The beauty in being Bushwhacked

Mark Haebich

Teacher - Bushwhacked

Like many of our plans for this year, the classwork in Year 9 Bushwhacked has been revisited and re-moulded to best fit our current and challenging context. 

Students have been working through range of remote activities, both individually and in small groups, that contribute to curriculum and Duke of Edinburgh outcomes of the subject. Included in this is a mini module focused on taking time to notice and appreciate the culture and beauty of outdoor environments. 

One activity within this module asks students to spend some solo time in nature and then to reflect on what they have heard, seen, smelt and felt using a range of options for formalising this reflection. The following three students all produced wonderful collages of their experience and also offered three very different and equally insightful personal reflections. 

A reminder for us all that being in nature is proven to help people manage emotions of anger, fear, and stress, and correspondingly can increase pleasant feelings. Time in nature can make us feel better emotionally and physically, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. These students have shown us that even under the constrains of lockdown, within our radius there are pockets of peace, beauty and wonder for those who take the time to seek out and appreciate these more natural spaces.

Please click on the images to enlarge.

Abbi Kelly

Year 9

A haiku - Voyage to the Merri

dappled light through trees

dancing sun on rushing creek

soft grass 'neath my feet

Liberty Redican

Year 9

Luckily, Bushwhacked is a subject where I can continue to complete practical elements, even in lockdown!

 I really enjoyed being able to get outdoors and taking the time to appreciate nature. In this "Appreciating Beauty" activity, I learned how valuable and relaxing it is to stop, notice and take photos of plants and animals outdoors - things which may normally go unnoticed when I get outside. 

The warm spring weather has made getting outside so much better during lockdown.

Layla Carver

Year 9

Serenity Adrift

Entering spring is like stepping from a gloomy box into a paddock of warmth. Though overwhelming, the empty horizon offers limitless opportunities and the warmth calmly urges contentment.

The soft glow of the sun creates a dreamy haze and in the pauses between gusts of wind, the stillness is almost ethereal.

The chatter of the trees always persists and although it may seem provoking, it is a necessary reminder that liveliness still exists.

Even those domesticated enjoy nature as if it is theirs. The cats soak up enough sun to melt and their smiles are genuine and pure.

In full bloom, the flora refuse to go unnoticed. They reach towards the sky, longing for the flaunted peace. Their colours scream and whisper and their fragrances attract and hide.

It is like there is both nothing and everything beyond the deep blue of the sky. It forms a protective blanket over the world, though it is far from suffocating.

To slightly sharpen the senses means intricate details will be noticed, fragments of another world will be glimpsed. It is an escape that is desired by all, however it is only experienced by those who embrace it. One must forget themselves in order to move from their world to the next, as they do not exist in that dimension. It only consists of simple tranquillity and they must transform themselves and camouflage. If they forget their worries and ignore their responsibilities they will fall through the filter.

It isn't a lie exactly, more of an illusion, but maybe sometimes a temporary illusion is better than the truth if it results in healing. Overall though, it's more of an escape. An escape to another world.

An escape to the world of serenity adrift.

Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience. — Ralph Waldo Emerson