Geography
Geography Students out in the Field
What an exciting term it has been for our Geography students! From Years 7 to 11, students have taken their learning beyond the classroom—venturing into the field, rain, hail, or shine—to explore, observe, and experience the world around them firsthand.
Year 7 | Oxley’s Retarding Basins
Geography students from 7.3 and 7.4 completed their very first field investigation with great enthusiasm, spending an afternoon exploring, conducting field sketches, and testing the water quality of the three retarding basins on the LMC property. Their investigation focused on understanding how water is utilised across the campus and analysing their collected data to assess the health of each basin.
The incursion to Oxley's retarding basins was a fun and exciting experience that helped me better understand water management in urban areas. It was interesting to see how water is distributed among the basins in our school grounds and was overall a memorable time to spend outside of the classroom with classmates and friends! – Sarabeth C (7.4)
Year 8 | Lake Mountain - Marysville
On Wednesday 5 November, Geography students from 8.7 and 8.8 embarked on an excursion to Lake Mountain as part of their Landscapes and Landforms unit. Their goal was to investigate the factors that make Victoria’s forested mountain regions some of the most fire-prone in the world. The students also explored Marysville to examine the impacts of bushfires on both people and the surrounding mountain environment.
Year 9 | Rayner’s Orchard – Woori Yallock
Geography students of 9.9 and 9.10 visited one of our local agriculture businesses, Rayner’s Orchard on Friday 31 October to conduct fieldwork and explore firsthand how the area’s biome was modified for food production. During the excursion, students enjoyed a range of hands-on activities, including an informative tour led by the orchard’s owner, sampling seasonal fruit straight from the trees, chopping and bottling their own jar of fruit, taking a leisurely tractor ride, and completing a field sketch.
Year 10 | Fairtrade Awareness – Chirnside Park Shopping Centre
On Wednesday 22 October, Year 10 Geography students hit the streets for an enjoyable morning of fieldwork at Chirnside Park Shopping Centre. They explored a range of retail outlets to collect data on the availability of Fairtrade products and used ArcGIS Survey123 to interview community members about their awareness of Fairtrade practices and products. Their goal was to assess whether it is realistic for individuals and families to support the Fairtrade movement in their everyday lives. Two weeks later, students put their learning into practice—using their Fairtrade purchases to bake delicious Fairtrade Brownie Slices, proving just how easy it can be to incorporate Fairtrade principles into daily living.
In small groups, we went around the shops looking for Fairtrade products and asking people if they knew what Fairtrade was. The excursion linked to our Fairtrade brownie slice activity—we had a blast baking, and all our ingredients were Fairtrade or Australian-made products, such as the chocolate, eggs, and butter. As a class, we learnt all about Fairtrade and how we can support Fairtrade products. This was definitely a highlight of the year. – Tori S (10.1)
Year 11 | Melbourne’s Laneways - CBD
Year 11 Geography students embarked on an engaging fieldtrip to Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday 9 October as part of their Unit 2 study of Tourism. The excursion focused on exploring Melbourne’s iconic laneways and assessing how they are used and experienced by both locals and tourists. Students prepared survey questions using ArcGIS Survey123 and actively engaged with laneway visitors to gather firsthand insights into which areas attracted the most interest and why. The fieldwork provided students with valuable real-world data, enhancing their understanding of urban tourism patterns and the factors that make these hidden laneways such a vibrant part of Melbourne’s cultural landscape.
Cindy Woodcock
Geography Teacher