Unforgettable experience for Canberra students

The Napranum Land and Sea Rangers, an outdoor adventure company, a clean-up not-for-profit, a remote area training organisation in feral animal control and an independent school may not, at first glance, appear to have much in common, but a successful collaboration between them led to a very successful and productive eight-day school excursion for a group of year 8-9s from suburban Canberra.

The group spent four days with the Rangers, just north of Weipa at Pennefather Beach.

It was an experience they were not likely to forget after spotting seven nesting turtles on their nightly patrols with the rangers, amongst their many other adventures, including a “massive” beach cleanup.

Cape York NRM and the Napranum Rangers, Infuse Travel, Outback Cleanups Australia, Seymour Out Bush and Remote Area Projects and Training (RAPT) all had a hand in organising and supporting the group of students and staff from the independent Blue Gum Community School.

Cape York NRM WCTTAA Coordinator Manuela Fischer said the program had well and truly caught the students’ imagination.

“They built a turtle out of marine debris they collected, which is now hanging proudly at the ranger base entrance at Pennefather Beach,” she said.

“They came out for turtle monitoring at night with me and the rangers and we saw some turtles, and where they nest.

“I deployed temperature data loggers in the turtle nests to measure the nest temperature. 

“We also found some nests that were predated by feral pigs and dogs.

“And we did a bit of talking about the different turtle species and how the monitoring program works, and they came out in the mornings to do track counts, so we know how many turtles have come up on the beach during the night.”

She said there was also an opportunity to give a presentation on the WCTTAA program and how it worked for the six Ranger groups along the western Cape York region. “They did a beach cleanup with Outback Cleanups Australia, where they went through the marine debris, sorted and counted it and learned about the impact debris has on the environment.

“They did survival skills with Shaun from Seymour Out Bush and Mark from RAPT, things like navigating using stars and how to collect water in the bush.”

She said some of the Napranum Elders also stayed in camp with them.

“It was a well-rounded experience for them,” she said.

The WCTTAA is supported by Cape York NRM through funding from the Australian and Queensland Government’s Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program, Marine Turtle Climate Change Resilience and the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative.