Animals & Permaculture

Turtle Camp 2025: Conservation in Action at Gunbower

Turtle Camp 2025 saw students immersing themselves in a week of hands-on conservation and environmental learning at the stunning Gunbower National Park. Working alongside Graeme from Turtles Australia, students gained firsthand experience in wildlife protection and ecological research.

An important part of the week was learning about water management in the region and its impact on native species. Students visited the Cohuna Weir and learned about the fish ladder system, gaining insights into how changes in water flow affect turtles and other aquatic life.

A highlight for many was visiting a local dairy farm where students watched milk being collected and toured the facilities. Saputo kindly donated educational resources to our school, and students were treated to samples of chocolate and strawberry milk. The real surprise, however, was the discovery of baby turtles in a protected nest on the farm—an unforgettable moment.

Jenny from Agriculture Victoria joined us to share her vast knowledge of local plant species, especially aquatic plants. Her passion inspired students and staff alike, showing how collaboration and care can lead to real environmental impact.

In true citizen science fashion, students joined in turtle surveys across the Upper Gunbower State Forest. They looked for three key species: the Murray short-necked, the eastern long-necked, and the broad-shelled turtle. Sadly, many raided nests were found, underscoring the importance of continued conservation work. One of the most rewarding moments of the week was releasing hatchlings from a successful protected nest into Gunbower Creek. It was a powerful and joyful reminder of why we do this work.

Turtle Camp 2025 has been an incredible adventure — full of learning, discovery, and connection to country. We’re proud of our students’ enthusiasm and the meaningful contributions they’re making to turtle conservation. Here's to keeping the momentum going, one hatchling at a time!

Animals & Permaculture Expo

Our Animals & Permaculture Expo was a roaring success at the beginning of term. Thank you to everyone who joined us for a wonderful afternoon filled with hands-on experiences, delicious food, and inspiring student-led learning.

The expo opened up our beloved animals program and thriving permaculture spaces to families, friends, and community members. Visitors had the chance to meet the fury and scaley animals alike, explore what our students are working on, and get a real sense of the learning that happens in these dynamic programs.

Our permaculture crew had the wood-fired oven blazing, turning out freshly made scones and pizzas for guests to enjoy. Bee Club also joined in, proudly sharing samples of their locally harvested honey—a sweet reward for all their hard work!

We want to give a huge shout-out to our incredible student helpers. Their passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm were on full display as they welcomed guests, answered questions, and ran stalls. This event simply wouldn’t happen without their dedication, and it was a joy to see them in their element, confidently sharing what they’ve learned.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Permaculture Flower Power Fridays

This term staff have been the lucky recipients of beautiful bouquets of flowers as part of backyard students practicing one of the ethics of permaculture "people care". Staff could nominated colleagues each week to be drawn out of a hat and given a bouquet of flowers from students. It was a lovely addition to Fridays to celebrate each other!

Kate - for her amazing passion and dedication to the animals program.

Ryan - For bringing his own whipper snipper in and clearing the retaining walls outside the PAC. There'd been 2-3 ft high weeds growing and it looked untidy and unloved. Thank you Ryan for making our space look neat and tidy again.

Jack - He's goes out of his way to help everyone and is an amazing person with the biggest heart! He deserves the best :) Jack has been so helpful in our teaching teams! He has been so welcoming and helpful.

Cassidy - For doing a great job as Learning Director and supporting her staff. Also for NAPLAN organising!

Jacinta – For her ongoing excellent support of the Community Team and students

Fiona - Fiona is an exceptional Science Area Leader, consistently going above and beyond to support and inspire us

Tony - Tony is amazing, wears so many ‘hats’ and achieves heaps across his busy week. Always has friendly and positive word to say. Thanks for all you do across the school Tony!

