Australian Animals Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Australian Environmental Education

November 3, 2021November 15, 2021

FrogID Week

Take part in Australia’s biggest frog count during FrogID Week. Frog ID Week is on between 12 – 21 November. Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. FrogID Week is a great way to learn about frogs living in your backyard.

Perons Tree Frog on fern — Peron’s Tree Frog
**Scientific name:** *Litoria peronii*

Help to record frog calls during FrogID Week using the free app and uncover which frogs live in your backyards, local parks and bushlands. Your recording can help identify changes to local frog populations and inform frog conservation across Australia. Download the free FrogID app today and help us count Australia’s frogs.

This park in the middle of urban Sydney might not look like much, but after a few days of rain the low lying grass area became a Frog Swamp. I could hear the frogs call from 50 metres away, the closer I got the louder there were. I was able to get a great recording for FrogID Week. Listen below to the Common Eastern Froglets Crinia signifera and Striped Marsh Frogs Limnodynastes peronii calling.

Common Eastern Froglet Crinia signifera

This tiny frog is only 3cm in size and if very commonly heard but rarely seen. They are common and widespread across south-eastern Australia. Their call is a repetitive “crick, crick, crick, crick, crick”.

Striped Marsh Frog Limnodynastes peronii

This large species of frog is found down the east coast of Australia. Their call is a single, short “tuk” or “whuck” which is repeated every few seconds.

Join me on Tuesday 16 November at 2pm for a FREE live virtual excursion to learn more about Frogs and how you can get involved in FrogID.

Book now for the FrogID Week session

If you can’t join me for the Live session you can watch the Fascinating Frogs video to find out more.

You can create a frog friendly garden

Frogs are very sensitive to water loss because their skin is permeable. This also means Frogs are really sensitive to chemicals. Frogs can end up absorbing chemicals that could harm or potentially even kill them. Pesticides can also deplete the frogs’ food source.

You can encourage frogs to come to live and breed in your backyard by creating a frog friendly garden. Create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded or install a Frog Hotel.

Reducing chemicals use in your garden
Creating a Frog Habitat
Be patient and wait, if you build it they will come

Use FrogID to research the frogs that are found in you local area. This will help you work out what kind of habitat will suit your backyard best.

You can use PVC pipe to create a habitat for tree frogs. Frog Tubes are an easy way to provide somewhere safe for tree frogs to live too. Use a 1 metre length of PVC pipe and stick the base in the ground to tie them to a tree. It provides a really moist environment for tree frogs to hide in.

A Frog Hotel is a great option for tree frogs and provide them a safe place to hide during the day. Check out the video below for step by step instructions on how ro make a Frog Hotel.

Discover more about Frogs and some of their amazing adaptions. There are also lots of information to create a frog friendly backyard in your area.

Frog activity and resources

October 29, 2021October 30, 2021

Marine world adventure

This week has been an incredible marine world adventure, above and below the water. I started the week with a Marvellous Marine Life virtual excursion in the morning, followed by a night snorkel at Shelly Beach Manly. On Tuesday I presented a special live streamed event, Under the Sea for Children’s Week. Wednesday morning I had an amazing scuba dive at Clifton Gardens. My marine world adventure concluded with another Marvellous Marine Life virtual excursion.

Image©John Turnbull
Clockwise: male White’s seahorse, stars and stripes puffer, mourning cuttlefish and common stingaree

I love sharing my underwater advenures and have been delivering virtual excursions for students for many years. This years has had it’s challenges as I wasn’t able to get to the water due to months of lockdown. One thing that kept me going was being able to share my marine adventures and stories with students across Australia.

We had word that over the weekend there was a lot of bioluminescence in the water at Manly. My sister and I thought it was time for a night snorkel to experience the bioluminescence. It is an amazing experience being in the water, you see flashes of light when you move your hand quickly through the water.

Bioluminescence is light produced as a result of a chemical reaction in animals. Some animals make the necessary chemicals themselves, some absorb them from their food and others allow bioluminescent organisms to live inside them forming a symbiotic relationship.

Bioluminescence in the water © Abyss SCUBA Diving

It was great to get back in the water this week and after the bioluminescence, I wasn’t sure what could top it. Well, a nice shore dive at Clifton Gardens definitely was the answer. We were greeted by a massive stingray, that was doing laps checking up on us. The visibility wasn’t great but we discovered so many seahorses camouflaging against the pylons of the wharf and the nets around the pool. There were lots cuttlefish, one of my favourite animals. We also saw a couple of huge pufferfish swimming around too. It was a great way to get back in the water after so long.

