Festival celebrating iconic South West waterway to make its return teaching important message of conservation

After the success of the inaugural event last year, a South West conservation group is bringing back their festival to celebrate the region’s most iconic waterway.

The Love the Lesch Festival is returning on April 6, bringing together environmental groups from across the South West with the common goal to give the community skills they need to protect the Leschenault Estuary.

The event, brought together by the Leschenault Catchment Council, is part of the Leschenault Estuary Connect Program.

With a jam-packed program, the festival starts from 10am and runs until 3pm at the Ridley Place Foreshore in Australind.

LCC biodiversity program manager Katrina Zeehandelaar-Adams said the festival was building on the success of last year, while giving vital skills to community members.

“Last year’s Love the Lesch festival was an incredible success, with more than 1000 community members showing up to celebrate and protect the Leschenault Estuary,” she said.

“The enthusiasm and engagement we saw was truly inspiring, and this year, we are focusing on giving the community skills they need to help protect the estuary in their day-to-day lives.

“With an exciting line-up of interactive workshops, expert speakers including the nationally renowned Josh Byrne from Gardening Australia and Chris Ferreira from the Forever Project, live music, and family-friendly activities, there’s something for everyone.”

A major push in this year’s festival would be responsible pet ownership following the catastrophic loss of the Fairy Tern super colony at Bunbury Outer Harbour.

The colony, home to an estimated 350 breeding pairs of threatened Fairy Terns, represented nearly 50 per cent of the species’ population along the lower west coast and was decimated by an off-leash dog and a roaming cat.

The brunch will be made by the Bunbury Lions club with K9 Connections, South West NRM and GeoCatch all in attendance to give pet owners information on how to best manage their pets.

Bunbury Animal Rescue Rehome Care will also be bringing puppies to the event for the public to meet.

“We are very excited for people to bring along their dogs this year for brunch in the park and a wealth of information on responsible pet ownership, plus sweet rescue puppies brought along from BARRC,” Mrs Zeehandelaar-Adams said.

A full festival program is on the website at www.leschenaultcc.org.au/lovethelesch