have benefited greatly from the drop in European honey bees, and this has helped to shore up our local biodiversity.
A tumulus is the loose dirt or soil pushed to the surface when ground-dwelling insects dig their underground tunnels. (eg ant nests). We learnt to identify bee tumuli, and watched fascinated as a female guarded each entrance, moving aside to let the busy workers come and go on their food forays.
Nikki has quickly developed an extraordinary level of expertise on our local bees - she has even found two as yet unpublished species! She has generously shared that knowledge with us, and her photography is outstanding. Huge thanks to Nikki.

22/08/2026

22/08/2026

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13/08/2026

Monday 17th August-
General Meeting.
Please join us for a fascinating talk about The North West Passage. The talk will be followed by a social supper - an opportunity to catch up with friends and make new ones - please bring a plate😃

02/08/2026

🌳🍿👫💦👌💚👏💦👫🍿🌳
Early this week, OFF was proud to attend the inspiring premiere of "These Creeks Connect Us" hosted by Georges Riverkeeper.

It was wonderful to see a full house of people united by a shared passion for our creeks, waterways and the Georges River.

The film is a powerful reminder that the health of these precious natural places is closely linked to the wellbeing of our communities and future generations.

Congratulations to Georges Riverkeeper and everyone involved in bringing this outstanding project to life, with the support of Sydney Water and Fairfield City Council.

A special thank you to Councillor Peter Mahoney: and Councillor Matt Allison: for their continued support of our environment and for standing alongside the community at this important event.

OFF, together with our sister environmental organisations, look forward to hosting a local community screening soon to inspire even more people to care for our waterways and the wildlife that depends on them. 😇

30/07/2026

😇🩵Congratulations🩵😇
🩵🌳 Kim Wagstaff 🌳🩵
👫from the community👫

OFF warmly congratulates Kim on receiving a Mayoral Certificate of Achievement in recognition of his outstanding 14 years of service as a Community Representative on Georges Riverkeeper and his recent induction onto the Georges Riverkeeper Honour Board.

Kim has been a passionate advocate for the Georges River, dedicating countless hours to water quality monitoring, Streamwatch, stormwater initiatives, wastewater advocacy, microplastics research and community education.

OFF has been proud to work alongside Kim through river conservation activities, citizen science, clean-up events and our shared commitment to protecting the natural environment we all treasure.

Kim’s knowledge, generosity and commitment have inspired many volunteers and helped strengthen the community’s connection with our waterways.

Thank you Kim for your incredible contribution to protecting the Georges River and its ecosystems for future generations. This recognition is thoroughly deserved. 🌊🌱👏

29/07/2026

👫💦🪱🌳🚮😇🚯🌳🦠💦👫
OFF Streamwatchers were back at Dairy Creek today, keeping a close eye on the health of our local waterways.

Our volunteers carried out regular water testing and rubbish collection, with great news from the results, all water quality readings were within normal ranges.

The litter audit found the usual offenders, including plastic scraps and cigarette butts, highlighting the ongoing need to stop rubbish entering our creeks.

For more than 10 years, OFF volunteers have been removing litter from Myles Dunphy Reserve and Dairy Creek, preventing hundreds of thousands of pieces of rubbish from reaching the Georges River and helping keep Oatley cleaner.

A huge thank you to our dedicated volunteers for their ongoing commitment, and to Councillor Peter Mahoney: for his continued support in protecting our local environment.

Want to get involved? Details are available in the Oatley Flora and Fauna monthly newsletter:

[https://www.oatleyflorafauna.org.au/index.php/newsletters/]

26/07/2026

🌳🧑‍🌾🌿👫🌭🥤👫🌿🧑‍🌾🌳
Today, OFF members enjoyed celebrating National Tree Day by joining the Georges River Council Bushcare team at Gannons Park for a fantastic community day.

A big thank you to Mallory and Fiona from Georges River Council for allocating OFF our own quiet designated planting area. 😇

Always lovely to have Councillor Peter Mahoney: and Councillor Matt Allison: join us and support this important community event.

It was wonderful to see volunteers of all ages working together to plant native trees, shrubs and groundcovers, helping restore local bushland and create valuable habitat for wildlife.

A huge thank you to the Oatley Lions Club for putting on a delicious spread for all the hardworking volunteers, it was very much appreciated. 👏

We were also delighted to collect our two free native plants from the excellent selection on offer and enjoyed the educational display highlighting invasive weeds found across our LGA.

Days like today show what can be achieved when the community, Council and volunteers work together to protect and enhance our local environment. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a success! 🌱😇💚