Immersing our students in the real world to understand and tackle environmental and conservation issues is a hallmark of teaching in Environmental and Conservation Sciences at Murdoch.

Our academics love being out in the field, working with our students teaching practical skills and putting classroom into the context it needs to be retained. For staff and students alike, one of the best teaching and learning experiences is being out in the field, studying nature, either on our bushland campus or in one of the amazing natural landscapes around WA.   

Every year our undergraduates enrolled in Environmental Science and Management, Marine Biology, and Conservation and Wildlife Biology undertake seven days, or longer, camps that confront them with the reality of the environmental sciences – they are given a problem to work through formulating ways to design and execute research to address the challenge.

Second year students taking Ecology may go to Camp Quaranup outside Albany to spend the week completing plant and animal projects. It’s often rainy and windy but fun is had every year and lifelong friendships are made hanging out while pulling nets, counting, and identifying fish or measuring vegetation plots. 

Third year Marine Biology students go on the Marine Ecology field camp at Point Peron in summer learning about coastal marine biodiversity, habitats, and ecology.  And many choose to do Tropical Marine Biology in the winter going to Coral Bay and Ningaloo to do an intensive course organised around group-based research projects.  Third year Conservation and Wildlife Biology students taking the unit Wildlife Biology get to be part of a research project trapping and releasing quenda (bandicoots) on our bushland campus or travel to the biodiverse Yanchep National Park and surrounds to survey frogs, reptiles and small mammals. 

All three majors in the Bachelor of Environmental and Conservation Sciences offer opportunities for field work in every year of the degree.  Student feedback indicates the success of these camps for student learning and a real drawcard for study at Murdoch University.