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. With onsite facilities, the Reserve is well suited to environmental education and discovery. Excursions 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.
Yarran Dheran is also an important site for individuals or groups to conduct environmental research projects.
The Reserve is convenient for visiting schools, offering easy bus parking, shelter and toilets. School groups sometimes find it easier to come by train, walking to the Reserve from nearby Heatherdale station. It also provides a valuable setting for community education and individual research programs.
Yarran Dheran offers an ideal environment for students to learn about:
habitat and ecology, see Mullum Mullum Creek
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 public, often alongside professional scientists and research institutions. As a citizen scientist you help collect and analyse data that informs scientific research and environmental decision-making and, most importantly, tracks how a place changes over time.
These citizen science projects are run by the committee and have contributed data to external bodies on an ongoing basis.
WaterWatch
Melbourne Water's WaterWatch program monitors the health of local waterways, identifies what is affecting them, and finds opportunities for stream rehabilitation and education projects.
The Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee monitors water quality at several sites along Mullum Mullum Creek and provides the data to Melbourne Water.
Our Work | Engage with Conservation Today — Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve
Monthly bird surveys
Volunteers survey bird species in Yarran Dheran every month. It's a great way to learn about the local birdlife, and new members are always welcome.
Results are recorded after each month's survey, and bird lists from recent surveys can be viewed on the Yarran Dheran eBird hotspot.
The committee has maintained a record of bird sightings in the Reserve since 2006, available in the summary table of 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's FrogID program.
The surveys are a chance to learn how to record and identify the calls of the seven frog species that may be found here, using the Frog Census app, the FrogID app or iNaturalist.
More about all three projects and how to get involved: our work at Yarran Dheran.
What can you contribute as an individual?
Share your knowledge locally while contributing data for researchers, government, land managers, the community and schools.
Report a sighting
Seen some of the wildlife of Yarran Dheran or the Mullum Mullum Valley while out walking? Report your sightings to the Secretary at yarrandherancommittee@gmail.com and add to the record the community has built since 2002.
For wildlife sightings reported by the local community, see:
2026 sightings (updated 11 August 2026)
Local sighting data remains important. It is published on our noticeboards and is much valued by the community.
Use iNaturalist
Biodiversity records compiled over many years by museums, universities, government departments and other organisations have become fragmented and hard for outside users to reach. Sharing your observations through iNaturalist helps close that gap, by feeding local data into the Atlas of Living Australia, Australia's national biodiversity database.
iNaturalist is a free, easy-to-use app that helps you identify plants and wildlife while contributing those records to the Atlas.
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 citizen science projects
The City of Whitehorse runs a range of citizen science projects, often hosted at Yarran Dheran and at other parks and reserves across Whitehorse.
The City Nature Challenge, BioBlitz and Great Southern BioBlitz are held annually by Whitehorse in partnership with the Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee. Each helps you identify plants and wildlife using iNaturalist, and share what you find with others.