What makes Walkabout School Workshops different?
Step into the animals’ world, to learn about so much more!
At Walkabout, you literally “step into the animals’ world” of native wild bushland habitat, making this quite different from a conventional zoo experience. Students learn what “Connecting with Country” and “Caring for Country” means.
- Condensed Workshop*
*Mostly self-guided, starts with 1 x 45-minute ranger-led module.
- Full Workshop*
* ranger-led program. 2 x 90-minute modules.
| AGE – UP TO YEAR 6 | AGE – ALL UP TO YEAR 12 |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten & Pre-school Year 1 to Year 6 | Kindergarten & Pre-school Year 1 to Year 6 Year 7 to Year 12 / HSC |
| NUMBERS | NUMBERS |
| Minimum 10 (or pay for 10). Maximum 50. Other schools may join the same workshop (maximum 50 students). | Minimum 20 (or pay for 20). Maximum 90. Private workshop, for your school only. |
| LOCATION | LOCATION |
| Ranger-led Workshop is undercover (may be indoors or outdoors). After the workshop, teachers guide the students to explore the Animal Loop and the Bush Tracks. | Ranger-led Workshop is outdoors. Ranger takes the teachers and students Walkabout around the Animal Loop and the Bush Tracks. |
| TIME | TIME |
| Arrive 10am for 10:30 workshop start. 40 minute Ranger-led workshop ends 11:10am. 2pm departure. Teachers can guide students for remainder of visit. | Arrive 10am for 10:30 workshop start. 3 hour Ranger-led workshop ends 1:30pm. 2pm departure. |
| PRICE | PRICE |
| $18.50 – per student. $00.00 – 1 teacher/aide per 5 students no charge. $18.50 – parents pay student prices. Minimum booking $185.00 | $24.50 – per student. $00.00 – 1 teacher/aide per 5 students no charge. $24.50 – parents pay student prices. Minimum booking $490.00 |
| CONTENT | CONTENT |
| The Wild Lives of Wildlife
Syllabus-based: Focus areas – Ranger-led 45 minutes: Balance of visit – Teacher-led: | First module:
1A Spikes, Scales, Feathers & Fur Second module (choose one of): 1B “Animals Extension” recommended if you want to do more than meet the animals. The Animals Extension allows more time to learn about the animals’ adaptations, habitats and behaviours. 2A “People’s Shelters & Animals’ Homes” 2B “Bush Tools” 2C “Bush Tucker & Bush Medicine” 2D “Bush Tucker & Bush Medicine with Aboriginal Sites Extension” – Year 5 and older |
Walkabout’s unique learning environment
More than 400 animals in care. Native wildlife, small farm animals, and a handful of exotics to meet and learn about!
The real Australian bush. 170 acres of old growth Australian bushland, unspoiled nature and rich cultural landscape.
Friendly wildlife roaming free.
Heritage listed Aboriginal art and shelter sites.
Bush tucker and bush medicine growing along the tracks.
Native wildlife and small farm animals.
Knowledgeable rangers.
Syllabus-based Structured Learning Outcomes
Our Education Team
The rangers who guide and teach your students are the same people who look after the animals and their wild habitat.
Our ranger guides are experienced in conducting in-field workshops with groups of all ages and abilities.
Cultural Permissions
Our Education Coordinator is both an educationist and an anthropologist.
We work with our cultural advisers to ensure that all Aboriginal content in our programs is both appropriate and respectful, and that any knowledge shared is always with permission.
Tailored for Age and Stage
Our workshops offer combinations of activities including animals, the bush and traditional Aboriginal content.
Our team adapts each workshop for age and ability, as well as special interest areas.
Workshops can be tailored to deliver specific prescribed syllabus-based learning-outcomes. Contact us for a quote. Tell us what you are doing in the classroom, so we can map the day’s experience to the syllabus to ensure you get the learning outcomes you need.
All workshops are adapted and tailored for students of all ages, stages, interest areas and abilities:
- Pre-school
- Primary School – Early Stage 1 and Stages 1, 2 and 3 (kindergarten and years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)
- Secondary School – Stages 4 and 5 (years 7, 8, 9 and 10)
- Senior School – Stage 6 (years 11 and 12/HSC)
- Students with disabilities and other special needs
- Australian schools with international students seeking a cultural exchange experience
Very Important – what students should bring or wear
Lunch: Please bring lunch. Our kiosk has VERY limited food options, mainly serving snacks like chips and crackers-and-cheese. We do not have a café/restaurant.
Closed walking shoes (NOT white track shoes): Wear sensible shoes that can get muddy. Our tracks are natural dirt so white shoes are not a good idea!
Water bottle: All water on our property is beautiful drinking water. Re-fill bottles at the handwash stations. Or you can buy water in our shop for $3-
Sunscreen & Hat: Recommended even on cloudy days.
Insect repellent: We advise protection against bug-bites from mosquitoes, ticks, leeches, etc.
Raincoat: We get unexpected rain showers all year round. Or you can buy a rain poncho in our shop for $5-
Deposit and Refund Policy
A $100 deposit secures your booking.
The deposit is non-refundable because, once your booking is confirmed, Walkabout will turn away other bookings (and income) for that day.
In the event of bad weather, your deposit is transferrable to another date or as credit for a future booking.
Wet Weather Policy
Make sure the children and adults bring their rain gear.
Except in extreme weather, the program will go ahead in the rain.
If the weather is expected to be too extreme for the rangers to be able to run the program, or if it might be dangerous, Walkabout will contact you to reschedule your excursion or give you a credit for a future excursion.
If Walkabout does not assess the wet weather conditions as too dangerous but you would like to reschedule anyway, we respect this and will work with you to find an alternate date.
Calga weather patterns are quite different to the Sydney Basin and the Central Coast. It can be pouring with rain down the road in Kariong or Hornsby, but dry in Calga. You can contact Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary up to 5 days before your excursion to make general enquiries about expected weather conditions, with more accurate weather information available 48 hours prior.