EDUCATION
Dingo Whiskers is a community education program offered by the Australian Dingo Foundation. Our passionate team are lucky enough to present alongside wonderful ambassador dingoes from the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary. This enables us to demonstrate the physical differences between dingoes, Canis dingo, and domestic dogs, Canis familiaris.
Our presentations also cover a range of topics from dingo biology, ecology, history, coexistence, and more! Using this holistic approach, we aim to get Australian’s to think outside the box. Overall, our service intends to point out the difference between how dingoes are perceived and what they actually are – Australia’s one-of-a-kind top predator, which is part of a unique Oceanic canid genetic clade, along with the New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis hallstromi).
We cater for Primary and Secondary school incursions/excursions, corporate or other events within an hour’s drive of Toolern Vale. Content presented can be tailored to accommodate a special event or subject matter. Additionally, we can offer a Zoom session tailored to your needs.
Incursions are currently offered on Tuesdays from 9am. Zoom sessions are currently offered on Thursdays from 12pm. Incursions and Zoom sessions can be booked via the Google Profile booking platform. Excursions are offered any day from 11am and can be booked via email or phone call.
If you’re interested in one of our presentations, please see below for pricing and policies. Click here to make a booking online, or via our Google Profile. Alternatively, email at dingowhiskers@gmail.com, or call Eli on 0416 306 171.
You can also follow our journey on Instagram @dingowhiskers.
Incursion – $400 per session
For properties within 1 hour of Toolern Vale
Want to get up close and personal with Australia’s native canine? Don’t worry, these ones won’t eat your students homework.
Our one-hour sessions cover topics such as Indigenous significance, specialised anatomy, ecological niche, social behaviour and threats. After the powerpoint, one of our friendly ambassador dingos will give a live demonstration of the differences between dingos and dogs. The session concludes with 15 minutes for questions – our presenters love fostering curious and creative minds, so bring on the tough questions!
Time: 60 minutes per session, limit of 4 sessions per day. Breaks are required between each session
Capacity: 25 students per session, plus staff.
Requirements: A presentation space/classroom, HDMI compatible projector/screen, microphone if needed, small table if available. Please let our staff know if you do not have access to any of this equipment.
Incursion – $200 per session
For properties further than 1 hour of Toolern Vale
Dingos are home-bodies, but our humans love educating far and wide!
Our dingoes can travel hundreds of kilometres by foot, but they aren’t so enthusiastic about cars. If your property is located further than 60 minutes of our sanctuary then our presenters would love to visit to share our in-depth knowledge. Our one-hour sessions cover topics such as Indigenous significance, specialised anatomy, Pre- and post-European history, ecological niche, social behaviour and threats. Our videos will demonstrate the differences between dingo’s and dogs, and highlight a dingo’s super senses! The session concludes with 15 minutes for questions. Our presenters love fostering curious and creative minds, so bring on the tough questions!
Time: 60 minutes per session, no session limit per day.
Capacity: 50 students per session, plus staff.
Requirements: A presentation space/classroom, HDMI compatible projector/screen, microphone if needed. Please let our staff know if you do not have access to any of this equipment.
Excursion – $50 per student, $75 per staff member
Want to experience the work of our sanctuary first-hand? Come visit us!
Excursions typically run for 1.5-2 hours, and begin with a presentation about our sanctuary and the ecological importance of dingos. After the presentation, one of our friendly ambassador dingos will give a live demonstration of the differences between dingos and dogs. We will then move to the exercise yards, where students will spend 20 minutes watching our furry-friends do their dingo thing. This is a great time to ask questions, so get those gears turning! The session concludes with some stories from our volunteers, and a browse through the gift shop.
Time: 1.5-2 hours per session, limit of 2 sessions per day. Sessions are held at 11am and 2pm.
Capacity: Strictly 15 attendees per session (including staff).
Requirements: Own transport. The sanctuary is only suitable to mini buses, vans or cars. The sanctuary is not accessible via public transport. Attendees must wear closed toe shoes, long pants and clothing that can get dirty (more information is available on the website). Age limit 7yrs+.
Online presentation – $125 per session
A little too far for us to (din)go?
Our online presentations are perfect for any institutions who are a little too far away for our team to travel to, or who may may be unable to accommodate an in-person session. Each 1-hour presentation goes in-depth on Indigenous significance, specialised anatomy, ecological niche, social behaviour and threats. Presentations are supported with videos or live dingo demonstrations (available on selected days). The session concludes with 15 minutes for questions – our presenters love fostering curious and creative minds, so bring on the tough questions!
