2015 Environmental Learning Program
for schools
Brisbane City Council environment centres
Environmental learning in Brisbane’s natural areas
The Downfall Creek Bushland Centre and Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre are an
important part of Council’s vision of being a clean, green city.
The environment centres’ mission states:
‘Brisbane’s environment centres motivate and empower people for action to create a green and
sustainable city. People of all ages are encouraged to appreciate, learn and connect with the
environment and their community through stimulating and fun experiences. They provide
information and hands-on experience for people to discover how to live in harmony with the
environment.’

Downfall Creek Bushland Centre is located within the Raven Street Reserve. The
reserve includes 33 hectares of dry eucalypt woodland and heath understorey, a natural
creek line with viewing platform, more than 115 different bird species and more than 200
native plant species. The reserve has several kilometres of walking and bike tracks, most
with wheelchair access.
The 200-metre Mountains to Mangroves Senses Trail, located beside the centre, is
designed as a self-guided walk and caters for a wide range of groups with special needs.
Features include a continuous handrail, a range of interpretive signage with braille and
raised text and accompanying plant guide.

Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre is located within the Boondall Wetlands
Reserve. The reserve includes 1100 hectares of tidal flats, mangroves, grasslands, salt
marshes, melaleuca and casuarina swamps and woodlands.
The internationally-significant wetlands are part of a chain of Ramsar-listed coastal
wetlands linked with Moreton Bay. Boondall Wetlands has a rich Aboriginal history and is
an important place for cultural learning. The wetlands feature contemporary Indigenous
art totems and can be experienced by extensive walking and bike tracks – all trails have
wheelchair access.
The Environmental Learning Program
Every year, thousands of students visit Downfall Creek Bushland Centre and Boondall Wetlands
Environment Centre to participate in fun-filled experiential lessons in Council’s bushland and
wetlands reserves. All lessons are:

