Ravensbourne Field Studies Centre

USQ's Ravensbourne Field Studies Centre was established in 1996, following leasing of the old Ravensbourne Public School (1891-1996) from the Queensland Department of Education.

The Centre is located approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Toowoomba on the Hampton to Esk road, and a two hour drive from Brisbane via Esk. The Centre adjoins a three hectare Scientific Nature Reserve with a permanent spring-fed creek and a 33 hectare Recreation Reserve and is close to Ravensbourne National Park (5km), Lake Perseverance and Lake Cressbrook (approx 18km).

Closed gully forest adjacent to Centre.

Under the management of the Faculty of Sciences, USQ, the facilities were upgraded to include a fully equipped kitchen, covered BBQ area, basic accommodation, toilets and showers to provide a valuable teaching resource for field studies in Ecology and Conservation. The schoolhouse and ablutions facilities are wheelchair accessible. The Ravensbourne Field Studies Centre can be hired for educational and community purposes.

The vegetation in the area is very diverse with good examples of wet sclerophyll forest, vine scrub ('rainforest'), open forest, pine plantations and areas cleared for agriculture. The area abounds with wildlife including possums, gliders, Brush-tailed rock wallaby, Rufous bettong, bandicoots koala, Common dunnart, and numerous species of birds.

The Ravensbourne and District Landcare Group (a team of local voluntary bush regenerators) are actively regenerating and rehabilitating heavily weed-infested areas of the Recreation Reserve to the north of the Centre.