An enthusiastic crowd gathered to be part of the opening of the new Great Koala National Park Information and Visitor Centre at Urunga on Monday.
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Formerly the Urunga Visitor Centre, the facility has had a complete makeover in readiness for its new purpose of promoting the proposed Great Koala National Park, whilst still providing general visitor information.
"It's been a whirlwind of preparation on a virtually non-existent budget to be ready for the Xmas season," said facility coordinator Kevin Evans.
"While there is still plenty to be done to complete our plans, we are confident that we've created a relaxing space for visitors to find out about the park proposal while enjoying a coffee and browsing the merchandise."
Following the Welcome to Country by Aboriginal Elder Micklo Jarrett, Bellingen Shire Mayor Dominic King cut the ribbon and declared the centre officially open for business.
The Great Koala National Park proposal aims to protect 175,000 hectares of public native forest which would be added to the existing reserve system to create a 315,000 hectare network of national parks.
This network of national parks would be dedicated to protecting koala habitat on the mid north coast, while providing significant recreational and tourism opportunities.
"We look forward to showing visitors around and chatting about the importance of protecting koala habitat and the benefits the park would provide our region," Mr Evans said.
The centre will be open daily from 10am to 2pm and will be staffed entirely by volunteers.
