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Why Echidna
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Echidna Walkabout - About Us and the Environment!
Since 1993 Echidna Walkabout has been providing high
quality nature experiences throughout Victoria and south east Australia
for small groups of international and domestic travellers.
We organise everything for you on our fully guided and
catered journeys. Our prices include everything except for your
personal effects (which you probably wouldn't want us to deal with
anyway!). Please read our detailed tour itineraries and if you have any
doubts about what is included please ask us.
Janine Duffy and Roger Smith are the founders and
Owner/Operators of Echidna Walkabout, based in Melbourne, Victoria.
They both have a strong respect for the environment, the indigenous
cultures and interest in environmentally sustainable living.
Our in-house guide training program ensures that your
guide is qualified in all aspects of tour leadership, first aid,
logistics and organisation with special emphasis on interpretation of
nature and Aboriginal Culture. The Echidna Walkabout guide team
on Picasa.
 The International Ecotourism Society
We are members of The International Ecotourism Society
(TIES). As the world's oldest and largest international
ecotourism association, TIES seeks to be the global source of knowledge
and advocacy uniting communities, conservation, and sustainable travel.
TIES mission is
- uniting conservation, communities and sustainable travel, TIES
promotes responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment and improves the well-being of local people.Environment
Echidna Walkabout’s driving principle, from inception,
is positive conservation.
We
believe that people protect what they know, and what they love. So we
set out to create a style of tourism that not only minimizes negative
effects on the environment, but positively creates a sense of wonder,
an understanding, a power to change for the better. Interestingly, in
the process, our own sense of wonder grew! We started to see our
wildlife and environment through the eyes of a first-time
visitor. Our magnificent wild kangaroos, our gentle koalas,
our
noisy, gorgeous cockatoos – even our huge stinging Bull Ants – are all
so special and we are so lucky to have them in Australia! Knowing these
wild animals, working with them every day and teaching others how to
work with them has given us an even greater appreciation and a passion
to preserve our wildlife and natural spaces.
In addition,
we were lucky enough to start working with our local Aboriginal
Community – the Wathaurong – who have continued to be mentors, teachers
and friends. Much of our understanding of wildlife, the bush and of
Respect has come from their teaching, and we have a lot to thank them
for. The Gunai/Kurnai People of East Gippsland have also taught us much
about their magnificent area. We always aim to work with the indigenous
people of any area we travel to. Not only is it the correct protocol,
it is usually enormously rewarding. Australians are incredibly lucky
that our first people are here and are willing to talk and share with
us.
The greatest compliment we receive is when our
travellers
return to their home and see their own place, their own wildlife, and
maybe their indigenous culture with a new enthusiasm.
Our mission as a tour operator is to ensure that wild
animals have a future in wild habitats around Australia.
Many
of our environmental practices are hidden behind the scenes of a tour.
As eco-tour operators we respect, reduce, re-use and recycle, as a
matter of course. But it is in the details that these ethics are shown.
Following is a list of our environmental practices, which are important
to all facets of the business, and personally.
Guide Training
Wild Koala Research
Improving our Environment on
Tours
Water Conservation
Local Production
Client Pre-Trip Information
Local Community Involvement
Aboriginal/Indigenous
Involvement
Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle on Tours
Office Procedures
GUIDE TRAINING –
LEADING BY EXAMPLE AND
INFORMATION:
-
All our tours are fully guided by experienced,
well-trained Nature Guides.
-
Our
Nature Guides are trained to impart an environmental ethic that
respects the animals and ecosystems that we encounter. We
inform
our guests of the least intrusive way to behave around wild animals. We
speak quietly around wildlife, walk slowly towards them, stopping
often, and we insist that our guests do the same. We all remain at
least 10 metres away from wild koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and
possums, as these animals are easily distressed. This is a
self-imposed limit.
- We train our Nature Guides
intensively and continuously and we encourage further learning on all
aspects of the environment. Natural history books are available to all
Nature Guides on loan from our collection. We compile Special Sightings
every month with a list and photographs of all unusual sightings of
animals, insects, plants to keep Guides up to date. This is sent to all
our Nature Guides, Field Guides, Researchers and to the local Field
Naturalist Club, Bird Observers Club and local National Park Rangers.
- The
owners, with over 17 years experience with wildlife, are often invited
to give talks to interest groups, universities and community groups
about wildlife behaviour and working with Australian wildlife in the
wild. We often work with media, promoting the inherent value
of
wild animals, the region and the ethics of eco- and wildlife-tourism.
WILD KOALA
RESEARCH
- For
the past 12 years we have tracked and monitored the movements and lives
of the hundreds of wild koalas that we encounter on our
tours.
