Schools and Groups Education Programs
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We offer a range of programs through Bunurong Coast Education, with an interdisciplinary curriculum approach to topics in science, mathematics, humanities, english and the arts. Students on our programs explore different ways of thinking, problem-solving and communicating, as well as learning how to plan, analyse, evaluate and present their work.
We welcome school and homeschool groups, community and social groups, and private bookings for families, friends and professional groups visiting our fascinating coastline. Please also check in with our holiday programs which run during the summer and other school holiday periods here.
About our Activities
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Our activities usually run for two hours (longer activities upon request).
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Groups of up to 25 participants costs $250. For larger school and private groups, costs are $10 per student. Please note that costs increase if activity is longer than 2 hours.
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Schools must provide adequate adult supervision and children in private groups must be accompanied by an adult.
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Many of our excursions rely on low tide. Before selecting your dates, please check the Inverloch tides to ensure that low tide will be at a suitable time (not too early or late in the day).
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Most of our excursions begin at the Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch before travelling to site (usually several kilometres away). You will require your own transport to travel to site.
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Browse our excursion offerings below. If there is something you want to do that is missing, please describe it on the booking form.
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Our Excursions
Find out more about our study excursions on coast and beaches, forests and woodlands, estuarine ecology, rockpooling, geology and dinosaur discovery.
The sandstone rock platforms of the Bunurong Coast contain the highest diversity of intertidal and sub-tidal invertebrate species along the Victorian coastline.
The beaches here offer many opportunities to explore this coastal area, study a variety of ecosystems and gain an insight into what lives in the ocean beyond the low tide areas.
The dynamic estuarine areas of Anderson's Inlet, from Inverloch to Tarwin Lower, are ideal sites for school excursions as they contain expansive intertidal environments.
The forest reserve adjacent to the township of Koonwarra, the open woodland in the Thompson's Estate, Inverloch, and the coastal scrub near Screw Creek at Inverloch provide a variety of ecosystems for investigation.
Our fragile environment is easily damaged by human activities such as urban development, pollution and intensive fishing.
Resources for Schools
SGCS has been supporting school programs for several years, providing slide presentations with expert commentary, as well as guiding fieldwork activities. We are now keen to make this material available to a wider audience, as below. We welcome feedback and ideas about improving the material provided, and our presenters are still keen to accompany schools when possible. SGCS member Aileen Vening put these sets together, and is happy to discuss them and provide extra information. When available she is happy to accompany school groups.
Background and Fieldwork Support for Schools
Fieldwork at Inverloch can meet the curriculum requirements of several learning areas and year levels. These include:
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VCE Outdoor and Environmental Education Units 1, 3 and 4
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Geography Years 5, 6; Year 8 Landforms & Landscapes; Year 10 Unit 1 Environmental Change & Management; VCE Unit 1 Natural & Ecological Hazards;
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Science - Earth and Space Sciences Years 3 and 4
Suggested Field Sites
The best time to visit is around low tide.
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Screw Creek - mudflats and mangroves, estuary, Townsend Bluff headland
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Eagles Nest - The Caves, headlands, cliff, wave cut platforms, stack, beach and dunes, Petrel Rock
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Abbott Street/Ramsay Boulevard – lagoon and build-up of sand transported from the surf beach into Anderson Inlet, new dunes
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Inverloch Surf Beach – use the slide from the Inverloch Coastal Resilience Study showing how much the beach has receded at different points between the SLSC and the rock wall at the Bunurong Road corner. It’s about 50 metres from the end of the pathway leading to the beach at the SLSC – a good exercise for students to measure. Observe the remaining wet sand fencing, sand bagging. Walk west to the rock wall at the Bunurong Road corner. Note the mouth of Wreck Creek has moved twice in the last 18 months and there is now just a narrow sliver of sand and vegetation between the creek running parallel to the beach, and the beach. You may see some of the Amazon shipwreck – there is a signpost adjacent at the back of the beach.
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Rotary Park – east of boat ramp, rapid erosion here (why?)
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Boat ramp – tidal channels of Tarwin River; human impact and management
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Point Smythe - sand spit visible from all locations.