Muswellbrook Council has installed 'Ducks Crossing' signs on Osborn Avenue after a letter-writing campaign by 10-year-old Lissa Anderson.
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When Lissa noticed in August that cars in her street were driving too quickly and endangering the families of nearby native ducks, she said she wanted to warn drivers to slow down.
"There were two families of ducks in the dam behind our house and I saw lots of cars driving really fast and really close to them so I wanted to warn people to drive carefully on our street," Lissa said.
Lissa's mum, Tara Anderson, said after the family found a pair of ducks that had been hit by a car outside their home, Lissa was determined to act.
"It was really sad after we found the ducks because Lissa and I had been doing some research on the duck species and found out they mate for life so it was quite upsetting to find them after they had been hit," Ms Anderson said.
"We had a little burial for them and after that Lissa really wanted to find a way to make it safer for them."
Lissa started by making her own signs asking drivers to be aware of ducks in the area, but wanted a more permanent solution to protect generations to come.
Ms Anderson said she had encouraged Lissa to 'be the change she wanted to see in the world', but that it had been Lissa who came up with the idea to write a letter to Muswellbrook Council Mayor Rod Scholes.
Mr Scholes wrote back to Lissa in September to say the council had agreed to install the signs, and he said he had been inspired by Lissa's sense of civic duty.
"That was one of the main reasons Council wanted to install the signs," Mr Scholes said.
"It was inspiring to see a young member of our community wanting to make a difference and protect the environment in her town for future generations.
"When our community is taking it upon themselves to make a positive change for Muswellbrook, the Council really sees it as our duty to support them and that's why we wanted to help Lissa by installing these signs."
After the delivery of the signs was delayed for several weeks due to COVID lockdowns, the Council got all of their 'ducks in a row' and completed the installation on Osborn Ave on the morning of Wednesday, October 27.
Mr Scholes joined Lissa and mum Tara for a photo at one of the signs on Wednesday afternoon, where he thanked Lissa for her letters and encouraged her to continue to speak up when she saw a need for change in her community.