Education

We are working to raise levels of environmental awareness and appreciation of nature, and to promote the values of ecological research and conservation.

This is carried out through community education and participation programs, open days, talk and lectures to visiting special interest groups, workshops and a variety of other events. Our annual Conservation Ecology Fellowship program attracts both international and interstate students – for more information on the latest course please click on the button to the left.

Through community engagement activities we increase both local capacity and the sustainability of conservation efforts. The scope of conservation activities, from research through to implementation, is amplified by securing increased resources and expertise through working with our program partners.

Stewardship

By helping nature we help ourselves. There is now abundant evidence that green places not only make us feel calmer and more renewed, but have a significant effect on mental alertness, cognitive performance, and healing.

Wilderness experiences increase our self-awareness, our self-respect, our sense of connection to nature and to other people. Here at the Conservation Ecology Centre, we recognise these links to human health and wellbeing.

The Great Ocean Ecolodge, our onsite social enterprise, not only underwrites our Conservation Ecology Trust by donating all proceeds from guest stays but is also an essential part of our conservation efforts, providing an opportunity to re-engage people with nature. Only through recognising our connection and interdependence with nature can we truly understand the value of our natural environment, and so seek to conserve and protect it.

We offer many participative experiences, whether it is camping out and volunteering on biodiversity surveys, tracking Tiger Quolls, or a more luxurious stay at the Great Ocean Ecolodge for a completely immersive nature experience.

If you are planning for a year, sow rice.
If you are planning for a decade, plant trees.
If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.
Chinese proverb