Time: 60 minutes per session. No sessions-per-day limit, no breaks required.
Capacity: Price is per 30 students, no audience size limit
Requirements: Zoom account, good internet connection, compatible device (e.g. phone or laptop), projector/screen, microphone and speakers, webcam if desired.
Worksheet pack – $20 per classroom
Want to get your paws dirty?
Our worksheet packs are perfect for anyone wanting some hands-on content for students to reflect on and explore the topics discussed in our presentations. Purchase this pack as an add-on to your session, and we’ll provide you with printable activity pages tailored to your class level.
Presentation Pack – $50 per classroom
Looking for something a bit more DIY (Dingo Information Yourself)?
If you’d like to educate your class on the amazing abilities of dingos but can’t quite squeeze one of our sessions in, then you can purchase a copy of our presentation with speaker’s notes. Dingo education should be accessible to all! We also highly recommend reading on below, as our team always aims to find inclusive arrangements for all situations.
Custom Content
Got something else in mind? Just howl-ler!
We believe education should be accessible to all and aim to advocate for our beloved Canis dingo at every opportunity. We hope to foster everyone’s desire to learn and build a community of ‘Wandi Warriors’ all over the country. If our packs aren’t quite suited to your budget, time or resource constraints then please reach out to our team. We will do our best to come up with a program that suits your needs so that everyone has the opportunity to learn. If your class is currently focusing on a particular topic (eg. Trophic cascades, current ecological issues, veterinary studies, environmental careers, etc) then please let our team know – our presenters can easily alter the presentation to match your focus.
Travel fees
<30 Mins – $200
For institutions that are within 30 minutes of our home base in Toolern-Vale.
30-60 Mins – $250
For institutions that are within 30-60 minutes of our home base in Toolern-Vale.
>60 mins – $200 for 1.5 hours, +$25 per additional 30 minutes
For institutions that are more than 60 minutes from of our home base in Toolern-Vale. Due to dingo welfare, all incursions further than 1 hour do not include ambassador dingo visitation.
Please click here to download a PDF of our current pricelist.
Please click here to download a PDF of our current policies and procedures.
The Australian Dingo Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation, and registered conservation charity. All ADF proceeds provide support and care for 40+ pure and entire dingoes at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre. Any money raised through our education service enables us to not only care for our dingoes, but allows us to continue researching Australia’s misunderstood top land predator.
SCHOOL SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES
School Sponsorship Packages give schools the wonderful opportunity of sponsoring any one of the dingoes at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary (tax deductible), with educational resources and presentations as an added bonus. Schools are able to choose from different priced sponsorship packages, and schools outside of our 1-hour travel radius will also be able to learn about dingoes and support dingo conservation.
| PACKAGE | CONTENT | PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| Desert |
|
$40 per month (total $480) |
| Tropical |
|
$80 per month (total $960) |
| Alpine |
|
$120 per month (total $1440) |
Please note: Close schools are within 1 hours drive from the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary in Toolern Vale, and far schools are further than 1 hours drive from the Sanctuary. Excursions to the Sanctuary have a maximum of 20 students per booking. Incursions to schools are a maximum of 2 hours for dingo welfare, and multiple short presentations can be booked within this timeframe to accommodate large cohorts.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM
If you would like to register your interest in purchasing a School Sponsorship Package, please fill out the details in the form below. We will then contact you to confirm all details. Don’t forget to take a look at the ‘Our Dingoes’ page if you need help in deciding which dingo to sponsor.
COMING SOON
A VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) Program is currently being designed to support students completing a VCAL certificate. The first implementation currently covers PDS (Personal Development Skills) with a Unit 1 and Unit 2 curriculum outline and resources. In the future, a curriculum will also be developed for Work Related Skills (WRS), Literacy and Numeracy. The program is adaptable to all levels of VCAL (foundation, intermediate, and senior). The purpose of the program is to create connections between the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and schools, raising awareness for the dingoes while supporting teachers in creating long-lasting community partnerships.
Dingo Whiskers Club is a 2 hour weekend workshop tailored to cater for Grades 4, 5 and 6 that will begin in 2021. Educational stations will be set-up at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and will allow students to learn about dingoes behind the scenes. Special guest appearances across various professions will also be part of the DW Club, as limited edition events, to broaden students’ horizons.