Four Weeks. Unique Forests. Remarkable Marsupials.
At dusk, gliders launch from tree hollows while possums stir in the canopy overhead. Australia's long isolation from other continents produced these extraordinary mammals, yet one to two species vanish per decade.
You'll spotlight striped possums in old-growth forest, watch gliders emerge from dens at dusk in wet sclerophyll forest, observe pademelons on campus, and survey restored habitat and corridors to learn whether marsupials are using them.
What You'll Do
Nocturnal Spotlighting
Spotlight striped possums and bandicoots in rainforest habitats, then watch gliders emerge from dens at dusk in sclerophyll woodland.
Savanna & Sanctuary Excursions
Observe rock wallabies among granite outcrops on the drier western Tablelands, then meet some of Australia's most elusive marsupials up close at a wildlife sanctuary.
Restored Habitat Surveys
Collect non-invasive survey data at multiple revegetation sites to assess whether marsupials are colonizing reconnected forest fragments.
Field Sites
From old-growth rainforest to sclerophyll woodland to savanna: three ecosystems, three marsupial communities, one connected habitat.
Wet Tropics Rainforest
Nocturnal spotlighting for striped possums and bandicoots in old-growth habitats around campus.
Sclerophyll & Savanna
Watch gliders at dusk in wet sclerophyll forest, and pademelons in the forests around campus.
Restored Habitat Sites
Restored plots and revegetation corridors where you assess whether marsupials are colonizing them.
Marsupials Adapted to Australia's Extremes. Spotlight Them at Dusk.
Embryonic diapause. Torpor. Vasoconstriction. Australian marsupials evolved physiological strategies no placental mammal shares, and one to two species vanish per decade from habitat loss, introduced predators, and climate change. Students spotlight striped possums in rainforest, observe gliders emerging from dens in sclerophyll forest at dusk, and drive to the western Tablelands to study rock wallabies, ancestors of today's tree-kangaroos. The field research report assesses whether marsupials are colonizing restored habitat, the central question behind the Tablelands' revegetation work.
Learn by Doing
One course spans marsupial diversity past and present, evolution, physiology, behavior, and conservation across rainforest, sclerophyll, and savanna habitats, with students contributing to marsupial monitoring in forests and restoration sites.
Course
One intensive field course, 4 credits
Covers marsupial diversity, evolution, biogeography, and physiology through nocturnal spotlighting, kangaroo observation, and non-invasive field methods at restored habitat sites.
View Syllabus (PDF)Join This Summer
Now enrolling for Summer 2027.
Dates & Costs
4 weeks, 4 credits. Financial aid and SFS scholarships available.
