Excursions
We provide engaging experiences for all year levels that are linked to the curriculum at our:
Sustainability Education Centre in Cheltenham
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary in Beaumaris
Toolangi State Forest in Toolangi
Feel free to contact us to talk about ALL your incursion and excursion needs.
KINDER EXCURSIONS
Minibeast Safari
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
A hands-on investigation into the wonderful world of Minibeasts and the roles they play in two separate habitats: the garden and the compost bin.
Recycling Rules
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Using story, song and hands-on exploration, students are introduced to the magic of recycling, how to identify what products are made from and how to choose the right bin.
Wonderful World of Worms
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Discover how worms can help to reduce your waste! Story, song, puppets and real live worms help you explore their favourite foods and more.
Beach Secrets
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Explore the beautiful Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary with all of your senses! We take you on a journey along the sandy beach to discover items washed ashore. Explore the rock platform to discover the creatures that make this special place their home. Discover our guided play based learning stations to uncover more secrets of the beach!
FOUNDATION – Level 2 Excursions
Earth’s Treasures
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Our amazing planet contains hidden treasures. Embark on a journey of discovery as we explore every day materials and identify connections to natural resources.
Living Connections
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
All living things are connected. Examine the changes plants and animals undergo as they grow and discover their key features that help them survive in our fascinating world.
I Sea Changes
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary is a unique protected area that incorporates intertidal rock pools and sandy beaches. Through hands-on exploration and personal observations, students will discover the plants and animals that live in this protected place and how human use of these areas have changed over time and with the seasons.
Sand Safari
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Inspire connectedness and stewardship towards each other and a local marine sanctuary and ecosystem. This low cost, playful and educational 2 hour program will delight students and teachers alike!
LEVELS 3 & 4 Excursions
Natural Links
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Planet Earth is a complex environment that relies on delicate links and sophisticated relationships between living and non-living elements. Classify natural objects and organisms while exploring the interconnectedness and importance of a balanced environment.
Everything Beachy
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Explore the intertidal rockpools and sandy beaches of a Marine Sanctuary and discover common marine creatures with adaptations for survival in this harsh intertidal environment. Explore the ways human activities can impact on our coastlines and how this can impact on the balanced ecosystems in these regions.
Forest Discovery
Toolangi State Forest
Discover the forest environment’s tall trees, soft ferns, mountain creeks, and prickly plants! Use all your senses to find signs of the wildlife that live in the forests.
LEVELS 5 & 6 Excursions
5R’s of the Circular Economy: Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Explore responsible consumerism and waste minimisation. It allows students to understand the principals of a linear v a circular economy and introduces students to new innovation that’s transforming waste into worth. We explore what’s hot about compost and maggots, and the journey of products and their planned obsolescence and how we can make a difference in our every day lives.
Tidal Survival
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Discover the intertidal rockpools, sandy beaches and coastal vegetation of a marine sanctuary, discovering common sea creatures, explore their array of adaptations for intertidal survival and human impacts upon the marine ecosystem.
Fire and the Forest
Toolangi State Forest
Fires have been a natural part of the Victorian forest environment for thousands of years. Investigate how bushfires affect the environment, plants, animals and local communities of Toolangi, and discuss the different ways humans have viewed and managed fire while they have been living in Australia. This tour will visit a majestic intact Mountain Ash Forest and logging coupe, and will also stop off to compare and contrast the eucalypt forest with the lush Cool Temperate Rainforest. Teachers may choose an optional activity for students to complete introductory-level fieldwork sketching and data collection tasks as a part of Victorian Geography curriculum.
Forest Transformations (Adaptations in the Forest)
Toolangi State Forest
The constantly changing forests of Toolangi are home to rich ecosystems, amazing biodiversity and a bounty of resources. Explore the ways in which the plants and animals of the forest have adapted to their environment over time. Learn what makes these forests healthy, discuss the different ways that people have manipulated them over time, and evaluate the sustainability of present management choices. Teachers may choose an optional activity for students to complete introductory-level fieldwork sketching and data collection tasks as a part of Victorian Geography curriculum.
LEVELS 7 & 8 Excursions
Intertidal Food Webs & Classification
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Explore the intertidal rockpools and sandy beaches of the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Discover the similarities and differences between organisms, and uncover human impacts on this fragile ecosystem.
Bushfires and the Environment
Toolangi State Forest
Wildfires are a natural force of the environment that can have tremendous impact on both living and non-living factors in the forest. Investigate how fire affects the plant, animal and human communities in Toolangi; discover how it can change entire landscapes in a short period of time; and complete a hands-on fieldwork data measurement activity to assess present bushfire hazard. The day trip includes a visit to a variety of forest ecosystems, where comparisons will be made between the Mountain Ash and Messmate Eucalypt Forests and a Cool Temperate Rainforest.
Going with the Flow
Toolangi State Forest
During this excursion, explore the importance of water to the environment and people. Discuss how forests like Toolangi’s contribute to creating, collecting, storing and filtering water, and explore natural and human influences on water movement and quality. Perform field work data collection activities that compare water quality at the start of a river system to that of your school’s local area.
