A free community event exploring the landscapes that make this stretch of coast unlike anywhere else in Australia.
Saturday 20 June | 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm | Woolgoolga Community Village Hall, 8 Boundary Street | Free, no booking required
The Coffs Coast sits at one of the most remarkable intersections in Australia. Ancient rainforest meets subtropical ocean, koala country meets living reef, all within a few kilometres of each other. On Saturday 20 June, the National Parks Association of NSW Coffs Coast Branch invites the community to explore what makes this place so extraordinary.
This is the fourth and final event in the 2026 Whispers of Wilderness series, a free program bringing together scientists, conservationists and community members to look closely at the landscapes on our doorstep.
Dr Grahame Douglas AM opens the afternoon with an update on the Great Koala National Park. A long-standing leader of the campaign and President of the NPA Coffs Coast Branch, Grahame will speak to the park’s progress, its relationship to bushfire management, and why this hinterland landscape matters as a climate refugium for koalas and the broader ecosystem.
Professor Kirsten Benkendorff, marine biologist at the National Marine Science Centre at Southern Cross University, will take the audience into the subtropics below the surface, from coral communities at the southern limit of their range to kelp forests under pressure from warming seas.
The afternoon will also see the launch of a new independent report on the Solitary Islands Marine Park, commissioned by the NPA Coffs Coast Branch with support from a City of Coffs Harbour Environmental Levy grant. Authors Iain and Megan Watt will present their findings on the wildlife, habitats and cultural values that make the Solitaries one of Australia’s most distinctive marine environments, and what the future holds for them.
Scientists call this part of the coast the Macleay-McPherson Overlap, where tropical and temperate worlds converge, producing a richness of species found nowhere else in Australia. From the forest floor to the ocean reef, it is extraordinary and it is irreplaceable. Come along on Saturday and hear why it matters.
For more information visit www.npanswcoffscoast.org or email coffs@npansw.org.au