Booking and cancellation policy
Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre (EEC) aims to accommodate as many schools as possible throughout the year. Once you have booked an excursion or incursion with us we have reserved time in our schedule exclusively for your school and staffed our centre accordingly.
To ensure Field of Mars EEC is able to provide the best possible experience for all schools and students, we ask you to read and adhere to our booking and cancellation policy.
Fees and charges
- Schools will be charged based on the number of students confirmed as attending the excursion or incursion or the number of students who attend on the day (whichever is greater).
- Failure to re-confirm student numbers prior to the booked date will result in full charge to the school based on the initial student numbers booked or the number of students who attend on the day (whichever is greater).
Cancellations or changes to bookings
- Once schools have made a booking it is the booking staff member's responsibility to make sure that the booking information sent to Field of Mars EEC is correct and that the school community has been fully informed of the visit requirements.
- If you need to make changes to your booking Field of Mars EEC requires a minimum 30 days writen email notice to make major adjustments to your booking.
- Field of Mars EEC reserves the right to cancel or postpone in the event of inclement weather. Please see below for the list of trigger points for cancellation.
- Schools will be contacted as soon as possible if the weather forecast indicates 'cancel' or 'postpone' conditions. Please phone the centre if you have any concerns about the forecasted weather.
- If an excursion is cancelled due to weather conditions no cost will be incurred to the visiting school. In most cases we will do our best to arrange an alternate visit date.
| Timing of cancellation | Fees charged |
| Within 30 days of excursion or incursion date | $600 administration fee charged |
| Within 7 days of excursion/incursion date | Total fee charged based on the advised student attendance (initial booking) |
Trigger points for cancellation
Field of Mars EEC has a set of parameters at which we will consider whether to cancel/postpone or modify an excursion. Weather warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology will be monitored closely. Schools will be contacted as soon as possible if the forecast indicates cancel/postpone conditions. Please phone the centre or the mobile number on the booking form if you have concerns about weather.
Weather |
Cancel/Postpone |
Notes |
Rain |
70-100% chance of 10mm or more |
Consideration given to student numbers and program. Students bring raincoats if showers are forecast. |
Heat |
35°C or higher |
Consult with school about modifying or postponing if temperatures of over 35°C are predicted. |
Storm |
Severe weather warning or higher issued for storms |
Consult with school about modifying or postponing when non-severe storms are forecast. |
Wind |
Wind warnings |
Consult with school about modifying or postponing if strong wind warning issued. |
Flood |
High rainfall causing localised flooding of Buffalo Creek in the Field of Mars Reserve |
Monitor creek levels and tides. High rainfall has the potential to cause flash flooding of the Buffalo Creek, covering the boardwalk and blocking road access to the centre as well as cutting off entrance points to the bushland. |
Bushfire |
Catastrophic fire danger days |
Extreme fire danger, closures of National Park tracks with total fire ban - consult wth school about modifying or postponing. Catastrophic fire danger days - site closed and excursions postponed. |
Smoke/Air quality |
Very poor warning issued for air quality |
Consult with school about modifying or postponing if poor air quality warning issued. |