Outdoor Education News
MGC students have been learning on the lands and waters of the Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Bunurong, Gunaikurnai, Taungurung, Wathawurrung, Djab Wurrung and Jardwardjali peoples - we pay our respects and we acknowledge their continuing connection to Country.
2022 has been a wonderful semester for Year 9 and 10 Outdoor Education and Year 11 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies Unit 3/4. It’s been a pleasure to support students in their learning in, for, and about our very unique environment.
Year 11 OES Unit 3/4 kicked off to a beautiful, yet very windy start at Yiruk/Wamoon (Wilson’s Prom). These senior students were in their element as they engaged in a Parks Vic education session at Darby River and dipped toes in the water at Squeaky Beach. Hiking for 4 days they learned about the history of human relationships with the outdoors. On their second camp they then compared this with modern relationships with the outdoors at Gariwerd-Grampians National Park through rock climbing and abseiling, conservation volunteering, learning about olive farming in the region and tourism.
Year 10 Outdoor Education headed down to the Anglesea area focused on marine and coastal ecosystems through surfing, lifesaving skills and kayaking. Many a capsize and wipeout was had, and students got to see the pros line up at Bells Beach too. The snow on Year 10 Mount Stirling hike was in stark contrast to the beach – please read the fantastic trip report below written by Freya and Sara.
If you’re more of a visual person here’s a link to a great video produced by Halle – thanks Halle!!
Of course, sometimes nature throws curve balls and it’s not always all rainbows and bliss in the outdoors (sorry I couldn’t help myself). I have to shout out to the wonderful Year 9 students who have each showed incredible resilience in their semester as we had to make a very tough decision to cancel their hike to the Great Ocean Walk. Ms Cash has mentioned on numerous occasions how proud she is of these two Year 9 classes, especially after the recent years of disruptions. Being able to turn around and come back and try another day is a skill in the outdoors and again, we thank these students and families for their understanding.
Thanks everyone for a great semester of outdoor ed!
Mr Childs
Outdoor Education Leader
Mt Stirling Hike – Year 10 Outdoor Education
On the 18th of May, Year 10 ‘Outdoor Ed’ set off on a grand adventure we would never expect up at Mt Stirling. We were all extremely excited at the prospect of snow, and wow did it snow! Walking up the mountain on the first day felt easy when we saw the snowflakes falling onto our packs and eyelashes. Seeing little puddles of snow on the side of the tracks within an hour was extremely exhilarating, but little did we know our campsite would be blanketed in knee deep snow. When we arrived we dropped our packs, set up camp under beautiful snow gums and packed into the Bluff Spur hut for a hearty meal. With cold toes and frosty noses we climbed into sleeping bags and tossed and turned all night from the cold. The next day we had a quick breakfast before setting out at 9am with significantly lighter packs to the Mt Stirling summit. Looking out onto beautiful views of Mt Buller and the rolling mountains, we bonded over the struggles and beauties of hiking. We trekked down to Kings Spur hut and gathered together on the team tarp to eat lunch and share our goodies. The night was a lot warmer as we all knew what to expect and what to wear, some of us even wore snow pants to bed! On the last day we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and left camp pretty early to start hiking down the mountain. With a few breaks and determination when thinking of the warm bus, we hiked the last day in record time. Everyone slept the whole way home! Thank you to Ms Cash, Mr Childs and Ms Scurrah for this amazing adventure and all the new camping tips we’ve learnt.
Freya & Sara
Outdoor Ed Rock Climbing
In outdoor ed we started the semester off with rock climbing. We first started off by looking at rock climbing in the outdoors, the expense and other important aspects of rock climbing. We then got two practical lessons to experience rock climbing, we were taken to Hard Rock in the city on Franklin St. Hard Rock gave us the run down to rock climbing, they taught us a sequence to belay our climbers. We continued this sequence whenever belaying to keep our climbers and belayers safe. The climbing at hard rock was so much fun. There was a variety of levels that tested out strength and ability to climb. We were set challenges to push ourselves beyond out comfort space. Rock climbing is a very physical demanding sport and you would get tired quickly however belaying out partners gave us a nice break from climbing. Hard rock taught us lot of different tricks and tips to climbing to help ourselves reach the top. It was so much fun to do rock climbing with all our friends.
Outdoor Ed Overview:
Outdoor ed overall was a really fun subject. Both the practical and theory lessons were informative and fun. Outdoor ed wasn’t just about learning and being the outdoors although we did go outdoors a lot throughout the semester to complete different activities during our theory lessons we would learn about the environment, how to care for it and be safe outdoors. It was really fun to watch our friends challenge and push themselves outside their comfort zones whilst doing them same for ourselves.
by Olivia Johns
Year 9.