For over 40 years, the Habitat Conservation and Management Course (HCMC) has been informing, inspiring and connecting Melbourne’s conservation and land management community. HCMC is for everyone, from new conservation volunteers, to experienced land management practitioners looking to refresh and extend their knowledge and networks.

Participants will learn in-person about key ecosystem features including plants, soil, fungi and fire then explore techniques for habitat improvement. 16 Wednesday evening classes from August 5 to November 25 and 9 Saturday field trips with some of Melbourne’s leading ecologists and land managers including Randall Robinson, Gidja Walker, Uncle Dave Wandin and George Paras.

If you are a conservation volunteer, you may like to check what opportunities there are for sponsorship through your local council.

Unit Number	Topic	Lecturer/s	Location	Date
Unit 1	Introduction
Classroom	Introduction to Habitat Conservation and Management	Randall Robinson / Danny Reddan	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 5 August
Field Trip 1	Melbourne Bushlands	Robert Pergl	Dandenongs	Saturday 8 August
Unit 2	Bushland – The Ideal
Classroom	Soils and Climate	Jason Horlock	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 12 August
Classroom	Growing Wildlife Habitat	George Paras	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 19 August
Classroom	Invertebrates	James Buxton	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 26 August
Field Trip 2	Restoring Urban Waterways	George Paras/Danny Reddan	Darebin Creek, Bundoora	Saturday 29 August
Classroom	Plant Identification I – Grasses and Forbs	Michael Cincotta	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 2 September
Classroom	Plant Identification II - Trees and Shrubs	Michael Cincotta	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 9 September
Field Trip 3	Nocturnal Wildlife	TBC	Mount Rothwell	Saturday 12 September
Classroom	Fungi	Ema Corro	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday, 16 September
Online presentation	Fire and Culture	Darren Wandin/Gidja Walker	Zoom	Wednesday September 30
Field Trip 4	Caring for Country	Uncle Dave Wandin	Coranderrk	Saturday 3 October
Unit 3	Impacts on Bushland
Classroom	Bush Ecology 1	Randall Robinson	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 7 October
Field Trip 5	Lerderderg Gorge/Longforest	Randall Robinson	Lerderderg Gorge/Longforest	Saturday 10 October
Classroom	Bush Ecology 2	Randall Robinson	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 14 October
Field Trip 7	Coastal Woodlands	Gidja Walker	Cape Schanck	Saturday 17 October
Unit 4	Techniques for Managing Bushland
Classroom	Introduction	Randall Robinson	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 21 October
Field Trip 6	Plant Identification	Michael Cincotta	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Saturday 24 October
Video conference	Site Assessment & Planning	Gidja Walker	Home (zoom)	Wednesday 28 October
Classroom	Techniques for Planned Intervention	Robert Pergl	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 4 November
Field Trip 8	Grasslands	Uncle Dave Wandin / TBC	Western plains	Saturday 7 November
Classroom	Modelling and monitoring Change	Sacha Jellinek	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 11 November
Classroom	Regeneration and Weed (Strategies & Options)	Graham Peterson	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 18 November
Field Trip 9	Coastal and marine	Gidja Walker	Fossil Beach/Mt Martha	Saturday 21 November
Classroom	Summing Up	Randall / Gidja Walker	Gleeson Centre, Darebin Parklands	Wednesday 25 November

Contact the host of Habitat Conservation & Management Course 2026