Marine Biologist Activities for Students

The Great Barrier Reef is the worlds largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and is home to countless marine life including 6 species of turtles, 215 species of birds, 17 species of sea snakes and more than 1,500 species of fish. What better place to expand your students knowledge on Marine Biology than on Fitzroy Island, located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

We have a range of hands on educational activities designed to inspire and educate your students on the Great Barrier Reef, sustainable practises, what Fitzroy Island is doing to protect the reef and our planet.

‘Touch & Feel’ Marine Session

Students will be invited to immerse themselves in the wonders of the underwater world with an interactive ‘touch & feel’ session with our resident Marine Biologist.

Get up close and personal with a variety of marine specimens including a seahorse, starfish, stingray barb and dolphins tooth, all of which have been washed up on the beach here on Fitzroy Island. Classes can be tailored to suit all ages.

‘Become a Marine Biologist’ Program

Live a day in the life of a Marine Biologist and become passionate about our oceans!

This program involves spending a the day with our resident Marine Biologist and learning about the underwater world through a series of fun ‘hands on’ activities that will at depth to your students marine science studies.

The itinerary will include discussions on the Reef Restoration, sustainability, a tour of the turtle Rehabilitation Centre, snorkel tour, Glass Bottom Boat experience, fish feeding and Eye on the Reef program.

Reef Restoration Activities

Fitzroy Island Resort is home to multiple coral nurseries that have been planted by the Reef Restoration in an effort to harvest and plant new corals on the damaged areas of the Great Barrier Reef. We offer a variety of activities where students will learn about the impressive works of the Reef Restoration project and how Fitzroy Island Resort is helping its cause.

  • Reef Restoration Talk (45 minutes) 
    Learn about the Great Barrier Reef and how and why we are growing corals here on Fitzroy Island.
  • Reef Restoration Talk + Guided Snorkel to Nursery and Outplant Areas (3 hours)
    Students will pay a visit to the coral nursery and enjoy a guided snorkel at White Rock where the healthy corals have been planted.
  • Reef Restoration Talk + Corals of Opportunity Program (930am to 3pm)
    Why not take part in out planting the coral? Our corals of opportunity program allows students to help the Reef Restoration team save dislodged coral colonies and reestablish them back into the reef!

Minimum age apply, please contact us for more information.

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EYE ON THE REEF Monitoring

The government program ‘Eye on the Reef’ is a reef monitoring program that enables our Marine Biologist to contribute to the reef’s protection by capturing and collecting valuable information about marine animals, reef health, incidents and any unusual and amazing experiences that our staff and guests encounter.

Our Marine Biologist will guide students through a short presentation on the program, followed by a snorkelling tour to monitor the reef. Slates will be provided that students can record information on which will go straight to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for analysing.

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Sustainability Talk

Go on a guided tour around the Resort to learn about the ways we are minimising our ecological impact through our operations and how we aspire to remain sustainable with our natural resources.

We also discuss the ways we have reduced single use plastic around the resort and our partnerships with organisations like The Last Straw and Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.

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Beach Clean Up

Let’s clean up the Great Barrier Reef! This fantastic initiative is done in accordance with Tangoroa Blue, a non-profit organisation that is focused on the health of our marine environment. Since the program started in 2004, more than 13 million pieces of marine debris have been removed from the Australian coastline, and counting!

Students are provided with a sheet to tally up the rubbish we collect. This information is then used for the broader research on marine debris including analysing the types of debris which allows us to tackle the issues.

Turtle Rehabilitation Tours

Fitzroy Island Resort is proud to be a major sponsor of the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre; paying thousands in lease fees each month to ensure the sick and injured sea turtles are able to recuperate in the clean waters of Welcome Bay.

Students will love meeting some of the patients at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and learning all about why they are there, what we are doing to rehabilitate them and how we can stop the human induced factors that leads to these turtles becoming sick and injured.

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