The aromas of coffee and delicious fresh produce usually capture all the attention at the Newcastle City Farmers Market, but on Sunday morning shoppers' curiosity was piqued by something more colourful.
Performers from Newcastle's esteemed theatre troupe, Curious Legends, were roving the Broadmeadow market stalls dressed as a koala, frog and a black cockatoo to draw attention to a community-led initiative to preserve the Link Road Forest as a national park.
The appearance also coincided with National Tree Day.
Eden Estates is proposing to build 4200 dwellings on 574 hectares of bushland on either side of the Newcastle Link Road, which straddles both Newcastle and Lake Macquarie council areas and is bordered by Wallsend, Cameron Park, Elermore Vale and Glendale.
The City of Newcastle has thrown its support behind the drive for the national park, but the planning determination for Eden Estates has been taken over by the NSW government.
The proposal is in the pre-exhibition stage.
Curious Legends performer and environmental science student Phoebe Carter-Swain said she wanted to volunteer her time to support the Save Link Road Forest campaign and help make the broader Newcastle public aware of the environmental importance of the site.
"It's an exciting way rather than just saying, 'Forests are getting cut down'," Ms Carter-Swain said.
"We come in with, 'Hey, there are actually really cute little animals that live there and probably benefit our crops and our agriculture and our industries in the Hunter region'.
"That part of the picture is really important as well to consider. Our animals and our bushland corridors are decreasing, and animals really need corridors for animals to move through a habitat and move through a region.
"Link Road Forest represents a really holistic and enriching habitat for that to occur in, and it is already occurring. We have resting, breeding, and feeding occurring in these sites.
"We're being a visual reminder of that, which is fun, because you can't be all doom and gloom."
The Save Link Road Forest campaign has been manning a stand with petitions at the Newcastle City Farmers Market for the past three months.
Campaign spokesperson Charmian Eckersley said the cause has broad community support. An e-petition has more than 16,000 signatures, and a paper version has 3,500.
"The community aspect of having a park like this, whether it be Landcare, birds, bushwalkers, orienteers, or the works - that's what can go on in a national park, especially one close to a city like this," Ms Eckersley said.
"This is really special. The thing is to spend the money, get the park, get the land bought back, and don't rezone it. That's what we're saying to the state government: do not rezone this land, because then it will be unaffordable to the community to purchase back.
"That's the last thing we want. We want them to buy it and invest in it. And the community will rally, I am sure."
Ms Eckersley estimated that the bushland stores up to 200,000 tonnes of carbon in its trees, plants and soil and is home to 400 species.
There's even been a rare recent sighting of the critically endangered Wyong Sun Orchid, renowned for its bright blue flowers.
Ms Eckersley said she hopes to convince Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery to support the push for a national park.