Animals and Permaculture Instagram

🌱 Plant ID with Jenny from Agriculture Victoria Jenny came to speak to the TC students, and she blew us away with her impressive knowledge of local plant species—especially the aquatic ones found around Gunbower Creek. Students and staff learn
🌱 Plant ID with Jenny from Agriculture Victoria Jenny came to speak to the TC students, and she blew us away with her impressive knowledge of local plant species—especially the aquatic ones found around Gunbower Creek. Students and staff learned that when people work together and are passionate about making a difference, they can really help the environment... and maybe even become plant experts in the process!
Turtle hatching release into Gunbower Creek After a successful protected nest- We released some baby turtles into the Gunbower creek.
Turtle hatching release into Gunbower Creek After a successful protected nest- We released some baby turtles into the Gunbower creek.
A camp must have a campfire! An essential tradition at Turtle Camp is the legendary campfire. Roasting marshmallows and making s’mores in Gunbower State Forest is the perfect way to keep our ‘turtly’ momentum going.
A camp must have a campfire! An essential tradition at Turtle Camp is the legendary campfire. Roasting marshmallows and making s’mores in Gunbower State Forest is the perfect way to keep our ‘turtly’ momentum going.
🐢🐢Floating turtles islands🐢🐢 A few years ago, TC students helped to relocate artificial nesting habitat designed to protect the turtles and hatchings from predators such as foxes, dogs and pigs. Ever since, these habitats have been very successfu
🐢🐢Floating turtles islands🐢🐢 A few years ago, TC students helped to relocate artificial nesting habitat designed to protect the turtles and hatchings from predators such as foxes, dogs and pigs. Ever since, these habitats have been very successful. This turtle camp we looked at one of the bigger ones Graeme designed.
🐢 Turtle surveys in Upper Gunbower state Forest We spent a few days surveying for turtles, specifically Murray short-necked turtles, eastern long-necked turtles, and broad-shelled turtles. During our survey, we discovered many raided nests. It was
🐢 Turtle surveys in Upper Gunbower state Forest We spent a few days surveying for turtles, specifically Murray short-necked turtles, eastern long-necked turtles, and broad-shelled turtles. During our survey, we discovered many raided nests. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to assist Graeme from Turtles Australia with his research through citizen science.
🐄 Dairy farm visit 🐄 We were lucky enough to visit a local dairy farm and watch a farmer fill up a tanker with milk. We also got a tour of the farm, and a representative from Saputo generously donated a box of educational resources to the school.
🐄 Dairy farm visit 🐄 We were lucky enough to visit a local dairy farm and watch a farmer fill up a tanker with milk. We also got a tour of the farm, and a representative from Saputo generously donated a box of educational resources to the school. Students were also given samples of chocolate and strawberry milk. While this was fascinating, we were even more excited to discover baby turtles in a protected nest on the farmer’s property!
We spent some time in Cohuna looking at the water system. Water management in the Murray Darling Basin has a serious impact on Turtles and other wildlife. We learned all about at the Cohuna weir and the associated fish trap.
We spent some time in Cohuna looking at the water system. Water management in the Murray Darling Basin has a serious impact on Turtles and other wildlife. We learned all about at the Cohuna weir and the associated fish trap.
Turtle Camp 2025 is off and away! Students are excited to spend the week working in Gunbower National Park alongside Graham and Turtles Australia- getting a taste of wildlife and environmental conservation! Our beautiful campgrounds in Cohuna is
Turtle Camp 2025 is off and away! Students are excited to spend the week working in Gunbower National Park alongside Graham and Turtles Australia- getting a taste of wildlife and environmental conservation! Our beautiful campgrounds in Cohuna is a fan favourite, with beautiful spots for night walks to see the local wildlife.
Friday afternoon visits from Banjos girlfriends- with Bruce politely greeting them in English. #kingparrot
SEEKING POLAR FLEECE DONATIONS Do you have any old polar fleece blankies laying around the home? The Working with Animals Program are seeking donations of polar fleece blankets for our beautiful ratties. Our rats love to snuggle and burrow into po
SEEKING POLAR FLEECE DONATIONS Do you have any old polar fleece blankies laying around the home? The Working with Animals Program are seeking donations of polar fleece blankets for our beautiful ratties. Our rats love to snuggle and burrow into polar fleece blankets, and we would much rather give second life to worn and old blankies than buying these brand new. If you have any polar fleece blankets ready for a second lease on life, there is a donation box at the General Office. Our rats thank you in advance!
🌱 Plant ID with Jenny from Agriculture Victoria Jenny came to speak to the TC students, and she blew us away with her impressive knowledge of local plant species—especially the aquatic ones found around Gunbower Creek. Students and staff learn Turtle hatching release into Gunbower Creek After a successful protected nest- We released some baby turtles into the Gunbower creek. A camp must have a campfire! An essential tradition at Turtle Camp is the legendary campfire. Roasting marshmallows and making s’mores in Gunbower State Forest is the perfect way to keep our ‘turtly’ momentum going. 🐢🐢Floating turtles islands🐢🐢 A few years ago, TC students helped to relocate artificial nesting habitat designed to protect the turtles and hatchings from predators such as foxes, dogs and pigs. Ever since, these habitats have been very successfu 🐢 Turtle surveys in Upper Gunbower state Forest We spent a few days surveying for turtles, specifically Murray short-necked turtles, eastern long-necked turtles, and broad-shelled turtles. During our survey, we discovered many raided nests. It was 🐄 Dairy farm visit 🐄 We were lucky enough to visit a local dairy farm and watch a farmer fill up a tanker with milk. We also got a tour of the farm, and a representative from Saputo generously donated a box of educational resources to the school. We spent some time in Cohuna looking at the water system. Water management in the Murray Darling Basin has a serious impact on Turtles and other wildlife. We learned all about at the Cohuna weir and the associated fish trap. Turtle Camp 2025 is off and away! Students are excited to spend the week working in Gunbower National Park alongside Graham and Turtles Australia- getting a taste of wildlife and environmental conservation! Our beautiful campgrounds in Cohuna is
Friday afternoon visits from Banjos girlfriends- with Bruce politely greeting them in English. #kingparrot
SEEKING POLAR FLEECE DONATIONS Do you have any old polar fleece blankies laying around the home? The Working with Animals Program are seeking donations of polar fleece blankets for our beautiful ratties. Our rats love to snuggle and burrow into po