Our centre
Where is the Daradgee Environmental Education Centre?
The Daradgee Environmental Education Centre (DEEC) is located 11km north of Innisfail and 84km south of Cairns in an agricultural landscape reliant on the production of sugar cane, bananas (and other fruit), beef cattle, fishing and tourism. The centre's grounds are 1.4ha and adjoin 2.7ha of council reserve made up of pathed rainforest walks, a large tree-lined oval bordering the North Johnstone River.
What does the Daradgee Environmental Education Centre provide?
The DEEC hosts both residential camps and day visit excursions catering for Prep to Year 12, as well as community groups and sporting organisations. Daradgee offers flexibility, catering for all students from small schools, mixed year levels, large and multi-class groups.
Facilities
The DEEC’s facilities are a combination of the original Daradgee State School building and more recently completed structures. These include:
- Double classroom and administration space
- Air conditioned accommodation blocks (can accommodate up to 108 people)
- Kitchen and dining facilities seating 50 and a large dining veranda seating 80 - featuring wood fired pizza oven
- Indoor Climbing Shed 15 x 9 m x 7.5 m high and Low Ropes Challenge Course
- Farm Shed 14 x 10 m and Farmyard
- Daradgee Wharf and Daraji Sunbird 23 seat surveyed vessel
- Other facilities include covered areas, nursery and greenhouse, etc.
Daradgee is also within close proximity to the MAMU Canopy Walk, Paronella Park, Etty Bay, and the Wooroonooran and Eubanangi Swamp National Parks.
Programs and Activities
Programs are designed to meet the individual needs of schools through a pre camp consultation process. Our camps and day visits focus on different areas of the Australian Curriculum with our three main areas listed below. Visit Programs for more information on how our programs and activities support schools to deliver the Australian Curriculum.
Health and Physical Education
Daradgee EEC has a range of facilities and activities that support students to acquire and apply movement skills, concepts and strategies across a range of physical activity contexts. Activities may include: Low Ropes Course and Mohawk Walk, Bouldering, Top Rope Climbing, Faulty Towers, Team Challenges and Catapults. Teachers guide students through these activities to progressively develop competency and achieve success as individiuals and as members of teams.
Science
Students attending a camp or day visit at Daradgee EEC engage in a range of experiential learning activities to contextualise science learning with a focus on understanding biology concepts. Activities may include: Photography, Farm Visit, Snake Education, Food Production, Creek Visits, Rain Forest Walks and Boating and Fishing. These real world experiences assist students to experience science education as a relevant, human driven process where the development of inquiry skills fosters curiousty, discovery and problem solving.
Personal and Social Capabilities
While growth in awareness and management of personal and social interactions is a key part of any camp at Daradgee EEC, the centre provides programs which cater for schools looking to focus on P&S Capabilities and social and emotional learning. Daradgee EEC staff use a range of individual and team challenges to provide fun and engaging experiences where students move outside their comfort zones, develop new strategies for personal and social mangement, and ways to reflect on and transfer their learning to the classroom, home and other settings.
Specialist Hire
Centre facilities are available for hire for specialist camps. Daradgee EEC staff are able to cater for a wide range of autonomous camps such as music camps, university groups, community groups, retreats and sports teams. Site activities, such as rock climbing, can be included in your camp; please contact the team to discuss your needs.
How to find us
Directions - How to find us