developed by our team of environmental educators

Australian and Education Queensland curricula integrated and focused

supported by a teacher resource kit, complete with a lesson overview and pre-visit and
post-visit activities.
Other Council programs offered by the environment centres
School holiday activity program - join the environment centre staff on a fun-filled adventure
exploring Council’s reserves. Activities are free or low cost and cater to a variety of age levels.
Volunteer program - includes interpretive and event volunteering opportunities.
Weekend guided walks - free volunteer-guided walks at the Boondall Wetlands Environment
Centre are available to the general public and community groups.
For more information, please contact the environment centres directly. Contact details are on the
back page of this brochure. Bookings are essential.
Council offers a variety of other community programs including Active Parks, GOLD (Growing
Old, Living Dangerously), GOLD 'n' Kids and Chill Out.
For more information, please visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call Council on (07) 3403 8888.
Learning naturally with the environment centres
The following is a guide to Council’s Environmental Learning Program for Downfall Creek
Bushland Centre and Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre. To reserve your lesson, please
follow the ‘How to book’ section on the back page of this brochure. All lessons are two hours in
duration unless otherwise specified in the lesson description. Lessons are delivered at the
relevant centres as well as various off site locations throughout Brisbane, for more information
please speak to centre staff.
Australian Curriculum (Geography, History and Science, including General Capabilities and
Cross-Curriculum Priorities) for each lesson are provided upon booking a lesson or on request.
Lessons will be updated to include the remaining Australian Curricular as they are developed.
Queensland Authority Senior subject linkages for each lesson are also available on request. For
lesson locations and subject areas, please see ‘Key to abbreviations and symbols’ at the bottom
of the table.
Topic
Location
Description
Year Level and Australian Curriculum Sub-strand (P–10)
Amazing
arthropods
DCBC
or
KFDC
Discover the amazing
world of mini-beasts.
Through interactive
classroom and field
activities, students will
learn about the different
groups of arthropods, their
classification, habitats, life
cycles and importance in
the environment.
P
Students gain an
understanding of waterway
health and creek habitats
through games and dip
netting for creek critters.
P
4
Creek
critters
DCBC
4
1
2
3
1
2
3
Science: Living things have basic needs, including
food and water (ACSSU002)
Science: Living things have a variety of external
features (ACSSU017)
Science: Living things live in different places where
their needs are met (ACSSU211)
Science: Living things grow, change and have
offspring similar to themselves (ACSSU030)
Science: Living things can be grouped on the basis
of observable features and can be distinguished
from non-living things (ACSSU044)
Science: Living things have basic needs, including
food and water (ACSSU002)
Science: Living things have a variety of external
features (ACSSU017)
Science: Living things live in different places where
their needs are met (ACSSU211)
Geography: The natural, managed and constructed
features of places, their location, how they change
and how they can be cared for (ACHGK005)
Science: Earth’s resources, including water, are
used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032)
Science: Living things can be grouped on the basis
of observable features and can be distinguished
Topic
Location
Description
Year Level and Australian Curriculum Sub-strand (P–10)
Indigenous
discovery
BWEC
A fun and informative look
at Aboriginal culture in
relation to the use of
wetlands. Students learn
about tools, artefacts,
storytelling, art and the use
of local plants.
P
1
2
4
Indigenous
experience
s day
BWEC
This full-day program
includes all of the activities
from ‘Indigenous
discovery’ (see above) as
well as a guided walk
along the Billai Dhagum
track featuring the Nurri
Millen Totems at Boondall
Wetlands exploring
Aboriginal history and
traditional use of natural
resources.
P
1
2
3
4
from non-living things (ACSSU044)
History: How the stories of families and the past
can be communicated, for example through
photographs, artefacts, books, oral histories, digital
media and museums (ACHHK004)
Geography: The places people live in and belong
to, their familiar features and why they are
important to people (ACHGK002)
Geography: The Countries/Places that Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples belong to in the
local area and why they are important to them
(ACHGK003)
Geography: The natural, managed and constructed
features of places, their location, how they change
and how they can be cared for (ACHGK005)
Geography: The definition of places as parts of the
Earth’s surface that have been given meaning by
people, and how places can be defined at a variety
of scales (ACHGK010)
Geography: The influence of purpose, distance
and accessibility on the frequency with which
people visit places (ACHGK013)
Geography: The custodial responsibility Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples have for
Country/Place, and how this influences their past
and present views about the use of resources
(ACHGK023)
History: The diversity and longevity of Australia’s
first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander peoples are connected to Country
and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and
the implications for their daily lives (ACHHK077)
History: How the stories of families and the past
can be communicated, for example, through
photographs, artefacts, books, oral histories,
digital media, and museums (ACHHK004)
Geography: The places people live in and belong
to, their familiar features and why they are
important to people (ACHGK002)
Geography: The Countries/Places that Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples belong to in the
local area and why they are important to them
(ACHGK003)
Geography: The natural, managed and constructed
features of places, their location, how they change
and how they can be cared for (ACHGK005)
History: The ways in which Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people maintain special connections
to particular Country/Place (ACHHK011)
History: The importance of Country and Place to
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples
who belong to a local area. (ACHHK060)
History: The diversity and longevity of Australia’s
first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander peoples are connected to Country
and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and
the implications for their daily lives (ACHHK077)
Topic
Location
Description
Year Level and Australian Curriculum Sub-strand (P–10)
Marvellous
mangroves
NBF
Come and explore the
marvellous mangroves.
This lesson involves fun,
interactive activities and
investigates the
importance of mangrove
areas. Students learn
about the unique
adaptations of the plants
and animals that live in
these areas.
P
Through focussed
activities and a guided
walk, students will discover
the wildlife connections of
Raven Street Reserve.
This lesson looks at the
many plants and animals
which depend on this
inner-city habitat and why
such bushland and
corridors are so vital to the
health of city
environments.
P
A full-day program
consisting of a morning
and afternoon lesson,
each two hours in duration.
Students visit Raven
Street Reserve and
Boondall Wetlands,
learning how to protect
their waterways from
backyard to bay. Students
undertake waterway health
assessments to investigate
waterway health and
connectivity from the top of
a catchment to the bay.
4
Students are introduced to
the concepts of
catchments and water
quality monitoring. Field
activities such as dip
netting for water
invertebrates, surveying
