Koala’s in Crisis Camp- 12 Geography

During Week 5 of this term, Year 12 geography students spent a two-day excursion in Jacobs Well studying potential threats that decrease koala populations in the area.  

Day 1 saw an early start to the day arriving at school before 7:00am to catch a 45min bus trip to Jacobs Well Educational Centre. Due to heavy traffic on the way up, it was a speedy start to begin field work so bags were quickly chucked into cabins and we, as a group, went over the plan for the day. Split into two groups, students spent their first day either collecting field work at two locations; Colman Road Reserve and Gainsborough Greens or spending the day on South Stradbroke Island learning about Indigenous culture and studying sand dune structure.  

Students who were conducting field work had the opportunity to study a variety of aspects in each forest including tree species, tree canopy, forest floor vegetation and animal species. One group was lucky enough to spot a snake hidden in a grass shrub. They were also able to find evidence of koala occupancy in some trees as koala droppings were found on the forest floor. Although it was a great experience collecting data for assignments, most if not all students can agree that the mosquitoes were definitely out in force.  

Luckily enough for the rest of the students, the South Stradbroke Island trip was a cruisy catamaran ride to Couran Cove which used to be Indigenous land that was said to be blown up after European settlement. Students learnt how to ignite fires with tree bark and learnt the importance of certain tree and plant species. A journey to Tipplers Island saw the studying of sand dunes and how vegetation, sand particles and even wind intensity changes from the beachfront further down inland. This was followed by some free time where students could further explore Tipplers Island or go for a swim.  

Across the two days, students also had the opportunity to sit around the campfire and roast marshmallows as well as going on a night koala sighting and experience a reptile show.  

It was a great two days for all and the data we collected will be extremely useful for our assessment.

Lola Sope - Year 12 Geography Student