bushwhacking brilliance

Bushwhacked in Warburton!

Mark Haebich

Teacher - Bushwhacked

In mid June our intrepid Year 9 Bushwhackers attended a 3 day outdoor program in the Upper Yarra Valley as part of their Bushwhacked experience.

Supported by BSC and Nayook Outdoor Education Centre staff, students tackled some fantastic new adventures.  Along the way, they all found opportunity to collaborate, lead others and to affect decision-making.  Further to this, they all found ways to inspire, motivate and encourage their peers within the team environment.

As with all camps, the aim was to let students learn how they can contribute to the overall success of the team.  While they learn to canoe, hike and cook, they also learn much about themselves, developing confidence, independence and resilience along the way. The concepts of assuming personal responsibility and working effectively within a team are important life-skills,  and I am happy to say that they have returned to school with these attributes in hand.

Heidi Cowdery

Year 9

My Warburton Bushwhacked experience was amazing and I am grateful that I was able to go on this camp. I learned a lot about collaboration with my classmates as well as about the environment. One of my highlights from this camp was rafting down rapids. Even though sometimes it could be challenging, it made it more fun to work with your partner and try not to get stuck! 

Reece Ornik

Year 9

Cold and wet. These are the two words I would use to best describe the camp - a constant barrage of rain being carried by the cold, harsh wind! This, however, did not detract from the experience of the Warburton camp - if anything it improved it! 

Whilst hiking, we watched as the water danced through the trees and shrub as yellow crested cockatoos cried overhead. During the rafting trip, the rain raised the water [levels], created a faster, more hands-on activity than it would have been otherwise. And after activities ended, we would retreat to our tents, wind at our backs, rain creating a soothing patter on the fabric roof of our sleeping areas.

Finally the Community Service - our last activity. If I said it was easy I would be lying, but by the end we had accumulated a pile of weeds at least four feet high, and double that in length. All in all, the Warburton camp will be an experience none of us will forget, any time soon!

Sabine Barnett

Year 9

Like the Thornton camp, the Warburton Bushwhacked camp was a really great experience.  It helped me to grow as a person as well as furthering my outdoor skills. It really tested me: I was wet, cold and tired! But in times of hardship come the best opportunities to grow, and through the main theme of collaboration I learned a lot about myself and my friends, and I really felt that I furthered my knowledge of myself and the people around me. again, I  highly recommend this program for anyone in younger year levels. Even if you do not think of yourself as an 'outdoorsy' or sporty person.

Click on the photo Gallery below to enlarge.

Adam Moorhouse

Year 9

This program was different from the last camp because of the way the program was set up. The first program required listening to our leaders and following their instructions, but in this program the students laid out what was going to happen at certain points, leading the activities with teachers just assisting on the side.

Sandro Mortimer

Year 9

Overall, the Warburton trip was extremely enjoyable, as we had a lot of control over our own activities and safety. I enjoyed being taught and guided by other students. We also got the opportunity to tell a story based off collaboration that we shared with each other, which was really enjoyable.

Cooper Mackay

Year 9

I really liked how the teachers gave the students the lead on the program, because I felt more confident doing things without someone holding my hand the whole way. The activities we did are ones I have done in the past so I enjoyed helping people with less experience. One of the biggest highlights was canoeing on the rocks, because it was great trying to navigate our way around the rocks and getting ourselves 'unstuck' was quite fun.

Elias Koch

Year 9

I was able to participate and collaborate in a small community through this camp journey. I learned different things about collaboration and how community living works. We also were able to communicate different stories about collaboration and be able to share various ideas. We had tonnes of fun and were able to establish stronger connections with each other. These experiences no doubt will stay with me forever.

Jhanm Omerogullari 

Year 9

Throughout the Warburton camp program, we all learned more about how to collaborate with each other in a way that would make sure everyone would be doing their part for the benefit of the rest of their camp-mates. From cooking to hiking to rafting, everyone found something to do while having fun. We also learned more about the culture of indigenous Australia and its flora through doing community work to help weed out invasive plant species. Overall, the camp was an exciting experience.

Oliver Reeves

Year 9

Over the course of the Warburton trip, my knowledge and respect for the Yarra river and the areas around it increased immensely. On the first day, we went on a long walk throughout the Warburton surroundings and got better knowledge of the flora and fauna in the area. We talked to a wild dog trapper about what his job was and the traps he had been placing. The next day I was the main leader of the river group, which, although challenging and demanding,  was definitely fulfilling.  I learned a lot. Overall, the camp was an amazing learning experience and I had lots of fun.

Zac Freeman

Year 9

The program was a very fun experience and I enjoyed it a lot. I had to be the leader straight away when we got off the bus and started our hike. It was a really good experience being a leader and managing the first days walk. The rain was a little bit challenging but we got through it and despite getting our oars stuck on rocks heaps of times on the river day it was still very fun.

Sarah Meads

Teacher - Bushwhacked

The Bushwhacked team certainly embraced the challenges on the camp. They were decisive, motivated and responsible in executing the activities and really challenged themselves to find success as a team.  It was great to watch them work together, support each other and achieve their goals.