YEAR 12 OES CAMP
What an adventure!
The Year 12 Outdoor and Environmental Studies students visit Mt Baw Baw and the surrounding area to explore the current state of outdoor environments in Australia and the importance of outdoor environments for individuals and society.
The class visited the Yara State Forest, Mt Baw Baw, and Mt St Gwinear to examine the nature of sustainability and use observations of water, air, soil, biodiversity, and introduced species to evaluate the health of outdoor environments. Activities such as downhill skiing and cross country skiing enabled students to further develop and apply their practical knowledge and skills for safe and sustainable interactions with outdoor environments.
Did you know the Leadbeater’s Possum is listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 2019 as Critically Endangered because of the old-growth logging that has occurred in the central highlands state forests?
Here is what our students had to say!
Last week the Year 12 Outdoor Ed class went on our long-awaited camp to Mt Baw Baw to visit the environments we have been studying in class.
On Monday we met with some people from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to learn about forest and fire management in the Yarra State Forest. We looked at a local logging coupe and then evaluated the state of the environment at the La Trobe River and it was great to finally put our learning into action. After this we got back on the bus and went to Nayook to get geared up for some skiing adventures.
On Tuesday, we took the journey of music and sick bags up to Mt Baw Baw to finally see some snow. We had a downhill skiing lesson in the perfect snow conditions and soon enough we had a group of pro skiers on the slopes. Then the next day we switched it up for cross country skis and all got very well acquainted with falling over, a lot. It was a day full of laughs and learning lots about the environment we were in.
On Thursday we went to Mt St Gwinear and observed the health of the environment before talking about sustainability in the area to finalise our notes for the upcoming SAC. We also went to the Thomson Reservoir and looked at the route the water takes to get to Melbourne’s water supply. Due to the snap lockdown we had to come back to school earlier than expected but overall, despite the wet tents and cold nights it was great to spend time having fun as a class and to being able to apply all our learning to such a fun and practical camp.
- Georgie and Isabella Year 11
