STUDENTS from Bobs Farm Public School got an exciting sneak peek at the new Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary last Tuesday, leaving rave reviews about the area’s new environmental tourism destination.

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The trip included an educational tour and a chance to test out the new Sky Walk.

Seeing koalas up close can be a real thrill, and the experience wasn’t lost on the keen group of students.

Iylah from Year Three said, “It was fun because we were able to see a whole heap of koalas close up.”

“It was very exciting to see so many koalas,” said Johno of Year Four.

Teagan, of Year Five, praised Council for taking steps to ensure the survival of koalas in the local area.

“We hardly get to see koalas in the wild anymore and it is so good that the Port Stephens Council has built a koala sanctuary to help with their survival, so we can all keep seeing them in the future,” she said.

Onyx of Year Three and David of Year Five took the opportunity to learn about some of the issues facing koalas in the wild.

“It was great to have an expert guide to teach us about the koala problems in our state,” said Onyx.

“It is good to see the koalas are being looked after, especially due to the bushfire devastation last summer,” said David.

Pati of Year Five praised the new sanctuary for it’s rehabilitation work.

“It’s nice to know that when a koala gets injured, they have a safe place to go and be treated and get well again and be released back into the wild eventually,” she said.

Indi of Year Six was inspired by the work of the sanctuary and it’s staff.

“It was really inspirational to know that we are making a big contribution in our area to help koalas and their survival,” she said.

All students enjoyed the experience and are hoping for a return visit soon.

“It was a great opportunity for Bobs Farm students to have a sneak peek, and it is a great benefit to have the sanctuary in our area, said Harper of Year Six.

“We had such fun having our first excursion of the year at the Koala sanctuary amongst the vegetation and koalas,” said Clarla of Year Four.

“It felt really good walking along the Skywalk and being at the high level to see the koalas close up,” Tash of Year Four said.

Bobs Farm Public School Principal, Megan Elliott, said the tour tied in closely with topics the students are currently working on in class.

“Our class is learning about sustainability and the environment and how koalas have been affected by housing development, car and road fatalities and clearing of the land for a whole range of reasons.

“We took our 15 primary students along and had a very informative tour with our guide. The sanctuary will be a real tourism and educational bonus for our area and it is so good a level of government is actually doing something positive for the protection of our koalas.”

The school also loaned it’s large ceramic Kreative Koala, or Ngunnawal Ngurra in Worimi language, to the Sanctuary for the rest of the year to help with donation collections.

By Doug CONNOR