Corporate volunteer program: La Perouse
La Perouse area in Kamay Botany Bay National Park
Overview
Volunteer at Congwong Beach, La Perouse. Your team will be in a natural environment, helping to regenerate and care for this beautiful national park, while learning about conservation and sustainability.
- Work
- Corporate and group volunteering
- When
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9.30am to 2.30pm. Confirm your date when booking.
- Where
- Congwong Beach, La Perouse area
- Grade
- Medium. Average fitness required.
- Price
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A full-day program for a group of 20 people or under is $3,000. Catering is available at an additional cost per person.
Half-day programs and programs for larger groups are also available. Email us for more information.
- Entry fees
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Council parking is available on Anzac Parade, La Perouse. Fees apply.
- Equipment
provided - Yes. We provide hand-held gardening tools and gloves. No chemicals are used during this activity.
Your team will get to know each other better as they help us care for this beautiful and precious coastal environment, regenerating native bushlands and restoring endangered local habitat.
The Congwong Beach experience runs from 9.30am to 2.30pm and features:
- Welcome and acknowledgement of Country.
- Tailored team-building activities and games.
- Bush regeneration activity in ecologically important areas.
- A tour through critically endangered banksia scrub.
- Guidance throughout from knowledgeable, friendly Discovery rangers and guides.
- Morning tea and lunch on request (additional fees apply).
Your group will come away from Congwong Beach knowing that they've made a significant contribution to the protection of this important environment. Invasive species are causing widespread damage in the area, particularly to the critically-endangered banksia scrub and grassland. Your team will help us clean up the beach and surrounding areas where these weeds are spreading. Their work will also help protect local threatened animals and birds, which rely on the banksia scrub and grasslands.
It's not unusual to see white-bellied sea eagles and water dragons in the area. If volunteering during the whale migration season your team may see whales and dolphins too.
Contact us
Please email our team if you'd like to book this experience.
Don’t see what you’re looking for or have more questions? Email our team and we’ll find a solution that suits your team and corporate social responsibility goals.
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/volunteer-activities/corporate-volunteer-program-la-perouse/local-alerts
Park info
- in the La Perouse area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park in the Sydney and surrounds region
7am–8.30pm November to March.
7am–7.30pm April to October.
La Perouse park entry gate closed to vehicles between 7pm and 5am all year.
Areas may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
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There are no park entry fees in La Perouse area but you'll need to pay to tour Bare Island. Park entry fees apply in the Kurnell area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park, only.
Buy annual pass.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Corporate volunteer program: La Perouse.
Getting there and parking
Congwong Beach is in the La Perouse area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park, around 17km from Circular Quay. To get to get there from Sydney follow Anzac Parade south to La Perouse.
To access Congwong Beach:
- From the sign at the south end of Cann Park, take the 100m path down to the beach.
- From the carpark on Anzac Parade, opposite Endeavour Avenue, follow the Congwong trail
Road quality
- Sealed roads
Vehicle access
- 2WD vehicles
Weather restrictions
- All weather
Parking
We recommend carpooling or shuttle bus. Council parking is available on Anzac Parade. Fees apply.
By public transport
Take bus L94 or 394 to La Perouse from Circular Quay, Martin Place, or Hyde Park via Maroubra Junction. Visit Transport for NSW for details.
Maps and downloads
Visitor centre
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La Perouse Museum
The Old Cable Station, 1542 Anzac Parade, La Perouse NSW 2036 - 02 9093 6190
Learn more
Corporate volunteer program: La Perouse is in La Perouse area. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
Aboriginal culture
At the time of the first encounters with Europeans, Aboriginal people of 2 different nations - the Goorawal People and the Gweagal People - were living in the area which now includes Kamay Botany Bay National Park. Over 30 Aboriginal sites have been recorded in the park, including rock art and engravings.
- Blak Markets at Bare Island Visit Blak Markets at La Perouse, to discover the best of Aboriginal culture. There'll be traditional dance performances, arts and craft stalls, weaving and bush tucker.
- Dharawal Resting Place track Walk the short track to Dharawal Resting Place to discover this important La Perouse Aboriginal site, that’s also steeped in Sydney’s colonial history.
Sharing traditional knowledge
The Gamay Rangers have been appointed as ‘honorary rangers’ for Kamay Botany Bay National Park. Part of the Commonwealth Indigenous Ranger Program, which is designed to support Indigenous Australians to protect and conserve land and sea Country, the Gamay Rangers work alongside the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Gamay team share traditional knowledge and techniques, and are involved in the management of natural and cultural resources, protection of marine wildlife, and operation of the national parks on their cultural areas.
