Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW

School excursions

You should allow a whole day for an excursion to Mount Annan Botanic Garden. The best way to get here is by bus, however this can be expensive and we suggest that an economical way to do this is by averaging the cost over two classes.

Costs

  • $8.80 per child for primary, infants and junior high school students
  • $11.00 per senior high student
  • prices include GST

What we offer 

  • Double classroom, used for introductions, bag storage and wet weather contingency.
  • Displays and audio visual equipment to assist with appropriate lessons in wet weather.
  • Main teaching areas - the lakes, the Connections Garden, the Fruit Loop Garden and the Woodland Conservation Area - in close proximity to the education centre.
  • Flexibility - excursions are negotiated with the class teacher so that the information conveyed is most appropriate to your class program. We are pleased to modify our presentations to suit your needs. We value input and feedback from teachers.
  • Safety - we pursue a culture of safety at Mount Annan Botanic Garden and will send you a Risk Assessment form on request. We start every excursion with a ‘safety chat’ and then take time during the lesson to focus on safety issues as the need arises.

For more information go to 

Our most popular topics

Aboriginal Culture including bush food and medicine

This is usually a whole day excursion as there is much to tell and see. On most occasions we are able to have a Dharawal descendent on board as a presenter, e.g. Fran Bodkin who is a Knowledge Holder of  the Dharawal nation. This year we are beginning to include more Dharawal language in our lessons.

Wet and Dry environments

This excursion includes dip netting at Lakeside where students can capture aquatic creatures and examine them. We discuss life cycles and other relevant topics and also compare the lake environment, including water birds, to a dry woodland environment. Mount Annan Botanic Garden has a significant stand of remnant Cumberland Plain Woodland, which is an endangered vegetation community. We take students on ecology walks through the woodland, where they can observe many interesting relationships and learn about the natural environment just by being there and making their own observations.

Our excursions are very opportunistic as we never really know what we might see. On cloudy days we often see kangaroos. On sunny days in spring and summer we may see lizards and even a snake on rare occasions. We frequently encounter Tawny Frogmouth owls, allowing us to talk about camouflage and nocturnal behaviour.

Insects and other mini-beasts

There is an amazing diversity of insect and spider life at Mount Annan Botanic Garden. We have a collection of insect homes for students to observe. This often leads to a discussion on shelter.

There is also the option of doing the excursion by yourself, i.e. minimal input from our staff. This is a cheaper option, at only $2.20 per child. The Education officer will assist in the preparation before the day, but not on the day.

Other options

The possibilities here are almost endless. Many teachers have used the Garden as stimulus for creative writing and art based lessons.

Further information and bookings

Contact the Education Officer (phone 46347930, fax. 46482465, email allen.powell@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au). 
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