Cowabunga! Turtles rule at Gunbower

By Geoff Adams

Mar 28, 2024

Student Charlotte Green assisted a hatchling to find its way to its new home at Gunbower. Photo: Nicholas Rowlands Photo by Nicholas Rowlands

The freshwater turtle population at Gunbower is in better shape after a visit by school students from Melbourne.

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The group of 20 Templestowe College students spent five days on school camp, protecting turtle nests, releasing hatchlings into the waterways and assisting in research programs.

They worked under the guidance of Graham Stockfeld from Turtles Australia.

Teacher Duncan Sadler said the students got to work with researchers from the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, who were working with the Barapa Barapa community and the North Central Catchment Management Authority, trapping turtles for data collection to aid in their conservation.

The ‘turtle camp’ fits with the progressive school’s animal program.

Student Charlotte Green said it was an amazing experience to work with Turtles Australia on the camp.

“We did weighing and measuring and helped release 37 hatchlings. It was very cool.”

Gunbower photographer Nicholas Rowlands captured images of the program, many of which are published on Turtles Australia’s sites.