Green Island

Stay dry or jump in and get wet on this excursion students will travel to Green Island, a vegetated coral cay located off the coast of Cairns. Green Island is an excellent place to explore both a tropical rainforest and World Heritage coral reef.

Travel 1 hour from Cairns via a comfortable catamaran ride. Upon arrival students and teachers will have approximately 5 hours to undertake place-based learning and immersive activities. The activities can be differentiated to meet the specific needs of your class and desired student outcomes.

Accessibility to snorkelling from Green Island is fantastic for students of all ages as they can wade in straight off the stunning coral sand beach.

During this activity students will be working with a designated Marine Biologist or Cultural Guide for a personalised and private tour. Students will explore the sea grass meadows and surrounding reef of Green Island. Along the way your Marine Biologist will be sharing interpretation and stories of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef and its’ inhabitants. Providing the most up to date information and helping to subdue misconceptions associate with this ecosystem. Your Marine Biologist can discuss biological and ecological process of the Great Barrier Reef and information on the management of the reef system and the threats it faces. All of our talks and presentations can be customised to meet the curriculum requirements of your students, be sure to let us know on booking and talk with your friendly guides.

On the tour, students can engage in citizen science on the reef. Collecting real-world monitoring data, including the Eye on the Reef program with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority [GBRMPA] and submitting images through the sightings network. Students can learn the importance of indicator species, how the reef is monitored and be able to submit their findings into the GBRMPA’s database.

Stay dry and enjoy the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef as you drift across the top of the reef platform. Our coral viewing tour provides views of the stunning coral gardens that surround Green Island. Listen to an engaging 30-minute presentation adapted to what you see during the tour. Points of interest along the way include, hard and soft coral formations, the fish feeding presentation, giant clams, anemonefish, and green and hawksbill turtle sightings.

Established in the 1950’s Marineland Melanesia displays a collection of nautical treasures from the days of sail, fascinating walk-through tribal oceanic museum and saltwater aquariums. The walk-through ends in a park housing Giant live crocodiles in a jungle rainforest setting.

Students can learn about these spectacular animals in an extremely exciting manner seeing them up close and will even attend a private feeding show to witness these powerful hunters in action.