A community-run, not-for-profit conservation centre on 45 hectares of wetland at Shortland, 13 kilometres from central Newcastle, within the Hunter estuary wetlands recognised as internationally significant under the Ramsar convention. The site doubles as nature reserve and visitor destination: walking trails thread the ponds, canoes and kayaks go out on the water, and dip-netting sessions, guided tours and a children's discovery playground round out the program, with bird watching the quiet mainstay.