Sweet guest glides in for free NAIDOC event

Families are invited to meet Cumberland’s ‘sweetest’ new residents, with a family of sugar gliders taking pride of place alongside brush tail and ring tail possums.
Mayor Greg Cummings welcomed the diminutive frequent flyers and invited residents to drop by and say hello during the free Fun4Kids event.
The Fun4Kids ‘Warali Wali’ is a free NAIDOC event (10am-noon) featuring free carnival rides, performing arts displays, outdoor cinema, meet and greet with indigenous sports players and many other fun activities.
Mayor Cummings says sugar gliders are the perfect stars for the council’s new nocturnal house.
“Sugar gliders are native to Cumberland and the little marsupials are rightly world famous for their ability to glide from tree to tree,” he said.
Historically their numbers have declined as hollow bearing trees were felled for timber or to make way for farmland.
“However regeneration efforts by local councils, conservationist groups and volunteers, have started to turn this around,” he said.
“In response the council has installed 15 sugar glider habitat boxes, which act as a substitute for tree hollows.
“The sugar gliders will be right at home among the other native animals at Merrylands Central Gardens, including kangaroos, wallabies, emus and potoroos.”