Activities
- Volunteering
- Artist's retreat
- Maps and trails
- Ecotourism
The Station receives frequent communications from individuals offering their services for casual employment or volunteering their services in lieu of provision of board and lodgings. If casual or full-time employment is available on the Station then it will be clearly advertised on this web site and through appropriate media.
The Station is dependent on external income through research grants to support projects that might include opportunities for suitably qualified volunteers to provide services where their food and lodging would be provided for. Such funding is rare and preference will usually be given to engaging participants from organisations such as Earthwatch or Conservation Volunteers Australia. If any opportunities arise where volunteers will be housed and catered for by the Station then advance notice will be given under this heading on this web site.
The Station does encourage suitably qualified volunteers who are willing to pay for their food, accommodation and incidental expenses to provide services to the Station's infrastructure projects such as in eco-tourism, a botanic garden and farm forestry-native bush foods, to the Station's long-term monitoring programs of vegetation communities and fauna or to ongoing research projects with wildlife. Typically such volunteers will have some training in the natural sciences and are seeking practical experience in field-based research and/or to make a personal contribution towards biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management. Visits will be of at least one week's duration for volunteers arriving by their own transport or at least two week's duration for volunteers requiring assistance with transport from Broken Hill (there is no public transport along the Silver City Highway north of Broken Hill). Students seeking longer training in field-based research can find out more on the study page. Visits in Summer (December through February) are discouraged unless the volunteer can demonstrate realistic expectations about coping with daytime temperatures regularly in excess of 37 degrees C.
Volunteers interested in placements at Fowlers Gap should send an expression of interest including your CV to the director.听听
The Ochre House Artist's Retreat
The Ochre House is situated in a remote gorge on the Station. The building is a single large space with bathroom and toilet facilities partitioned off and a generous balcony with gas barbecue. The House is powered by a 12V hybrid wind/photovoltaic system and has a recycling system for waste management.
The Ochre House provides an unique private and secluded experience in an especially scenic part of the Station with a riot of Outback colours and varied landforms guaranteed to inspire artists. The Station supports an聽Artist in Residence Program聽managed by聽Arc@黑料网大事记. Artists must聽contact Arc, not Fowlers Gap, to access this program.
Other studios
A further self-contained and larger studio聽(The Green House)聽has been constructed in view of the homestead complex to support the research of COFA Postgraduate students. This studio may be available to other parties when not in use by COFA. A further studio (Project X) is planned on a quartzite ridge overlooking Freislich Dam, the Station鈥檚 main water supply, with sweeping views along the Barrier Range. We expect the third studio to become operational in mid-2009.
Please note:聽The retreats/studios do not have any active cooling because of small renewable energy supplies. The buildings are insulated but not recommended for use in the austral summer (December-February) due to extreme high temperatures.
Location
The Research Station is located 110 km north of Broken Hill on the Silver City Highway to Tibooburra. Seventy-five kilometres of the Highway are sealed to Fowlers Gap while the remaining 35 km is regularly maintained gravel road. However, the road can become impassable after heavy rain which is an irregular occurrence.
You can check for road closures with the Broken Hill District Office of the Road and Traffic Authority on (08) 8082 6660.