Learn about koala conservation in the Hawkesbury at Koala Fest 2019, Windsor

From 10am until 2pm there will a range of activities and stalls dedicated to raising awareness about koala conservation in our area.

Founder of the Cumberland Reach Landcare Group and coordinator of the event, Richard Benson, said the event was about raising community engagement levels for the plight of the koala.

"It's all about bringing State Government, Local Government, community organisations - including citizen science groups - together to education the community and talk to them about the sorts of projects they're working on to save koalas and their natural environment," Mr Benson said.

"It's also about educating the community as to how they can get involved - whether that's joining Bushcare groups, Landcare Groups, or getting funding for their own private land for conservation projects."

This will be the second Koala Fest following a successful inaugural event in Kurrajong Village last year.

Mr Benson said this year the team of organisers, including those from Hawkesbury Environment Network (HEN) where he is an office bearer, were hoping for a bigger crowd, around 1,000 or more.

The event is free to attend there will activities for children including face painting and photo opportunities with 'Cranky Koala', as well as live music and entertainment.

"This year we'll have food trucks and a festival-type atmosphere for the first time," Mr Benson said.

"We're also putting out for expressions of interest for people in the community who want to hold an environmental-based stall at the event."

Dr Kellie Leigh - executive director and lead research scientist from not-for-profit organisation Science for Wildlife, which runs the Blue Mountains Koala Project which includes the Hawkesbury area - said it was "really important for the community to get involved" in Koala Fest, and more broadly, koala conservation.

"Kurrajong is the main koala hotspot in the Hawkesbury, where koalas are coming down from the national park areas, and they're spreading right across from Grose Vale and wherever the good Cumberland soils are," Dr Leigh said.

"Good koala habitats are down in the built-up areas and that's also where they are more at risk from dogs and vehicle collisions."

The Blue Mountains Koala Project has been surveying koalas in the area since 2014 and Dr Leigh said her research showed some of the most genetically-diverse koalas in Australia were in the Hawkesbury-Blue Mountains areas.

She will be sharing her research at Koala Fest, and also sharing information about how locals can get involved through citizen science and volunteering as surveyors.

To report koala sightings and contribute to Dr Leigh's research go to scienceforwildlife.org/how-to-help/join-our-koala-project/.

Koala Fest is being sponsored by Hawkesbury City Council and all are welcome.