You can check out the recording of the Under the Sea program for Children’s Week.

You can find out more about the Marvellous Marine Life incursions and virtual excursions.

Marvellous Marine Life programs

Marine World reources

September 15, 2021September 28, 2021

School Holiday Program

Discover What’s in your Backyard this school holidays. With the weather warming up it is the perfect time to explore your own backyard and local area. Australian Environmental Education has a range of FREE programs to keep your kids busy during the school holidays.

FREE YouTube LIVE event

From backyards to bushland there is a variety of animals living near you. Learn to identify animals from the clues that they leave behind and discover the diversity of animals in your local area.

Children will the meet live Stick Insects and a live Green Tree Frog

More resources to help you explore

The What’s in your Backyard resources are designed to help you explore the amazing wildlife in your local area. Look for the clues that are left behind to discover more about these animals and what you can do to protect them.

What’s in your Backyard activities

Focus on Frogs

Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Focus on Frogs video provides information and skills that will enable you and your child to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Focus on Frogs resources

Minbeasts in your Garden

Minibeasts in your Garden explores the diverse world of minibeasts. Discover why minibeasts are important and learn how find them in your garden or local park. The video and activities will help you to identify common groups of backyard minibeasts and provides information and skills to conduct your own minibeasts investigation.

Minibeasts in your Garden resources

Noises in the Night

You don’t see many of the animals that live in your local area because they are nocturnal. Often it is the Noises in the Night that give us a clue to the nocturnal species that are living in our local area. Other times it is the Scats, Track or Traces that animals leave behind that help us discover who is living in our backyard.

Listen to the Noises in the Night

Science Experiments

Check out these fun and educational science experiments. Create some amazing school holiday fun using some simple household ingredients. You and your kids will have lots of science fun extracting DNA from stawberries, making red cabbage indicactor or making a sugar snake.

Easy Science Experiments

Keep safe, stay in your local area.

September 2, 2021June 11, 2023

Threatened Species Day

Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the Australia on 7 September every year to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Threatened Species Day acknowledges the death of the last remaining Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. It is a day to reflect on what you can do to make a difference.

Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Over the last 200 years, more than 100 animal and plant species have become extinct. In NSW there are almost 1000 animal and plant species at risk of extinction.

Threatened Species Day is a time to focus on or native plants, animals, and ecosystems and look at how we can protect them into the future. I have a range of resources available to help you deliver programs for Threatened Species Day on the following topic areas.

Biodiversity

What’s in your Backyard

Sustainability

Virtual Excursions

There are also a range of live and on demand virtual excursions available. Join me to talk about Threatened Species with these live interactive session. Discover some amazing animals only found in Australia. Students will also find out what they can do to protect them.

Grey Nurse Shark — Copyright @ John Turnbull

Book now 7 September: 9.30 am & 12pm

Focus on Frogs

Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Focus on Frogs workshop provides information and skills that will enable you and your child to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Minibeasts in your Garden

Minibeasts in your Garden explores the diverse world of minibeasts. Discover why minibeasts are important and learn how find them in your garden or local park. The program will help you to identify common groups of backyard minibeasts and provides information and skills to conduct your own minibeasts investigation.

June 26, 2021June 26, 2021

The Land of the Megafauna

Megafauna are large animal that roamed to world over 100,000 years ago. In Australia we have fossil evidence of these fascinating animals and one of the places where you can find these fossils is Wellington Caves in central west NSW.

The caves at Wellington are located in an outcrop of Early Devonian limestone, which is about 400 million years old. That limestone is part of the Garra Formation. Caves are great places to find fossils

Fossil vertebrates have been collected since 1830 from Wellington Caves. The list of includes 58 species; 30 species that are extinct throughout Australia and 12 species that are no longer found in Wellington region. The fossil deposits also contains bones from reptiles, birds, bats, rodents and monotremes. The age range of the fossils is from the late Pliocene to late Pleistocene approximately 3.5 million – 40,000 years ago. Evidence indicates that the fossils were deposited in the caves over three distinct periods.

Megafauna

The massive Diprotodon optatum was the largest marsupial known and the first fossil mammal named in Australia by Richard Owen 1838. Diprotodon is one of the most well known of the Australian megafauna and it was widespread across Australia becoming extinct about 25,000 years ago.

Thylacoleo carnifex, the Marsupial Lion is the largest carnivorous Australian mammal known. It may have hunted other Pleistocene megafauna like the giant Diprotodon.

Megalania prisca is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed and was named by Richard Owen in 1859. Megalania was up to 5 metres long and would have been a top predator eating large mammals, other reptiles and birds.

