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Your Guide to Wildlife-Friendly Summer Adventures

Summer in Australia is a time when many of us enjoy hot, sunny days spent going to the beach and getting back to nature.

The summer holidays are a time when we get to spend time with family and friends and enjoy our natural surroundings – but summertime also brings unique challenges for our native wildlife. This includes soaring temperatures, a lack of sufficient water, bushfires, and heat stress.

It’s therefore increasingly important that we’re mindful stewards of our natural environment, so that we celebrate summertime in a wildlife-friendly way.

We’ve put together this practical guide on how to make your summer adventures truly wildlife-friendly.

How to Enjoy an Australian Summer in a Wildlife-Friendly Way

Here are some practical tips to help you protect local flora and fauna during the warmer months.

#1: Bushfire Preparedness 

Protecting both homes and natural habitat is important during the summer months in Australia. To do so requires being prepared for bushfires which have become increasingly prevalent and intense in Australia during the summer months.

Reducing the risk of inadvertently starting a bushfire on your property not only helps protect your family and home, but also helps protect nearby wildlife and biodiversity.

How to prepare for a busfire:

• Stay alert about bushfires in your area: Stay informed about bushfires and fire risks by checking your local fire authority’s website and social media channels – and downloading Australian bushfire apps. Have emergency numbers saved on your phone and in your home in case you need them.
• Create a bushfire plan: Having a plan helps you know what to do in case of an emergency. This includes having survival gear, an exit strategy from your home, knowing how to communicate with your family to tell them where you are, and knowing how to care for your pets during an active bushfire.

Make your home bushfire safe: Learn more about how to reduce the risk of a bushfire near your home. Remove dead leaves from gutters, clear flammable materials around your home, create a firebreak, and ensure you have a fire extinguisher and water ready in case of a fire.

#2: Make Water Available for Wildlife This Summer 💦

Summer heat in Australia can reach extremes and wildlife may get dehydrated and heat-stressed. Providing fresh water for wildlife can help significantly by providing them with access to water.

Here are some tips on how to provide water for wildlife:

• Provide clean water (and refill daily): Make sure that nothing is added to the water like sugar as that can be detrimental to wildlife. Change the water daily so that it’s kept fresh and avoids being a breeding area for insects like mosquitos.
• Keep water dishes shallow: Shallow water helps to avoid accidental drowning by wildlife. Examples of shallow water dishes include birdbaths, a shallow dish placed on the ground, and even a repurposed frisbee can be helpful. Adding some stones in the water can help smaller animals to avoid drowning – such as beetles, frogs, and lizards.
• Position the water in the shade: Shaded areas are cooler for wildlife and limit the amount of evaporation compared with full-sun areas.

Contact wildlife experts: If you see wildlife in need of urgent care during or after a wildfire, or due to extreme heat and dehydration, contact a wildlife expert like WIRES to report a rescue.

#3: Get Involved in Beach and Coastal Conservation 🐳

Our country is surrounded by a network of coasts and beaches which are home to an incredible diversity of plantlife and wildlife. A myriad of rivers and streams flow into the ocean all across Australia, each with their own unique ecosystems.

Many of our vulnerable and endangered species live along coasts and beaches, and there’s a lot we can do to help protect them.

Here are tips on how to protect coasts and beaches this summer:

• • Take part in beach and river clean ups: Join CVA this summer in cleaning litter from beaches and rivers and protect our precious wildlife. Litter can pose threats to wildlife – it can be a choking hazard, toxic if injected, and can also create an entanglement hazard for shorebirds, turtles, and even whales. Book your spot at a beach clean up event in 2026 near you.

• Participate in CVA’s SeaToSource Plastic Waste Challenge: Get to know how much plastic waste your household generates and then take guided steps to reduce your plastic consumption – by taking part in our family-friendly SeaToSource Plastic Waste Challenge.

Help revive wetlands: Visit our website’s volunteering events in 2026 page to book a wetlands revival event near you this summer. Volunteers can expect to get involved in weeding and removing invasive plants, planting native seedlings, restoring habitat, conducting plant and animal surveys, and picking up litter.

#4: Assist Heat-Stressed Wildlife in Distress 🐨

In extreme heat conditions with soaring temperatures, animals can experience exhaustion, disorientation and can collapse. If you see a wild animal showing signs of heat-stress, there are things you can do to help, while keeping safe.

Here are some tips for how to help heat-stressed wildlife:

• Keep a distance: Oftentimes animals need a quiet, shaded place to recover and could become increasingly stressed if you get too close.
• Notify a wildlife expert: Call a local wildlife agency or wildlife rescue organisation like WIRES and let them know the location and description of the animal. They have trained staff who can assist.

#5: Make School Holidays a Time for Family Conservation Volunteer 🤸

Our long summer school holidays are a time of much excitement for children. If you’re wondering what fun child-friendly activities to do this summer with your kids, consider giving back with volunteering.

CVA hosts regular family-friendly conservation volunteering events all across Australia where you and your children can take part in hands-on conservation while learning new skills and meeting other people.

Our volunteering activities include beach clean ups, planting seedlings in parks and nature reserves to restore habitat, and building homes for endangered wildlife.

Download the CVA App to check out all upcoming volunteering events taking place near you this summer and reserve your spot by making a booking. Alternatively take a look at our website to see a list of summer volunteer opportunities that you can book to attend.

Nature Blocks: A Year-Round Wildlife-Friendly Activity for All Ages

One activity that you can take part in all year round, no matter the season, is planting a Nature Block in your home or garden. By creating more space across Australia for native wildlife, you can contribute significantly to building back biodiversity and creating important habitat corridors for animals in urban areas.

Nature Blocks help to support and protect wildlife and biodiversity: by planting native species you’re providing more space for nature and creating vital habitats for wildlife that rely on native plants for food and shelter.

Need some inspiration? Here are 10 reasons to create a Nature Block.