Extended field trips
Our intensive field courses within Australia offer you the chance to apply what you have learned in other courses in an intensive and enriching environment.
Trips are residential and generally take place in Central, Northern and tropical Queensland over two weeks in the July mid-semester break.
You'll come away with an appreciation of the issues surrounding the management and sustainable development of various natural and rural systems in the tropical marine, coastal and semi-arid environments that you visit.
Watch our videos
Watch our videos to get a taste of what to expect if you take one of our courses that feature a geological field trip.
ENVM3020: Environmental Science Tropical Tour
Description
This course involves a six to eight day Study Tour in North Queensland for Environmental Science students. It is designed to examine a range of environmental issues relating to natural and managed ecosystems and how they are impacted by and contribute to environmental change. It will evaluate the impacts of human activities in the region and the science-based solutions available to mitigate these impacts. The course will expose students to a range of stakeholder perspectives and unconscious biases, to optimise their approach to communicating science and maximising impact.
Additional fees are payable. In the event that students complete the fieldwork and then subsequently withdraw from this course without financial liability, the School reserves the right to charge full cost recovery for this fieldtrip.
Details
Course code: ENVM3020 Environmental Science Tropic Tour
Units: 2
Open to: internal undergraduates (BEnvSc students only).
Location: Various North Queensland
Duration: (dates tbc) Semester 1 2023
Cost: TBC (all inclusive: accommodation, food and transport during the fieldtrip).
Course cap: 35 students due to logistical (transport and accommodation) constraints.
Course Coordinator: Dr Paul Dennis
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au
ENVM3107: Northern Tour field excursion
Description

This residential study tour is a required component of the Bachelor of Environmental Management program. You'll explore the themes of:
- sustainable development in sensitive environments
- the role of biodiversity offsets
- indigenous Australians and sustainable development, with a focus on the Wild Rivers debate and coastal development.
You'll be encouraged to make connections across and between themes at a local and global scale, and have the chance to apply fundamental concepts within this field of study in an intensive and enriching environment.
Details
Course code: ENVM3107 Northern Tour field excursion
Units: 4
Open to: internal undergraduates (BEnvMan - SD students only).
Location: Far North Queensland
Duration: 9 days during mid-year break (30 Jun - 8 July) Semester 2 2023
Cost: extra fees are payable. Based on previous years, approximately $800-900 (all inclusive: accommodation, food and transport during the fieldtrip).
(Note - Students are required to organise their own transport to and from Cairns. This cost is NOT included in the fiedltrip fee).
Course cap: 25 students due to logistical (transport and accommodation) constraints.
Registration: Submit your EOI (expression of interest) form here by Friday, 24th February 2023
(Note - late EOI registrations will be placed on a waitlist, however there is no guarantee you will be offered a place).
Course Coordinator: Dr Paul Dennis
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au
ENVM3529/ENVM7529: Northern & Tropical Queensland tour
Description
(Note: This course is not currently offered in 2022).
This natural resource management tour will provide you with an appreciation of different management contexts, including social, cultural, legal, economic, political and ecological perspectives within which management is conducted.
Details
Course code: ENVM3529 / ENVM7529 Northern & Tropical Queensland Tour
Units: 2
Open to: undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students
Location: Far North Queensland
Duration: 9 days during mid-year break
Cost: extra fees are payable.
Course cap: a quota applies due to logistical constraints.
How to apply: Students will be advised if any places are available.
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au
ERTH3050: Mapping in the Outback
Description

This elective course (ERTH3050) is entirely field based.
Through a number of exercises, you'll learn how to “read rocks” and produce a professional geological map that appropriately delivers geological information. Field exercises involve mapping folded and faulted low-grade meta-sedimentary sequence in the area of Lake Moondarra, mapping igneous, metamorphic and deformational features at the margin of a granitic batholith (Sybella Granite), and mapping overprinting relationships of structural fabrics in high-grade metamorphic rocks (Mica Creek).
Note: you must have a solid background in the core geology subjects (mineralogy, sedimentology, structural geology and igneous and metamorphic petrology).
Details
Course code: ERTH3050 Mapping in the outback
Units: 2
Open to: 3rd-year geological sciences undergraduates
Location: Mount Isa, Queensland
Duration: 15 days excluding travel time to and from Mount Isa (19 June - 4 July) Semester 2 2023
Coordinator: Professor Gideon Rosenbaum
Cost: extra fees are payable. Based on previous years, approximately $700 (field component) plus $225 (return bus travel to Mt Isa).
Course cap: a quota applies due to logistical constraints.
Registration: Submit your EOI (expression of interest) form here by Friday, 24th March 2023
(Note - late EOI registrations will be placed on a waitlist, however there is no guarantee you will be offered a place).
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au
ERTH3212: Coral Reefs: Past, Present & Future
Description

This trip forms part of the elective course ERTH3212 Coral Reefs: Past, Present & Future, and supports lectures and lab work.
The trip will provide you with an introduction to geological research procedures and techniques, particularly if you're an earth scientist with an interest in modern or ancient reefs and limestone. It will also provide fundamental context if you're a biologist or environmental scientist wishing to pursue a career in coral reefs.
Details
Course code: ERTH3212 Coral Reefs: Past, Present & Future
Units: 2
Open to: 3rd-year domestic and international study-abroad undergraduates
Location: Heron Island, Queensland
Duration: 7 days (23 September – 1 October) Semester 2 2023
Coordinator: Professor Greggory Webb
Cost: $850 (approximately)
Course cap: 24 students due to logistical constraints.
Registration: Submit your EOI (expression of interest) form here by Friday, 26th May 2023
(Note - late EOI registrations will be placed on a waitlist, however there is no guarantee you will be offered a place).
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au
ERTH2050: Field Geology
Description
This trip forms part of ERTH2050 Field Geology, and supports lectures and lab work.
The trip will provide you with an introduction to geological mapping, map interpretation and field techniques. Field recognition and analysis of structural, stratigraphic and sedimentological features. Regional synthesis of field data.
Details
Course code: ERTH2050 Field Geology
Units: 2
Open to: 2nd-year domestic and international study-abroad undergraduates (and completion of ERTH1000)
Location: Rockhampton, Queensland
Duration: 9 day field trip. 17-25 June Semester 1 2023
Coordinator: Dr William Defliese
Cost: extra fees are payable. Based on previous years, this course is estimated to be approximately $350 (includes food, accommodation and associated field trip activities).
Course cap: 25 students due to logistical constraints.
Contact: sees@enquire.uq.edu.au