Wonambi naracoortensis is a five to six metre long snake and was an ambush predator.

At the end of the last ice age the climate in Australia changed to warm-dry. This resulted in surface water drying up and becoming scarce. Most inland lakes became completely dry or dry in the warmer seasons. This saw the end of the age of the Megafauna and many species became extinct.

Some large grazing animals like Diprotodon moved to eastern Australia where there still was permanent water and better vegetation. Ultimately these animals also became extinct.

Come and visit Wellington Caves to see some great replicas and models of these amazing animals.

June 21, 2021June 26, 2021

Minibeasts in the Classroom

Live minibeasts make a great addition to any classroom or home and are easy to maintain. This is a great way to bring nature into the classroom. You can use these animals to teach about adaptations, life cycles and habitats.

I recently went to a Sydney childcare centre to update their stick insect enclosure. It was a wonderful centre that had a focus on nature play. They had adapted an old reptile tank for their stick insects and wanted to have a variety of species to enrich the experience for the students. We looked at the size of the tank to determine what combination of species would suit.

I had an audience of 4 year olds while I was cleaning the tank and getting ready to put the in new animals. I then presented 2 short sessions for the kids on minibeasts and they help me add the animals into their new home.

These are some species that are fun and easy to look after.

Spiny Leaf Insects
Children’s Stick Insects
Goliath Stick Insects
Crown Stick Insects
Australia Leaf Insects
Giant Burrowing Cockroaches
Garden Snails
Silk Worms

Some species will happily live in the same enclosure given the correct conditions. Make sure you always keep predators like praying mantis and spiders in separate enclosures.

If you are in Sydney let me know if you are interested in setting up Minibeast in the classroom.

April 8, 2021April 29, 2021

Get your garden growing

Autumn is a great time to start planting your garden. The soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth and weather is mild reducing water stress. Young plants have a better chance to settle in and become established before summer heat arrives. I’ve been working on the garden below for a while and took the opportunity during the cooler weather to add new plants, mulch and do some landscaping.

I helped write some programs on Creating a Wildlife Habitat for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre. This 5 part program can help you plan and plant a wildlife habitat at your school, home or local area.

Rainbow Lorikeets in flowering gum — Rainbow Lorekeet

Creating a native wildlife habitat is a great way to ensure the protection of native wildlife, from the smallest insects to birds, reptiles, mammals and frogs.

Projects and Grants

NSW Schools are now invited to apply for a grant of up to $600 to purchase native trees and shrubs. The Tree Levy is an annual grants scheme funded by Federation to offset the environmental impact of the union’s activities.

Apply Now

If you are in Sydney you can register for the Cooling the Schools project through Greening Australia.

Cooling the Schools: Creating cooler and greener schools where children and nature thrive

We are working with students to add thousands of plants to community spaces and schools across Greater Sydney.

Incorporate existing features into your wildlife habitat design, including established trees, rainwater tanks and ponds. Make sustainable choices by using what you’ve already got.

Don’t forget to include plenty of spaces for animals to hide.

Insect hotel in terracotta pot — Insect Hotel

Attracting wildlife to you backyard

Attracting birds to your backyard

Attract birds to your backyard by creating a garden that will provide food, shelter and nesting materials and sites. Local flowering plants and fruit trees provide birds with nectar and seeds. To provide birds with some protein rich food, use mulch to encourage worms, insects and grubs to thrive. Plant dense prickly native shrubs for shelter, hang up nesting boxes and install a bird bath.

Create a frogs friendly backyard

Encourage frogs to come to live and breed in your backyard. Create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded. Include thick ground hugging plants around part of the pond to provide areas of warmer and cooler water. Your pond will need some sunlight to encourage algae and other plants that provide food for tadpoles. Make sure the banks slope gently so that the frogs can get out. Add some rocks and logs to provide shelter for adult frogs.

Minibeasts in your backyard

Not all bugs are pests. Good bugs pollinate plants, break down dead flora and fauna, aerate the soil and provide for other wildlife. They can even help keep harmful pests away. Create an inviting environment for good bugs by planting plenty of native plants, wildflowers and herbs and use chemical-free pest control when the pests do creep in.

February 22, 2021June 11, 2023

SeaWeek 2021

SeaWeek 2021 is on between 6 – 14 March and is a celebration of our precious marine environment. As a SCUBA diver for almost 30 years, I have seen first hand the threats to our marine environment.

This years theme recognises how humans and the oceans are interconnected. This is a time for us all to reflect on our links to the ocean; food, recreation, relaxation, travel, transport and the impacts.

