Schools program
We offer a range of on-ground programs for schools and homeschool groups through Bunurong Coast Education.
Topics for presentation include - Dinosaur Discovery, Rockpooling, Geology, Geography, Human Impact, Estaurine Ecology, Freshwater Ecology.
About our Activities
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Our activities usually run for two hours (longer activities upon request).
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A group of up to 25 participants costs $300. Please note that costs increase if activity is longer than 2 hours.
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Schools must provide adequate adult supervision.
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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.
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.
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.
Resources to support school excursions
Coastal Landforms and Landscapes
The main set 'Coasts and Climate Change' has many slides, so you can pick and choose for your audience. Please acknowledge SGCS and Aileen Vening's work when using this material.