Yr 11 Geography Zoo Excursion

How effective are conservation organizations, such as Melbourne Zoo, at transforming the tourist?

This is the hypothesis Year 11 Geography have been exploring as part of their Unit 2 Fieldwork investigations. On Friday 1st September Year 11 Geography undertook fieldwork on location at Melbourne Zoo. Students have been exploring the impacts of tourism on our world both economically and environmentally. Melbourne Zoo as part of Zoos Victoria, is a perfect local example of a built Eco-tourism location which is designed as a business but also an opportunity to educate and conserve natural features. 

Melbourne Zoo’s ethos is ‘connect, understand and act’. The zoo's objective is for members of the public to connect with their exhibits, understand the implications of human behaviors, and act or change their thinking and actions to be more sustainable/environmentally friendly. An example of their ethos in action is The Zoo's Palm Oil campaign. 

While on fieldwork students participated in a workshop, collected observational data, completed field sketches and photography, and applied critical in-field analysis towards the successes of Melbourne Zoo at meeting their ethos. Post fieldwork the students are now producing a fieldwork report which evaluates the impacts (positive and negative) Melbourne Zoo is having on visitors.