Each resident koala is named, photographed and identifying markings are
noted. These wild Koalas are not tagged, caught or handled in
any
way – they are identified by observation at a distance, through
binoculars. Each day every koala found is located on a map, they are
photographed, the tree species they are in and all behaviour is
noted.
- At the end of each year these findings
are compiled, analysed and a report for the year is provided to all our
Guides, Koala Researchers and to the National Parks Service,
local Field Naturalist Club and Koala-specialist Wildlife Carers and
veterinarians to assist with understanding of Koalas in this particular
wild habitat.
- This Project is our own
initiative, and fully funded by our tour company. A
Researcher is
employed one day per week to input data, and on every tour a Koala
Researcher/Field Guide goes out ahead of the tour group to find Koalas
and monitor them before the group arrives. This ensures a
high
degree of success with koala sightings (100% over the past 3 years) and
adds 3 hours of monitoring data to each day’s sightings.
WILDLIFE
HABITAT CREATION:
- Our wildlife habitat is a privately owned property of
14.5 ha/36 acres in the Brisbane
Ranges
west of Melbourne, adjacent to the Brisbane Ranges National Park. 75%
of the property is natural Box-Ironbark woodland – an important and
endangered habitat type. The other 25% of the property is old farmland,
mostly cleared but largely covered in native grasses.
Grasslands
are one of Australia’s most endangered habitat
types.
- Our
intention for this site is to retain the existing habitat and improve
it for the use of wildlife. So far we have created a new
wetland
from the remains of an old shed foundation, planted over 300 indigenous
trees, grasses and shrubs and improved the water quality of the
existing wetland.
- In time we will create
wildlife corridors, remove all weeds, and improve the diversity of the
existing woodland by putting back the species that have been removed in
the past. Already we have a resident mob of Eastern-grey
Kangaroos, at least 2 Swamp Wallabies, the occasional visit from a
Koala, and many birds.
IMPROVING OUR
ENVIRONMENT ON TOURS:
- we
take all rubbish with us when we go, often including anything we find
left behind by others. All natural products (95% of our
rubbish)
are brought back to base and composted.
- we check the fireplaces left by others in the
National Parks we visit, and put out any campfires left in a dangerous
condition.
- we
gently inform other park users of the laws and codes of the National
Parks. For instance we often stop and ask dog owners to put their dog
on a leash while in the You Yangs Regional Park, which helps protect
the wildlife.
- we are active in promoting the care and
rehabilitation of injured native wildlife. The owner and
three of
our Guides hold permits for wildlife rescue and care.
- train
all our staff to look out for injured native wildlife, and we carry a
first aid kit for wildlife in all vehicles. We stop and check
road-killed animals, and often move them off the road to prevent native
predators from being killed by cars whilst feeding on roadkill.
- we drive slowly in National Parks and
wildlife areas to avoid killing or injuring wildlife on the road
- on
all tours that visit the You Yangs Regional Park the Guide and Koala
Researcher remove Boneseed - an invasive, introduced weed.
Boneseed covers large areas and crowds out smaller native shrubs
(particularly fruiting saltbushes) and grasses that are food for
wallabies, kangaroos and a huge variety of small birds. Over
the
five years we have been visiting this Park we have seen a noticeable
reduction in this weed species in the areas we visit most.
- as a serious and committed ecotour operator, our
emissions
from vehicle fuel have long been a concern for us. While we can't
forego the use of vehicles, we do everything
we can to limit unnecessary usage. So we have implemented a
simple, set pickup schedule, just for the Savannah Walkabout one day
tour. We have chosen five hotels that are quick and easy to
access, are easy to find, and are already popular with our guests and
agents: SW
pickup locations map
WATER
CONSERVATION:
- we
clean our vehicles with one small bucket of recycled water (we trap
clean cold water from the shower before it heats up) and an
“Enjo”-style re-usable cloth that uses no chemicals and very little
water to clean. After use the water is put on our native garden.
- we
wash linen/tablecloths and all our own clothing in phosphate-free,
biodegradable washing detergent. All the “grey” water from the washing
machine goes onto our native garden. Our garden is never
watered
with fresh, unrecycled tap water.
- we wash crockery, cutlery and food containers using
biodegradable detergents.
LOCAL PRODUCTION:
- we
buy locally produced fruit from our local market and independent
businesses, where possible. All fruit supplied on tour is
Australian grown.
- we buy locally produced sandwiches made by
an independent small business within 500m of our office/base.
Food is picked up each morning on foot, or on the way to the guest
pickup.
- we support local independent shops and
accommodation on our extended tours by eating-in at cafes some days and
by ordering packed picnic lunches from our accommodation provider.
CLIENT
PRE-TRIP INFORMATION:
- we
call all clients the day before their tour to answer any questions they
may have, confirm timings, what to bring, most suitable clothing and to
give a weather forecast.
