And the Carenne School year eight student has made a good start in achieving that ambition after her gentle lobbying for the ducks in Machattie Park proved fruitful.

A trip to Orange earlier this year – where a sign at the city’s Cook Park asks visitors not to feed bread to the ducks - got Montana thinking about Bathurst’s own Machattie residents.

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So she wrote to mayor Graeme Hanger asking if signs could be put up at the park asking visitors to feed the ducks vegetables like peas, corn or lettuce rather than bread.

The mayor agreed and four signs have been placed around the duck pond giving that advice.

Montana met with Cr Hanger at Machattie Park on Wednesday to see one of the new signs and explain the reason for her letter.

“It makes the ducks sick,” she said of the bread. “It pollutes the water and it’s bad for the fish as well.”

Montana said she had done her research before she wrote to the mayor.

“Bread is bad for the ducks and we should feed them [the ducks] more healthy food,” she said.

She said her experience in convincing Bathurst Regional Council to put up the new signs had shown her the power of one person doing what they think is right.

“One small thing can make a really big difference,” she said.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

Montana, whose idol is animal advocate Bindi Irwin, has an alternative if she can’t be a wildlife warrior.

Her second career option is a pop singer.​