Education & Learning programs
A living classroom in the heart of Melbourne’s east — offering curriculum-linked school programs, community events, and opportunities for people of all ages to explore and learn about local ecology.
- Free School programs
- All ages Pre-school to tertiary
- Citizen science Hands-on projects
Community Programs
The Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee offers a range of community based environmental education activities, which aim to develop an awareness and understanding of the sometimes unique, but always special, environmental values of this urban Reserve. It’s a bit of ‘real bush’ only 20 km from the CBD and owes its continued existence to the community who fought for a tunnel under the tollway as an alternative to Eastlink’s proposed above ground route through the Mullum Mullum Valley.
Enjoy the Reserve and learn more about this bushland environment by attending the guided walks and presentations by experts at Yarran Dheran, through the committee’s annual Calendar of Events.
A living classroom in the heart of the city - City of Whitehorse Environmental Education Program
The Whitehorse City Council Environment Education Program at Yarran Dheran includes a range of school and early years programs and with onsite facilities, Yarran Dheran is an ideal location for environmental education and discovery. Excursion for schools and early learning centres are offered on Wednesday and Thursday. To learn more about the programs and to book your excursion please visit the Whitehorse Council Environmental Education page.
It is also an important site for individuals or groups, to conduct environmental research projects.
Yarran Dheran is a very important location for all environmental education programs as it is convenient for visiting schools, offering easy bus parking and available shelter and toilets. School groups sometimes find it more convenient to come by train, walking to the Reserve from nearby Heatherdale station. This bushland reserve also provides an important location for community education and for individual research programs.
Yarran Dheran offers an ideal environment for students to learn about:
habitat and ecology, see Mullum Mullum Creek | Geology, Ecology & History | Yarran Dheran — Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve
history and restoration see History of Yarran Dheran
For more details of environmental education programs offered by City of Whitehorse, see Environmental Education | Whitehorse City Council
Submit an Expression of Interest in becoming a volunteer to support the program at Environmental Education Program Volunteers | Whitehorse City Council
Citizen science at Yarran Dheran
Citizen science is scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.
Citizen scientists help with the collection and/or analysis of data. As a citizen scientist, you collect valuable scientific data that can make a meaningful impact to scientific research and environmental decision making, and most importantly, can monitor changes over time.
These Citizen Science projects are conducted by the committee and have contributed data to external bodies on an ongoing basis:
Waterwatch
Melbourne Water’s Water Watch program monitors the current health of our local waterways. It assesses what is currently impacting on the health of our local waterways and identifies opportunities for stream rehabilitation and education programs and projects.
The Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee monitors water quality and provides data to Melbourne Water at several sites along the Mullum Mullum Creek
Our Work | Engage with Conservation Today — Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve
Monthly bird surveys
Volunteers conduct surveys of bird species in Yarran Dheran on a monthly basis.
It’s a great way for the community to learn about the local birdlife and new members are always welcome. The results of each months survey are recorded and bird lists from recent surveys can be viewed at:
https://ebird.org/australia/hotspot/L3163291
The committee has maintained a record of bird sightings in the Reserve since 2006 and this may be viewed on the summary table bird sightings.
Frog surveys
The committee conducts a quarterly survey of frog species heard in the ponds at Yarran Dheran as part of Melbourne Water’s Frog Census and the Australian Museum Frog ID program at FrogID – The Australian Museum.
These surveys provide an opportunity to learn how to record and identify the calls of the seven species of frogs that may be found at Yarran Dheran using platforms such as the Melbourne Water Frog Census app, the Australian Museum’s Frog ID app, or iNaturalist.
Our Work | Engage with Conservation Today — Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve
What can you contribute as an individual?
Share your knowledge locally while also contributing data for the use of researchers, government, land managers, the community and schools.
Add to the data built up by the community since 2002. See some of the wildlife of Yarran Dheran and the Mullum Mullum Valley while out walking? Share your sightings with other walkers by reporting these to the Secretary at yarrandherancommittee@gmail.com,
For wildlife sightings reported by the local community, see the below summaries:
2026 Sightings (updated 11 August 2026)
Local sighting data continues to be important, is published on our noticeboards and is much valued by the community
However, it is now widely acknowledged that the compilation of local data over years by museums, universities, government departments and organisations has resulted in the fragmentation and inaccessibility of biodiversity data to potential external users. Use iNaturalist to share your knowledge about biodiversity in Yarran Dheran with researchers, government, land managers, the community and schools by providing local data to The Atlas of Living Australiaala.org.au by using iNaturalist.
iNaturalist is a free and easy to use app that helps you to identify plants and wildlife on a personal basis while at the same time contributing important data for The Atlas of Living Australia, ala.org.au, Australia’s national biodiversity database.
Download the free app or visit inaturalist.org
See the iNaturalist Guide to get started.
For a list of wildlife species found in Yarran Dheran, see the Yarran Dheran Biodiversity Project
Participate in City of Whitehorse citizen science projects
The City of Whitehorse Citizen Science projects are part of a growing global movement to meaningfully engage the community in scientific research. Its vision is to drive this new era of public participation in science by developing collaborative, engaging projects that support scientific research and decision-making.
Whitehorse manages a range of Citizen Science projects. These are often hosted by Yarran Dheran as well as by other Parks and Reserves in Whitehorse and include:
City Nature Challenge, BioBlitz and Great Southern BioBlitz programs are all conducted by Whitehorse annually in partnership with the Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee. The programs aim to help you identify plants and wildlife using iNaturalist as a platform as well as enabling you to share your data with others.