Overview:

The Dromedary State forest is the closest area of publicly owned forest to the Hobart metropolitan area. Recognising this fact Forestry Tasmania, in 1991, created the Dromedary Forest Education Centre as an educational facility set within a forest environment.

The Dromedary State forest is a working forest managed on a multiple-use basis for wood production, conservation, recreation and education.

Dromedary offers a range of opportunities for teachers and students to investigate the environmental features of forests, human interactions with forest environments and how they are being managed today.

A fully qualified and experienced teacher staffs the Dromedary Forest Education Centre.

Facilities and walking tracks:

The Education Centre consists of two buildings. These were originally camp buildings used by the Hydro Electric Commission. They are now utilised as a classroom / meeting area and a toilet block with separate facilities for boys and girls.

The immediate area surrounding the buildings consists of an arboretum and a demonstration plantation comprising a range of hardwood (Eucalypt) and softwood (pine) species.

Three walking tracks have been developed to provide a range of experiences for students of varying ages and abilities. These cater for lower primary to upper secondary students.

All class visits are for the full day, approximately 4 to 5 hours on site.

Site suitable for: Day visits

Suited to: Primary and secondary students

Program Organisation:

Excursions to the Dromedary Forest Education Centre are restricted to approximately 30 days per year. Some of these days are available as double class visits. This reduces transport costs to schools. Qualified teachers accompany both classes. All activities are negotiated prior to a class visit to the Centre in order to maximise the educational experience of the day, discuss possible lead-up and follow-up activities, view a range of supporting resources and take account of any special needs for students. Parent helpers are encouraged and welcomed.

There are no costs associated for schools to visit the Centre.

Supporting Resources:

A wide range of resources are available for teachers to use prior to and following class visits. These are free for teachers and cover lower, middle and upper primary activities.

Booking Procedure:

Information for teachers wishing to book class visits to the Centre is circulated to all schools in southern Tasmania at the beginning of the school year. On returning the relevant information booking dates are confirmed as soon as possible. Individual teachers are then contacted 1 to 2 weeks prior to their class visit to organise an appropriate meeting time for pre-visit planning.

Booking information will be available at this site in the future.