On 31 May, during Week 7 of Term 2, our three Year 11 ESS classes embarked on a day trip to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to learn about the conservation of our natural environment, and specifically of our wildlife here in Brisbane. These are things we can all learn from within the four walls of a classroom, of course, but they aren’t things that we can properly understand until we’re faced with them – as I found out during the excursion itself.
We were surprisingly allowed to roam free once we arrived at around 9am. Even without seeing any animals as we walked through the entrance, we were excited – there was a certain beauty in the sanctuary, where we were surrounded by trees and birdsong and fresh air, fully immersed in the environment around us, far from the fluorescents of our usual classrooms. Once we were given our maps and had set our bags down in our designated areas, we set off instantly. It was certainly fun taking photos of the animals (and of each other) – seeing a crocodile, or a dingo, or even a little lizard from a few feet away still retains its magic even if they’re enclosed and unreachable. I’m sure everyone’s camera rolls can attest to our wonder at experiencing Australian wildlife so closely. Our first proper close encounter came, however, from Lorikeet feeding, which was an adventure in and of itself. Much like me, the lorikeets were willing to do anything for a few scraps of sustenance, which came in the form of little plates on sticks that we could hold in order to draw the birds to us. Which worked too well, maybe, given that a few students were lucky enough to have a lorikeet perch on their heads. Overall, this first part of the day was already exhilarating.
The ESS part of the excursion certainly came in during our next activity. Here, we once again were honoured with more close looks at the animals inhabiting the sanctuary, including a snake, a frog, a blue-tongued lizard and – lo and behold – the very animal present in the name of Lone Pine, a koala. In this section of the excursion, one of the sanctuary’s staff members elaborated on the importance of each individual animal to the ecosystem, where and how these animals lived, and how we could further protect them. What can we as people do in our everyday lives to help these animals? How can we ensure that in our actions, we allow for their conservation and continued existence? These were questions we strived to answer in our discussion – we all know of the mass impacts of urbanisation, deforestation, and climate change on these species, but it’s always difficult to grapple with the fact that we, as students and individuals, can’t create massive changes.
But we realised through this activity that sometimes it’s as simple as driving carefully, keeping your backyard safe for all wildlife, and being conscious of the companies you support through your spending and investments. As we were told during the activity: “In the end we will conserve only what we love, and we will love only what we understand.” Seeing these animals up close, holding them, feeding them – this was the best way for us to learn to not only love, but also understand them, and understand why their conservation is so important. Small, everyday actions aren’t that much of a sacrifice if they meant we, too, could conserve the environment around us.
Throughout the rest of the excursion, we were all much more conscious of the significance of the sanctuary. While feeding the kangaroos, I realised the impact we have on the livelihoods of these animals and became aware of how much there was left to do before I could possibly be sure any of them wouldn’t die off within our lifetimes. ESS is, if you haven’t yet realised, a depressing subject to study. But I didn’t let this pessimism get to me too much in the moment – I just pet the kangaroo I was handfeeding and stared into its big brown eyes, full of trust, and promised myself to not just listen in ESS, but to take in what I learned and act. Which is what we all should do: take full responsibility for our duty in ensuring the future safety of our natural environment.
The rest of the day passed in a sunny haze of walking around exploring the rest of the park – this included a wonderful experience at the Birds of Prey Show (the real birds of prey, not the movie), also referred to as the Raptor Show- the raptors being the beautiful predatory birds we got to see in action. Finally, I invested a well-spent fifteen dollars so a group of friends and I could sit and get photos next to a dingo, which was absolutely magical. The dingo, despite being allegedly very dangerous, was the sweetest little guy, and sat there patiently as I stared in awe and pet him softly. This was, I feel, the highlight of the excursion.
We finally went departed at around 02:15 p.m., reluctantly. Despite the sobering reality of our current world and society, it was truly fantastic to get to visit Lone Pine and learn about our natural habitat from such a close angle. The excursion was definitely a great time, and I’m sure everyone who went won’t forget it anytime soon.
Article written by Rian, Year 11