The activities in this course are designed to complement Year 11 and Year 12 Australian Curriculum ATAR content relating to Biology (biodiversity, heredity), Environmental Science (resource management, environmental hazards) and Geography (ecological hazards, sustainable places and land cover change). The role and importance of Indigenous environmental knowledge is prioritized in all of these activities. Furthermore, students gain practical experience of scientific enquiry skills identified in the Australian Curriculum involving designing, implementing and reporting on scientific research. The course can be tailored to reflect undergraduate level studies in majors including biology, marine science, geography, environmental science and natural resource management, whilst students are also able to participate in lectures and exercises relating to career development. The course therefore offers Australian school and university students the opportunity to practice essential academic skills, gain field-based experience and enhance their career prospects through individual and small group supervised activities.

The course is split into three parts:

1. Learning Ecology Survey Techniques

Approximately half of the time will be spent in the field working with experienced field naturalists and learning the following techniques:

• Quadrat surveys for analysing vegetation community structure
• Survey techniques for quantifying carbon in the forest
• Camera trapping for mammals
• Standardised bird point counts and transects
• Soundscape analysis surveys for bats
• Spotlight surveys for amphibians

These activities reflect the national curriculum focus on developing scientific enquiry skills at ATAR level whilst also enabling undergraduate students to bolster their knowledge of field-based survey techniques.

2. Developing skills in research methods and scientific reporting

Students will work together in small groups (2 -3 students) on one of the following data sets: reef fish communities, coral reef structure, cloud forest bird communities, spider monkey behaviour or large mammal distribution in a South African reserve. Over the week the objective will be for the group to write up a paper answering a research question they have devised based on the data sets. Each group will present their final paper by the end of the course.

This enables students to gain in-depth knowledge of topics at ATAR and undergraduate level in Biology, Environmental Science and Geography, whilst also developing essential skills in quantitative data analysis and reporting. Through supervised small group work, students will develop their capacity to work effective within a team and practice essential presentation skills.

3. Conservation priorities in Australia and career development

A series of interactive presentations from academics and professionals will be held in the evening. These will focus on specific issues of relevance to conservation in Australia, including bushfire management, carbon and biodiversity offsetting, invasive species control, Indigenous environmental knowledge and marine habitat restoration. The evening lectures will also provide advice and guidance on how to develop careers in environmental conservation in Australia and overseas.