Tale of Two Forests
Toolangi State Forest
Forests are more than just a bunch of trees! Explore the difference between State Forests and National Parks, the way different user groups view the forest, the similarities and differences between the Mountain Ash forest and cool temperate rainforest, the timber harvesting process and other human impacts. Students will have multiple opportunities for observations for primary field work information collection as they tour these remarkable locations.
LEVELS 9 & 10 Excursions
Adapting to changes in Marine Environments
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Explore the intertidal rockpools and sandy beaches of Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Discover how abiotic factors influence the distribution of species on the rocky platform and how organisms have adapted to these highly variable conditions.
Biomes and Food Security
Toolangi State Forest
The ecosystems of the Victorian Central Highlands have distinctive characteristics which help to class the region firmly as part of a Temperate Forest Biome. Explore this special region as a versatile and reliable source of water, food and fibre; consider the impacts that human resource provisioning has on local ecosystems and the biome as a whole. Complete fieldwork activities that investigate the impact of logging on the local ecosystem, and discuss the economic vs environmental decisions being made by present land managers.
Our Forests Our Future
Toolangi State Forest
Forests are vital for our future. Explore the many values our forests provide and assess how they are managed to reduce human-induced change for future sustainability. As a part of the program’s emphasis on the impacts of climate change, students will perform fieldwork data collection activities related to the carbon sequestration capability of the Mountain Ash forest.
LEVEL 11 Excursions
VCE Biology Fieldwork (Unit 1 Area of Study 2)
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Students will discover the physiology and behaviour of common marine species within Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and how these adaptations assist their survival in this challenging environment. Abiotic factors in the environment will also be introduced and how these impact species internal systems (homeostasis). Students will undertake a field investigation across the intertidal zone to gain a better understanding of the relationships between organisms within an ecosystem. They will have the opportunity to develop their fieldwork skills including quadrat surveys, species identification, classification, observation and data recording.
Hazards and Disasters in the Forest (VCE Geography Unit 1)
Toolangi State Forest
Explore the magnificent forest ecosystems of the Victorian Central Highlands, and investigate the hydro-meteorological hazards and disasters that characterise the region. Visit sites with contrasting ecological functions and response to bushfire, and that are at varying stages of recovery from such disaster. Discuss human responses to the region’s bushfire hazards and disasters, including prediction of risk and vulnerability, planning protection and mitigation, recovery and reconstruction. Complete fieldwork activities that will collect primary data for the unit’s SAC requirement.
The Forest Environment (Enviro Science Unit 1)
Toolangi State Forest
Discover the forest environment, its structure, functions and natural processes and the impact of man from aboriginal communities to European Settlers and modern day society. We explore: Biotic and Abiotic components; Energy Flow in ecosystems; Explore plant communities in different ecosystems; Changes occurring in the forest including human-induced changes; Plant and animals adaptations; and undertake essential field work (quadrats) to study plants within a Wet Forest.
LEVEL 12 Excursions
Leadbeater’s Possums (Enviro Science Unit 3)
Toolangi State Forest
During this 4 hour program, visit the majestic mountain ash forests of Toolangi, exploring the intricate ecosystems found in the Victorian Central Highlands and a clear felled logging coupe. Discuss present management of the forests and how this affects overall biodiversity and that of the survival of the Leadbeater’s Possum. Students will make observations and have the option of collecting data to be used for the Outcome’s Assessment task in relation to the management of this threatened endemic species.
Relationships with Forests (O&E Studies Unit 3)
Toolangi State Forest
From the prehistoric beginnings of Australia’s forests to those we know today, explore both the ancient and newer ecosystems of Toolangi and how they have changed over time. In this 4 hour program, you will discuss the relationships between humans and forests, comparing the attitudes and management ethos of the land by Indigenous Australians and the continent’s European colonists. Explore contemporary political, social and economic views of the forest, and how they affect the way in which Toolangi’s forests are utilized today. Students will be able to make practical observations in order to complete journal entries/reports for Outcome Assessment tasks.
Wood as a Resource (VCE Product Design Unit 1 + VET Building & Construction)
Toolangi State Forest
On this tour of Toolangi State Forest, learn about the forest ecosystems and how they are managed for multiple uses, including the provision of timber resources. Explore how environmental factors can affect timber quality and quantity, discuss the sustainability choices available to timber manufacturing industries and consumers, the value of native forests and the environmental legislation that protects them, economic influences, and the impacts of logging on wildlife and endangered species.
SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM EXCURSIONS
Fun out of the Sun
Cheltenham Sustainability Education Centre
Bring your multi-age School Holiday Program children to explore our Sustainability Education Centre to investigate your choice of themes. Choose between two or four-hour programs with a raft of exciting activities to choose from.
Sand Safari
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
Bring your multi-age School Holiday Program children to explore the intertidal rockpools and sandy beaches of a marine sanctuary! Discover common sea creatures and their adaptations for survival and uncover human impacts. This program inspires connectedness and stewardship towards each other and a local marine sanctuary and ecosystem. This low cost, playful and educational 2 hour program will delight students and teachers alike!
Forest Adventure
Toolangi State Forest
Bring your multi-age School Holiday Program children to explore the wonders of Toolangi State Forest! Visit tall trees, soft ferns, mountain creeks and discover the magnificent animals that live in the forest! It’s an adventure that will use and excite all the senses and give students a day they will cherish and remember for many years to come!