- for day tours: we give all clients a
note of introduction with important contact information, and a short
summary of their day.
- for extended tours: we give all clients detailed
wildlife and natural history notes.
- clients
receive a keepsake – a wildlife art card produced on recycled paper,
with some information about one of the animals we are likely to see on
tour. The artwork is done in-house by the owner.
LOCAL
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
- all
our Nature Guides, Field Guides and Researchers live locally – many in
the smaller towns outside of Melbourne, close to the sites where we
operate.
- we are active members of the local Field Naturalists
Groups and Bird Observers Clubs in the areas we work in.
- we
share our wildlife sightings with local people visiting the National
Park – often passers-by notice our group looking at a koala, for
instance, and so we invite them to join us for a short time to see and
learn about the animal. This encourages local pride in the
wildlife and in the area.
ABORIGINAL/INDIGENOUS
INVOLVEMENT:
- from
the beginning, the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative have been
involved in our planning and research for tours in their
area.
They taught us what to say about their Culture and how to say it. They
continue to be valued mentors to our business.
- we promote and encourage Aboriginal–guided cultural
interpretation on all group, special and private tours.
- we
employ Aboriginal Guides as much as possible. No
non-Aboriginal
person should speak for the Aboriginal People of Australia.
In
addition, we and our Aboriginal mentors teach our non-Aboriginal Guides
about the protocols of dealing with, and speaking about, Aboriginal
People.
- our specialized food for Private tours is prepared by
a local Aboriginal-owned business.
- we
create awareness and understanding of the local Aboriginal Culture by
working with and learning from the local indigenous people, employing
indigenous people where possible, including them in tours where
possible and passing on respect for their culture to our guests and
staff.
REDUCE, RE-USE,
RECYCLE ON TOURS:
- we
minimise vehicle travel and fuel use by employing local people and
using local suppliers and businesses as much as possible.
- we
minimize off-road vehicle travel. Our tours are designed in such a way
that vehicle travel is conducted on made roads. We do not use
four-wheel drive vehicles for passenger transport – they are not
required and their energy costs are high.
- we avoid disposable
plastic bags for carrying or storage of fruit. Instead we pack our
fruit into re-usable, washable canvas bags for carrying, and store
fruit in re-used stay-fresh green bags designed to keep food fresh.
These bags are washed and re-used until they wear out.
- we
avoid disposable products. Our cutlery, crockery and food containers
are all enamel, metal and hard recyclable plastic and are washed and
re-used.
- we transport food in hard recyclable plastic
containers which are washed and re-used, or in paper bags which are
composted or recycled.
- we discourage the use of throw-away
plastic water bottles by recommending that travellers bring their own
bottle which we re-fill on request with tap water from a large storage
container. We do not provide disposable water bottles to our guests –
if travellers don’t have their own bottle we offer a plastic cup which
we wash and re-use.
- we pack dirty dishes in washable fabric bags while on
tour, rather than in plastic.
- we compost food scraps. The compost is used on our
bush property/wildlife refuge to assist the growth of native plants.
OFFICE
PROCEDURES:
- we
only use 100% recycled office paper. When we can’t avoid
printing
documents, we double-side and recycle our own. All incoming
paper
is checked for a clean back and placed in the printer for another use.
Our brochures and business cards are produced on 100% recycled stock.
- we recycle all paper, glass and suitable plastics
& aluminium through the local government recycling system.
- our
office and home use low-voltage light globes; all lighting, heating,
computers and office equipment are turned off overnight; we do not
have, and do not want air-conditioning in our office or home.
- linen,
tablecloths and our own clothes are dried on a washing line
outside. We do not have, and do not want a clothes dryer.
- we compost
all food scraps and natural products.
- water is conserved in our office – see Water
Conservation
- the wildlife habitat buildings are
fully 5 star
rated energy-efficient design incorporating passive solar collection,
double-glazed windows, full insulation to ceilings, walls and under
floors
and use plantation and sustainably –harvested non-rainforest timbers
throughout.
- the property has solar-powered hot water and outside
lighting, a
worm farm, compost bins, low energy/low water appliances.
Rainwater collected in tanks is used throughout and
all
grey/black waste is treated in an environmentally-friendly system which
uses worms and other
organisms
to turn waste into safe irrigation water.
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Janine's
enthusiasm and attention to detail are highly regarded by our guests.
In what little spare time she finds, she is researching the Koalas of the Brisbane
Ranges and You Yangs. She is a wildlife artist
and has a degree in Planning and Design.
An
experienced naturalist and bushman, Roger is a friendly, outgoing
character who enjoys getting to know his clients well. He has a
comprehensive understanding of the Australian environment. His previous
experience included working as a builder and for the Australian
Conservation Foundation.
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