Geography News 

Geography News

Voice and agency – it's important!!! Largely because you get to make important choices. Our students from Years 8-11have recently completed their subject preferences for 2025, and our Year 12 students are thinking about pathways for next year. What you choose is up to you, there are many different options and paths! Geography Teachers Sam Connell and Jessie Muirden were so impressed with a speaker at the Geospatial Holiday Program that they had to bring them in to talk to our senior Geographers about career paths.

Dr Lucas Holden and Dr Mariela Soto-Berelov, lecturers from RMIT in fields of focus relating to environmental studies and geospatial technologies. Their mini lecture covered meaningful links with geospatial technology in topics they have explored from Units 1-4, as well as options for RMIT. A path in Bachelor of Geospatial Sciences equips you with the applied skills and knowledge required for discovering relationships between places, people and the environment, while gaining valuable real-world and industry experience. This is so important in our world that continually faces issues and challenges to our sustainability and survival. We can’t wait to have them back to speak to our senior Geography kids again in the future!

Two representatives from RMIT came to give a lecture on careers in geospatial technology and surveying. This event was really beneficial in educating us about a future within different areas of geography in terms of careers and what said careers look like in practice. Henceforth encouraging Vermont’s VCE geography students to explore geography beyond school. It also revealed the development of geospatial technologies within the past few years and how both that and surveying is applied to all areas of life, not just nature and environmental areas. – Sophie Betts

FIELDWORK is back in full swing – it’s the best part about geography – hands on, meaningful, tangible learning opportunities that are so varied and so diverse. Traditionally Geography is branched into human and physical geography, but its so interesting the ways they interconnect – you are never truly focusing on just one without the other as it all has an impact. Year 10 is where its at for fieldwork. For Term 3, the Big Picture class went to the immigration museum to investigate why people immigrate overseas to modify wellbeing status, and then to the Alexandria gardens to focus on a local scale. As for the In Action class, this was done as an interdisciplinary learning experience with Environmental Science. Different to first semesters group of kids, this time we visited the Belgrave lake, and compared carbon levels, water quality, and management strategies.

The geography in action and environmental science classes went to Belgrave lake to investigate forest management and photosynthesis. We conducted a precis sketch, observed forest management, tested water quality, and measured carbon stored within the forest. Through these experiments we discovered that both the photosynthesis and management strategies of the region were effective. This excursion was incredibly helpful in both the study of forest management and the carbon cycle and overall was a great introduction to more technical fieldwork practices. – Sophie B

On Friday the 9th of August, the year 10s from Geography - The Big Picture went on an excursion in which they learned more about their current topic “well-being”. Starting with Australia’s past with immigration, we enjoyed experiencing how immigration interviews worked as well as learning about how immigration affected families and communities throughout the world, all when seeing the intriguing exhibitions at the Immigration Museum. Afterwards, we went to Alexandra Park, where we took part in some aspects of personal well-being, like sitting and listening to the sounds of nature around us and writing about something nearby that piqued our interest. After a busy morning, we headed to Melbourne central for a little while, soon after catching the train back to Mitcham station where we were dismissed for the day. All in all it was an enjoyable day, with my favourite part being playing markers up with a few friends at the park, which served as an outdoor activity to boost wellbeing on a local scale. – James P

Hope to see you on a Geography fieldwork soon! – Sam Connell, Sophie B, James P

Bellbird Dell

“Year 7 Geography students got to go out of the classroom and explore Bellbird Dell for their first ever fieldwork! The students investigated the features and facilities of the Dell -  to see why it is a well loved spot in Vermont :) Well done to those involved, and thank you to Ms Allison, Mr Duiveman, Mr Nyhuis & Mrs Mitchell for coming!