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News
University of Melbourne students bring fresh thinking to Connewarre Wetland Centre
Published Wed 16 Sep 2026
Field & Game Australia’s Connewarre Wetland Centre became an outdoor classroom on Saturday 5 September, when 14 University of Melbourne Master of Engineering Management students visited the site to begin three practical projects with FGA.
The students, working in three groups, are completing their Engineering Management Capstone under the coordination of Associate Professor Felix Hui. The Capstone gives students the opportunity to apply engineering management skills to real organisational challenges, while developing their decision-making, communication, analysis and project-management capability.
For FGA, the collaboration provides an opportunity to bring fresh perspectives to some practical questions about the future of Connewarre while giving students experience working with a community-based organisation and a complex wetland site.
Importantly, this is intended to be an ongoing partnership rather than a one-off project. FGA expects to work with new University of Melbourne Capstone student groups each semester, providing two further opportunities in 2027 to tackle suitable projects at Connewarre or elsewhere across FGA.
From the classroom to the wetland
The day began with a site induction and a video introducing students to FGA, the history of Connewarre and the role the Centre plays in wetland conservation, recreation, research and community activity.
FGA’s Wayne Peters then provided an overview of the Centre and its operations before taking the students into the field. The group walked through the property, looking at the wetlands, vegetation, water-management infrastructure, buildings, access and other features relevant to their projects.
Getting onto the site was an important part of the exercise. Maps, reports and data provide valuable information, but seeing a wetland first-hand allows students to better understand its scale and setting, ask more informed questions and test assumptions against what is actually happening on the ground.
Three projects for Connewarre
Following the initial discussions and site visit, the three groups are progressing complementary projects:
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Visitor Access, Tourism & Revenue Opportunities – considering how CWC could attract appropriate visitors, improve access and visitor experiences, support education and research, and generate sustainable revenue while protecting the environmental values of the site.
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Vegetation & Wetland Management – examining how FGA can strengthen vegetation and wetland management, monitoring and habitat outcomes at Connewarre, with lessons that may also be useful at other FGA-managed wetlands.
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Water Management & Civil/Wetland Infrastructure – examining water movement and retention, drainage, levees and water-control structures, access and other infrastructure, and identifying practical opportunities to improve the function and resilience of the site.
The projects deliberately approach CWC from different directions, but they are closely connected. Decisions about water affect vegetation and habitat; environmental values influence visitor access; and infrastructure, operating costs and revenue all influence what can practically be delivered.
The students will now work through those connections and trade-offs and develop recommendations for FGA over the remainder of their Capstone.
A valuable regional experience
All 14 students who attended the visit were international students.
That added another dimension to the day. For students studying in Melbourne, a site such as Connewarre provides an opportunity to experience a regional Victorian setting and work directly with an Australian organisation on practical environmental and management challenges.
There was strong interest throughout the visit, with students asking questions about the operation of the site, its environmental management, infrastructure and the opportunities and constraints facing FGA. Positive feedback on the visit was also provided to Associate Professor Hui.
For FGA, this engagement is important. The purpose is not simply to provide students with a theoretical exercise. We want them to understand the organisation, see the site for themselves, question our assumptions and ultimately produce work that is useful.
A partnership with benefits both ways
Connewarre is particularly well suited to this type of project.
Within one relatively compact site, students can consider environmental management, water, infrastructure, biodiversity, visitor use, volunteers, finance and organisational decision-making. There are few simple answers, and proposed solutions need to work across several competing considerations — much like the challenges students will encounter in professional practice.
For FGA, the partnership brings additional analytical capacity and different perspectives to questions we are already considering. It also provides an opportunity to introduce emerging engineering and management professionals to FGA, our conservation work and the contribution community organisations can make to managing important environmental assets.
The students will now take what they observed and discussed at Connewarre back into their project work, with their findings and recommendations to be presented later in the semester.
The longer-term opportunity is significant. With new Capstone groups expected each semester, FGA can progressively identify well-defined projects where students can add value — potentially spanning wetland management, infrastructure, asset planning, systems, risk and other organisational priorities. With two student intakes expected in 2027, the partnership can build on the lessons from this first group rather than starting again each year.
We thank Associate Professor Felix Hui, the University of Melbourne and all 14 students for spending the day with us, and Wayne Peters for sharing his practical knowledge of Connewarre and its operations with the groups.