- Blak Markets at Bare Island Visit Blak Markets at La Perouse, to discover the best of Aboriginal culture. There'll be traditional dance performances, arts and craft stalls, weaving and bush tucker.
- Dharawal Resting Place track Walk the short track to Dharawal Resting Place to discover this important La Perouse Aboriginal site, that’s also steeped in Sydney’s colonial history.
Historic heritage
Two of Australia's earliest European explorers landed in Botany Bay here—James Cook in 1770, and the Comte de Laperouse in 1788. Cook's botanists, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, first explored Australia's natural world here. After the reports of Cook and Banks, Botany Bay was recommended as a suitable site for settlement. But upon inspection by Captain Arthur Phillip it was found unsuitable as it had no secure fresh water or suitable anchorage. Sydney Cove was set up as the penal colony instead. You can also explore the fascinating history of Bare Island Fort on a guided tour, see World War II military remnants at Henry Head, or learn more at La Perouse Museum.
- Bare Island and Cape Banks ultimate day tour Uncover the wealth of history along the shores of La Perouse, Kamay Botany Bay National Park. From a shipwreck to the Henry Head fortifications, there's plenty to delve into on this guided tour.
- Bare Island Fort guided tour Join this guided tour to hear about the unpredictable history of Bare Island Fort at La Perouse. We'll cross a 130-year-old wooden bridge and enter a world of fine engineering and great deception.
- Bound for Botany Bay In 1770, James Cook and his crew aboard the Endeavour were bound for Botany Bay. Their 8-day stay would have a dramatic impact on the future of Australia. This Stage 2 (Years 3-4) History excursion explores the first British landing on Australian soil.
- Cape Banks walking track Cape Banks walking track is a beautiful coastal walk in La Perouse with views across Sydney’s Botany Bay. Start at Congwong Beach and take a swim along the way before passing Henry Head. Continue to Cape Banks, a fantastic spot for whale watching.
- Dharawal Resting Place track Walk the short track to Dharawal Resting Place to discover this important La Perouse Aboriginal site, that’s also steeped in Sydney’s colonial history.
Biodiversity
Much of the park’s unspoilt flora give an idea of the plants that were present pre-1770. A conservation effort to protect and rehabilitate rare and threatened species and ecosystems is underway to preserve this heritage-listed Sydney park. Henry Head walking track leads through the rare eastern suburbs banksia scrub now listed as an endangered ecological species.
- Cape Banks walking track Cape Banks walking track is a beautiful coastal walk in La Perouse with views across Sydney’s Botany Bay. Start at Congwong Beach and take a swim along the way before passing Henry Head. Continue to Cape Banks, a fantastic spot for whale watching.
- Jennifer Street boardwalk Jennifer Street boardwalk is a short, wheelchair-accessible walking track in La Perouse. The smooth, boarded path is popular with all ages looking for an easy weekend walk in Sydney.
Visitor experiences
La Perouse offers a real escape just minutes from the city and close to cafes and public transport. Take a day trip to go bushwalking, whale watching or fishing. Learn more about the early European explorers, and Aboriginal stories, at the fascinating exhibits in La Perouse Museum tell. Enjoy a picnic, cafes and fish ’n’ çhips and watch the sun set over the bay. Keep an eye out for guided tours of Bare Island Fort.
Plants and animals protected in this park
Animals
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White-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
White-bellied sea eagles can be easily identified by their white tail and dark grey wings. These raptors are often spotted cruising the coastal breezes throughout Australia, and make for some scenic bird watching. Powerful Australian birds of prey, they are known to mate for life, and return each year to the same nest to breed.
Plants
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Blueberry ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus)
The blueberry ash is a rainforest shrub which produces blue olive-shaped berries and spectacular bell-shaped flowers, which often appear on the plant together. It is a tall slender shrub or small tree found in rainforest, tall eucalypt forest and coastal bushland in eastern NSW, south-east Queensland and Victoria.
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Flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi)
The delicate flannel flower is so named because of the soft woolly feel of the plant. Growing in the NSW south coast region, extending to Narrabri in the Central West and up to south-east Queensland, its white or pink flowers bloom all year long, with an extra burst of colour in the spring.
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Old man banksia (Banksia serrata)
Hardy Australian native plants, old man banksias can be found along the coast, and in the dry sclerophyll forests and sandstone mountain ranges of NSW. With roughened bark and gnarled limbs, they produce a distinctive cylindrical yellow-green banksia flower which blossoms from summer to early autumn.
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Smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata)
Smooth-barked apple gums, also known as Sydney red gum or rusty gum trees, are Australian native plants found along the NSW coast, and in the Sydney basin and parts of Queensland. Growing to heights of 15-30m, the russet-coloured angophoras shed their bark in spring to reveal spectacular new salmon-coloured bark.