The more we learn about the marine environment, the more we can do to understand these link and protect the incredible diversity of species and habitats.

Celebrate SeaWeek 2021 with some great programs from Australian Environmental Education.

Live interactive Virtual Excursions

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

I will share some of my favourite diving stories with you and highlight the amazing animals that live in Sydney Rocky Reefs. Take a journey beneath the waves to explore this wonderful world. Learn about some of these incredible animals, their adaptions and habitats.

Special price for SeaWeek 2021 is $50 for a or a 45 minute interactive experience.

Book your place now

Education Resources

Oceans contain the greatest diversity of life on Earth. Habitats range from the freezing polar regions to the warm waters of the coral reefs, deep sea hydrothermal vents to shallow seagrass beds and beautiful sponge gardens to giant kelp forests, marine organisms are found everywhere.

Diving Stories

Marine resources

Caring for our Coasts

Australia is home to the over 10,000 beaches and no part of Australia is more than 1,000km from the ocean. Our coasts are impacted by our actions on land. Rubbish and microplastics can be found washed up on almost every Australian beach.

dead turtle entangled in fishing nets on the oceans — Copyright: Maxim Blinkov

Plastic and rubbish washed up on the shore from oceans — Copyright: Maxim Blinkov

Pollution and rubbish get washed into our rivers and waterways with stormwater runoff and end up on our coasts and oceans. Over 75% of this rubbish is plastic. Plastics in the environment can take hundreds of years to break down, thereby impacting marine species for generations.

I created the Caring for our Coast activities for the Landcare Learning Centre. These are great activities to do with your students.

Beach Survey

Beach Clean up

February 10, 2021June 11, 2023

Virtual Excursions

Australian Environmental Education has some great virtual excursions coming up for your students. There are a range of live and interactive environmental science programs, by request and on demand content.

Virtual Excursions create unique learning experiences for students of all ages, there is something for everyone.

Trilobite Fossils — Magnificent Tree Frog

All sessions are delivered via Zoom to your classroom or home school network. The programs are designed for Stage 1 – 4 students and are available on the 16 – 17 February at 9.30am, 10.30am and 2pm. The cost is $75 for a 45 minute interactive experience. SeaWeek sessions are scheduled at 2pm 8 – 11 March at a special prices of $50 for a 45 minute interactive program.

Topics available

Fabulous Frogs

Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Fabulous Frogs workshop provides information and skills to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Book your place now

Life on Earth

Take a journey back in time to the beginning of the Earth, 4.6 Billion Years ago. We will explore the changes to the earth over time and the evolution of life. How did the 5 Mass extinction events shape the variety of Life on Earth we have today and what’s next? The session will focus on Australian fossil sites and what they tell us about the past.

Book your place now

What’s in your Backyard?

Discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard, school grounds and local area. Looking for the clues that these animals leave and you will be surprised by the diversity of animals in your local area. Students will also find out ways they can create wildlife friendly environments.

Book your place now

SeaWeek 2021

Karen underwater snorkeling — Copyright @ John Turnbull

Special price for SeaWeek 2021 is $50 for a or a 45 minute interactive experience.

Book your place now

Interactive Environmental Science activities direct to your class or home through a Virtual Excursion.

If these dates don’t align to your schedule you can request a time to suit your timetable.

Request a new time

Free on demand programs

Focus on Frogs

Minibeasts in your Garden

January 14, 2021January 25, 2021

My Spider Garden

I have been working in the garden to create a habitat for local wildlife. So far it’s the spiders that have found a safe home. I saw St Andrews Cross Spiders, Leaf-curling Spiders and Net-casting Spiders. I’ve had these species in my garden before and it is exciting to see so many again this year.

The new fence didn’t impact the spiders at all. There were several different spider egg sac, some freshly hatched spiderlings (the fuzzy mass in the middle) at least 2 Net-casting Spiders, 4 Leaf-curling Spiders and 5 St Andrews Cross Spiders just is this section of my backyard. I’ve highlighted some below in case you missed them.

I got some close up images too so you can see more detail. I especially love the Leaf-curling Spider shots.

It has been wonderful to see so many spiders and other invertebrates making a happy home in my garden. Surrounded by so many spiders and their webs I was surprised to find a newly hatched praying mantis. It was about 1cm in size and almost transparent, unfortunately it disappeared not long after this photo. I’ll keep an eye out, but I think this one has become someones lunch!

I have more spider images mostly from my backyard in the Spider Image Gallery. Find out more about spiders