creek vegetation and water
quality testing are used to
examine the health of a
creek.
4
Through role-play, games
P
Wildlife
connection
s
(new)
Backyard to
bay
1
and 3
4
DCBC
or
KFDC
DCBC
and
NBF
4
Creek
discovery
Happening
DCBC
4
BWEC
1
3
1
4
6
7
6
7
Science: Living things have basic needs, including
food and water (ACSSU002)
Science: Living things have a variety of external
features (ACSSU017)
Science: Living things live in different places where
their needs are met (ACSSU211)
Science: Living things can be grouped on the basis
of observable features and can be distinguished
from non-living things (ACSSU044)
Science: Living things have basic needs, including
food and water (ACSSU002)
Science: Living things live in different places where
their needs are met (ACSSU211)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Geography: The importance of environments to
animals and people, and different views on how
they can be protected (ACHGK022)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Geography: The natural resources provided by the
environment and different views on how they could
be used sustainably (ACHGK024)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Science: Water is an important resource that
cycles through the environment (ACSSU222)
Geography: The influence of environmental quality
and the liveability of places (ACHGK045)
Geography: The ways that flows of water connect
places as it moves through the environment and
the way this affects places (ACHGK038)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073) Geography:
The importance of environments to animals and
people, and different views on how they can be
protected (ACHGK022)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Geography: The influence of environmental quality
and the liveability of places (ACHGK045)
Geography: The ways that flows of water connect
places as it moves through the environment and
the way this affects places (ACHGK038)
Science: Living things have basic needs, including
Topic
Location
Description
habitats
or
DCBC
or
KFDC
and a guided walk,
students learn what a
habitat is and explore the
dependence that native
plants and animals have
on their habitat.
4
Year Level and Australian Curriculum Sub-strand (P–10)
1
4
5
6
Life in a
wetland
Mangrove
discovery
BWEC
4
NBF
4
Spend time exploring the
wetlands, investigating
how the growth and
survival of living things are
affected by the physical
conditions of their
environment. Students
collect primary data about,
and predict patterns and
relationships between the
distribution of wetland
community types and
salinity.
5
Join us for a walk along
the Tabbil-ban dhagun
(place of salt water)
boardwalk. This walk
introduces students to the
mangrove species of
Moreton Bay and explores
the adaptations of these
unique plants. Students
investigate the diverse
food web that depends on
mangrove systems and
consider the various
values of, and threats to
mangrove communities.
4
6
5
6
7
9
Wings of
the world
BWEC
4
Discover the story of Tom
the Red-Necked Stint, a
4
food and water (ACSSU002)
Science: Living things live in different places where
their needs are met (ACSSU211)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Geography: The importance of environments to
animals and people, and different views on how
they can be protected (ACHGK022)
Science: Living things have structural features and
adaptations that help them to survive in their
environment (ACSSU043)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Science: Living things have structural features and
adaptations that help them to survive in their
environment (ACSSU043)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Geography: The types of natural vegetation and
the significance of vegetation to the environment
and to people (ACHGK021)
Geography: The importance of environments to
animals and people, and different views on how
they can be protected (ACHGK022)
Science: Living things have structural features and
adaptations that help them to survive in their
environment (ACSSU043)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Science: Interactions between organisms can be
described in terms of food chains and food webs;
human activity can affect these interactions
(ACSSU112)
Science: There are differences within and between
groups of organisms; classification helps organise
this diversity (ACSSU111)
Science: Ecosystems consist of communities of
interdependent organisms and abiotic components
of the environment; matter and energy flow through
these systems (ACSSU176)
Science: Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
Topic
Location
Discuss
pricing with
Environme
nt Officers
Wetland
webs
Description
tiny migratory wader bird
who embarks upon an epic
cross-continental journey
from the cold reaches of
Alaska to the sunshine of
Boondall Wetlands.
Through story and an
interactive presentation,
students learn about the
amazing annual migration
of wader birds, their
reliance on wetlands
globally, the threats they
face and what is being
done to protect them.
BWEC
Join us for a walk along
the Billai dhagun (place of
she-oaks) track and
discover the various
wetland community types
that make up the Boondall
Wetlands. Students
identify the common
species of plants and
animals found here and
use them to create food
chains and explore food
web interactions.
Year Level and Australian Curriculum Sub-strand (P–10)
5
6
7
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Geography: The importance of environments to
animals and people, and different views on how
they can be protected (ACHGK022)
Science: Living things have structural features and
adaptations that help them to survive in their
environment (ACSSU043)
Science: The growth and survival of living things
are affected by the physical conditions of their
environment (ACSSU094)
Science: Interactions between organisms can be
described in terms of food chains and food webs;
human activity can affect these interactions
(ACSSU112)
Program
Location
Description
Queensland Authority
Subjects (10–12)
Diversity or
development?
BWEC
A full-day program consisting of a morning and
afternoon lesson, each two hours in duration.
Students will gain a theoretical and practical
understanding of how human activity impacts on
water quality and how disturbance and poor water
quality negatively impact on biodiversity. Practical
components include a water quality and riparian
assessment of two sites and a biodiversity exercise.
Biology, Geography,
Marine Studies, Science
21.
BWEC or
DCBC
During this lesson, students learn about urban
catchment environments and compare the health of
two separate creek sites. Students assess water
quality (including phosphates, nitrates and dissolved
oxygen) and riparian vegetation as indicators of
waterway health.
Biology, Earth Science,
Marine Studies, Science
21.
Students discover what a wetland is and explore the
functions and diversity of the wetland types in the
reserve. Students identify threats to wetlands and,
using ecological health surveys, determine which
threats impact Boondall Wetlands.
Biology, Geography,
Science 21.
1
Urban
catchment
assessment
4
2
What is a
wetland?
1
BWEC
Key to abbreviations and symbols
1. Lesson may be tide dependent and only available at the correct tide time as advised by
environment centre staff – can be booked on other days of the week where suitable.
2. Lesson can be delivered as a canoeing activity – additional charges apply. For details see
‘Urban catchment assessment – canoe option’ on the back page of this brochure.
3. You may need to coordinate and pay for a bus to transport students to locations.
4. Lesson may be adapted to be delivered at your school, local reserve or special event.
Timings and costs to be arranged in consultation with environment centre staff.
Lesson locations abbreviations
DCBC – Downfall Creek Bushland Centre
BWEC – Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre
KFDC – Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre
NBF – Nudgee Beach Foreshore
How to book

