Big Beetle Summer
From Plastic Waste to Public Art
Collect, Discover, Make, Count!
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Collect - Sustainability
We need your HDPE plastics! Your donation will help us make the Christmas Beetles. Drop them off at one of our collection points throughout August.
The donated plastic will then be recycled and transformed into the giant Christmas Beetles by Defy Design at their warehouse in Sydney.
By contributing your recycled plastics, you become part of the project’s story.
Drop-off points include:
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North Sydney Community Centre
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North Sydney Council Customer Service Centre
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Discover — Public Artwork
From December to February, 10 giant Christmas Beetles will be hidden throughout Ted Mack Civic Park on Cammeraygal Country, North Sydney.
Made from collected and recycled plastic, these colourful sculptures celebrate one of Australia's most iconic native insects.
Follow the trail to find all 10 beetles and discover how you can contribute to the annual Christmas Beetle Count with Invertebrates Australia.
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Make — Beetle Hub Workshops
The Beetle Hub is a pop-up activation running throughout summer, kicking off with a launch event featuring a hands-on workshop and giveaways.
Join one of our free workshops to explore the world of Christmas Beetles and discover simple ways you can help protect these iconic native insects.
Workshops feature:
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Artist Amy Claire Mills
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Wiradjuri artist Bria McCarthy
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Christmas Beetle scientist Tanya Latty
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Sustainability champions Defy Design
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Count! — iNaturalist
And now for the juicy part! Become a citizen scientist by downloading the iNaturalist app - a place where everyday people help official researches by logging their findings. Its as simple as this:
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Download the iNaturalist app
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Find a bug!
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Take photos of the critter - ideally front, back, top and bottom.
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Upload your images to the app.
Then, the iNaturalist scientific community will come alive and identify your bug, helping thousands of scientists complete their work.
Launch Update!
Join us on Saturday, 5 December at Northside Produce Market in Ted Mack Civic Park on Cammeraygal Country as we launch Big Beetle Summer!
Discover 10 larger-than-life Christmas beetles created from recycled plastics collected by the North Sydney community.
Drop by our pop-up Beetle Hub from 8am -12pm to pick up your beetle map, meet Christmas beetle scientist Dr Tanya Latty, and discover how Defy Design transformed locally collected plastic waste into colourful public artworks.
Celebrate these much-loved insects, explore the park and learn how you can help protect Christmas beetles by taking part in the annual Christmas Beetle Count!
Why Christmas Beetles
For many of us, Christmas Beetles are an iconic symbol of summer, connected to memories of childhood, long afternoons outdoors, and the magic of finding these tiny shimmering insects.
Christmas Beetles get their name because they often appear around December and January, arriving just in time for the festive season. Their bright iridescent colours and sparkling exoskeletons make them one of Australia’s most loved native insects.
But year after year, Christmas Beetles are becoming harder to find as our cities grow and natural habitats disappear. To help protect Christmas Beetles, we first need to understand where they live and how their populations are changing. By joining Invertebrates Australia's Christmas Beetle Count, you can help researchers gather the data needed to support their conservation.
Big Beetle Summer celebrates the joy of noticing, collecting, counting and exploring. Through curiosity and collaboration, we can uncover where the beetles are hiding
and help protect them for the future.
Big Beetle Summer Workshops
Shadow Bugs: Zine-Making with Bria McCarthy
Join shadow puppet artist Bria McCarthy to create your own interactive shadow puppet zine! Write your own imaginative tale of creepy crawlies, then illustrate and cut out your designs to create a book that can become a shadow puppet show!
Workshop Date: Saturday, 12 December 2026
Location: The Stanton Library in North Sydney
Free workshop | Bookings required — registration opening soon!
Beetle Charm Workshop
Join artist Amy Claire Mils for a Beetle Charm workshop where you’ll create your own beetle inspired badge using fabric, beads, and found tiny treasures. Think DIY keepsakes, textured fabric scraps, charms, and whimsical designs. Each piece becomes a small, wearable artwork. Participants will collage, stitch, and assemble their designs using reused fabric scraps, lace, beads, and embellishments.
Workshop Date: Friday, 12 February 2027
Location: Twilight Markets, Ted Mack Civic Park
Free workshop | Bookings required — registration opening soon!
Art + Science Panel Talk
Hear from a panel of artists and scientists, featuring Amy Claire Mills, Tanya Latty, Bria McCarthy and more to be announced. Together, they’ll explore how art and science can connect us to the world around us, asking: How can art help bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and the public? How can multispecies storytelling challenge anthropocentric ways of thinking? And how can citizen science transform our communities?
Panel Date: Friday, 26 February 2026
Location: Twilight Markets, Ted Mack Civic Park
Free workshop | Bookings required — registration opening soon!
Join the Christmas Beetle Count
Invertebrates Australia
In 2022, Tanya Latty and Invertebrates Australia launched the Christmas Beetle Count to gather much-needed data about where Christmas Beetles are found and how their populations are changing.
Every sighting helps researchers build a better understanding of these iconic Australian insects. Whether you spot a Christmas Beetle or another beetle species, your observations are valuable, even if you're not sure exactly what you've found.
To help you get involved, Invertebrates Australia has created a range of easy-to-follow resources, including step-by-step guides and videos that explain how to identify, record and submit your sightings.
Getting started is easy:
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Download the iNaturalist app
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Find a bug!
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Take photos of the critter - ideally front, back, top and bottom.
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Upload your images to the app.
Whether you’re new to beetle spotting or a future entomologist, these resources make it easy to get involved and contribute to the research.
Artist Profile - Amy Claire Mills
Hi, I’m Amy Claire Mills, the artist behind Big Beetle Summer. I’m a textile and installation artist, space maker, and creative producer based in Gadigal/Sydney.
I love creating colourful, immersive worlds that invite people to explore, connect, and become part of the artwork. As a Neurodivergent and Disabled artist, my practice explores themes of advocacy, identity, and Disability Culture. Through collaborative and community-led projects,
I create spaces that platform and amplify Disabled, Deaf and Neurodivergent artists.
My work often takes the form of large-scale installations, workshops, and playful experiences that celebrate creativity, connection, and access. Inviting audiences not just to view art, but to step inside, interact, and help bring it to life.
Photo by: Hilary Wardhaugh courtesy of Canberra Contemporary
Big Beetle Summer acknowledges the Cammeraygal People as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which this project takes place. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and recognise their enduring connection to Country. We honour the knowledge, care and stewardship of the lands, waterways, plants, animals and insects that First Nations peoples have nurtured since time immemorial. Always was, always will be.
Project Commission
Big Beetle Summer has been proudly commissioned by North Sydney Council.
Big Beetle Summer has also been supported by the North Sydney Community Centre.
Contact Us
Keep up to date with Big Beetle Summer by following us on Instagram. Have a question? We'd love to hear from you.
Get in touch via email: christmasbeetlesarecoming@gmail.com