Inclusive education and accessibility | Field of Mars EEC

Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre works with schools to support safe, positive and inclusive excursions and incursions.

We help teachers plan reasonable adjustments so students with disability and additional learning and support needs can participate as fully as possible.

Many programs can be modified through adjusted fieldwork routes, wheelchair-accessible options, alternative activities, visual supports, social stories and other personalised strategies.

Teachers are encouraged to contact us before their visit to discuss student needs, mobility requirements, medical information, sensory considerations or other adjustments.

Support for students with additional needs

This page helps students, families and teachers prepare for a visit to Field of Mars EEC.

Social stories are available for selected excursions and can help students understand what they may see, hear and do during their visit.

If your program does not have a social story, or if a student needs additional information or adjustments, please contact us before your visit.

Preparing for your excursion

Before your visit, teachers should review the relevant program information, location information and social stories with students.

Families may also find the videos, map and photographs on this page useful when helping students prepare for Field of Mars Reserve.

Watch the video below to see what Field of Mars EEC and Field of Mars Reserve look like before you visit.

https://bcove.video/3KnIo0J

Getting around Field of Mars Reserve

Use the map below to see paths, boardwalks, buildings and key features of Field of Mars Reserve.

Some tracks are steep, uneven or unsealed. The boardwalk and some nearby paths provide more accessible options.

Contact Field of Mars EEC before your visit if a student has mobility needs or may require an adjusted route.

Watch this video to see what it is like to walk on the boardwalk, including railings, surface and surroundings, before you come. Field of Mars Reserve map PDF

What will you see?

When you visit Field of Mars Reserve, you may see some of the plants, animals and places shown below.

Kookaburra sitting on a branch in a tree

You might see a laughing kookaburra sitting on a tree branch, looking around the bush.

Large sandstone rock situated in a bush setting.

Some parts of the reserve have big rocky sandstone outcrops surrounded by trees and plants.

Two millipedes curled up in the bark of a tree

Tiny millipedes can sometimes be found curled up and hiding in the bark of trees.

Ducks glide quietly along the creek, sharing the water with lots of other wildlife.

A brush turkey walking on the ground with people sitting behind it

A brush turkey might wander past you on the track, scratching in the leaves while people sit nearby.

Looking upwards at the leaves in the canopy of a eucalyptus tree

When you look up, you can see the tall eucalyptus trees forming a green canopy overhead.

Close up of a magpie standing on the ground

Australian magpies often walk on the ground, searching for food and watching what is happening around them.

Paper bark trees standing in a fern undergrowth

In some places, paperbark trees and ferns grow together, showing that there are many different environments to explore.

Some spiders build webs between branches and plants to catch their food.

Large rock boulders in the bush provide different types of habitats for animals and plants.

View of a boardwalk in between a forest setting with some flowers in the foreground

The boardwalk takes you through the forest so you can safely look at the plants, flowers and creek.

Banksia flower spikes growing on a banksia tree.

Banksia flower cones grow on banksia trees and provide food and shelter for different animals and birds.

What will you hear?

Listen to some of the sounds you might hear at Field of Mars Reserve, such as birds, wind and water.

https://bcove.video/46ofsgu

What is the boardwalk like?

Watch this video to see what it is like to walk on the boardwalk, including railings, surface and surroundings, before you come.

https://players.brightcove.net/6129823267001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6379953388112

Wheelchair accessibility

The boardwalk provides an accessible way to experience Field of Mars Reserve. It follows Buffalo Creek and passes the nature play space.

The boardwalk includes a kick rail for wheelchair safety. Some nearby sections include gravel or soil surfaces.

Field of Mars EEC has a Hippocampe all-terrain wheelchair available to support students with mobility needs. Please contact the centre before your visit if a student may need to use the wheelchair or an adjusted route.

Field of Mars Reserve track map showing the wheelchair accessible track route alongside Buffalo Creek. Map showing the accessible routes in the Field of Mars Reserve.

A student in a Hippocampe all-terrain wheelchair with another student beside her and a Field of Mars EEC staff operating the wheelchair. Field of Mars EEC offers a Hippocampe all-terrain wheelchair to guests with mobility needs.