Port Phillip EcoCentre Field Work and Citizen Science Programs
The EcoCentre can develop and deliver a limited number of bach-based field work and citizen science programs to suit your students and school’s needs. Our field work program provides students the opportunity to participate in real world, ongoing citizen science projects.
Leaders for Sustainability Program
Leaders for Sustainability is an award-winning program where a qualified EcoCentre facilitator helps students develop leadership skills and environmental knowledge over a term, culminating in a student-led sustainability project. Full scholarships are available to schools within Bayside City Council and the City of Port Phillip.
Captain Trash
Captain Trash, the alter ego of Port Phillip Baykeeper Neil Blake (OAM), educates kids on the 5 ARRRGHS: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, and Remove. Through pirate humour, ukulele strumming, and rapping, he engages children while promoting environmental awareness with a solid scientific foundation.
Sharks and Rays of Port Phillip Bay Incursion
This incursion introduces students to the diverse fauna of Port Phillip Bay (and southern Australia), with a particular focus on chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fish). Students will explore the habitats, life cycles, functional morphology (anatomy), and evolutionary adaptations of these fascinating species. The program also covers the geological history of Port Phillip Bay and the impact of human activities on shark and ray populations.
Marine Ecosystems & Human Impacts
The Port Phillip EcoCentre provides a wide range of marine excursion activities at St Kilda Beach, St Kilda Pier and West Beach. Using Port Phillip Bay as our outdoor classroom we have a variety of hands-on activities that allow schools to tailor their excursion to match curriculum needs, inquiry topic and student projects.
Dolphin ID – A Science Skill Session
The external provider, Cetacean Science Connection, offers a session that explores the process they use as cetacean scientists to identify individual dolphins, highlighting why this is a crucial aspect of their conservation efforts.
Plastic pollution, what’s the solution?
The external provider, Cetacean Science Connection, offers an incursion that uses the design-based thinking process. In this program, students will develop solutions to reduce marine plastic pollution, whether by collecting it at the source, on the beach or in a gyre, or by changing human behaviour. This real-world STEM problem, if solved, could not only reduce the risk of injury or death to marine wildlife, but also improve the lives of coastal communities around the world.
A Porpoiseful Problem – A real-life marine STEM problem-solving session
External provider Cetacean Science Connections, uses design-based thinking to get students to investigate and attempt to solve how we can ‘count’ the number of dolphins that reside in Port Phillip Bay. A real-life marine STEM problem that wildlife managers face when trying to determine how best to conserve our wildlife.
CSIRO – STEM Professionals in Schools program
This program connects teachers with STEM professionals to help inspire students' interest in STEM through activities including mentoring, career talks, and field trips, with resources and flexibility to meet different needs.
Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre
Our facilities include a visitor's aquarium, student laboratory and classroom and is surrounded by a diverse range of habitats, ideal for field activities such as rock pool rambles and mudflat activities within our intertidal zones.