Go to the Brisbane City Council website and search ‘Environmental Learning Program’ to
complete the schools booking and enquiry form.

If you have any enquiries or would like to discuss the most suitable environmental lesson
for your group, contact environment centre staff. Please note that the maximum group
size is 30 participants. We encourage early bookings.

A booking confirmation form and teacher resource kit will be forwarded to you prior to your
visit.

You will be issued with your invoice following your participation in the lesson. Payment in
full is required within 30 days after issue of invoice.
Cancellation/postponement
Please note that lessons will continue in light rain, so be prepared for this to occur. If weather
forces us to postpone lessons, an alternative date will be arranged. Please notify us as early as
possible if you need to cancel or postpone a booked lesson.
Contact information
For all enquiries, please contact environment centre staff.
Downfall Creek Bushland Centre




Phone (07) 3407 2400
Fax (07) 3407 2404
Mail: Downfall Creek Bushland Centre, 815 Rode Road, McDowall Qld 4053
Email: ECschoolsprogram@brisbane.qld.gov.au
Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre




Phone (07) 3403 1490
Fax (07) 3865 3723
Mail: Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre, 31 Paperbark Drive, Boondall Qld 4034
Email: ECschoolsprogram@brisbane.qld.gov.au
Transport
The centres are accessible by car or bus. In addition, Boondall train station is approximately 1.5
km from Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre. Brisbane Transport can offer bus charters. For
further information and an obligation-free quote email btcharters@brisbane.qld.gov.au or call (07)
3178 5110.
Free travel with Green Heart Schools
Do you have waste-free lunch days or a school environment club? If your school is actively
involved in sustainability initiatives then you may be eligible for free transport to Council’s
environmental learning facilities. Please note, some restrictions on group size and lesson
combinations may apply. Visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/greenheartschools to apply.
Costs
All prices quoted are GST inclusive. Teachers, support staff and parents are free of charge.
Fees and charges are set for the financial year and may increase in line with the consumer price
index after 30 June 2015. Fees will be charged at the rate current at the time of the excursion.
On-site lessons – delivered at Raven Street or Boondall Wetlands reserves
Cost per participant (maximum group size is 30)
 One lesson/ class is $7.50
 Two lessons/ classes or full-day program is $15.00
Please note: for a group of 15 or fewer a minimum charge applies
 One lesson/ class is $112.50
 Two lessons/ classes or full-day program is $225.00
Off-site lessons – delivered at your school or local reserve
Cost per participant (maximum group size is 30)
 One lesson/ class is $7.50
 Two lessons/ classes or full-day program is not available for off-site lessons
Please note: for a group of 15 or fewer a minimum charge applies
 One lesson/ class is $112.50
 Two lessons/ classes or full-day program is not available for off-site lessons
Urban catchment assessment – canoe option
Cost per group is dependent on participant numbers. Minimum cost for one group of up to eight
participants is $250. Additional participants cost $7.50 each (group maximum is 16, including
teachers, support staff and parents). Please note this is a three-hour activity.
Environmental learning in Brisbane’s natural areas is another way Council is achieving our vision
for a clean, green city.
For more information visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call (07) 3403 8888.