As part of the Western Australian Naturalists’ Club, the Young Naturalists is a club for young people who have an interest in Natural History and would like to learn more about the natural world from experts and by first-hand experience.
The Young Naturalists has about twelve events a year. Some of these are meetings at the Henderson Environment Centre at North Beach. The Centre adjoins the Star Swamp Bushland Reserve. These meetings usually include a bushwalk or night stalk, followed by a session at the Centre where we do things such as identify things found, exchange news of things we have observed in nature, share nature photos on a laptop, look at books and charts on nature, and look at things more closely through microscopes. Sometimes we have a speaker on a workshop at the Centre. Other events are excursions to places of interest around Perth.
Things we’ve done and places we’ve been
Activities: snorkelling, beachcombing, bushwalking, spotlighting, stargazing, fungi forays, dip-netting, using microscopes, camps,workshops.
Places: Penguin Island, Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary, Paruna Wildlife Park, John Forrest National Park (tunnel walk), Cockburn Wetlands Education Centre, Mettams Beach, Sixty Foot Falls, North Lake, Fauna Rehabilitation Centre, Herdsman Lake, Star Swamp Bushland, Earth Sciences Museum
Focuses: frogs, spiders, nocturnal marsupials, freshwater life, bush birds, waterbirds, fungi, wildflowers, dragonflies, nocturnal insects, fossils, gemstones, marine life, reptiles, astronomy, raptors.
Workshops: nature photography, drawing from nature.
Camps: Hills Forest Centre, Dryandra Nature Reserve
Membership
Membership is open to children aged between 6 and 17 years. Family membership is $100 a year for the year January to December. Individual membership is available for $40 but please see note below. Members will receive a monthly newsletter from the Main Club and will receive all details of Young Naturalist events by email.
Please note that children must always be accompanied by a parent or carer at all Young Naturalist events. Also, families who attend excursions are expected to be financial members. Please contact Steve Page if you would like to attend an excursion or two as non-members before making the decision to join.
Email updates
Subscribe to receive email updates from the Young Naturalists. We’ll keep you informed of Young Nats news and events each month.