Outdoor Education

Climbing Everest

Semester 2 Term 3 & 4, 2019

The year nine students involved in the Outdoor Education elective made sound progress in their learning this semester. In term 3 theory classes, students investigated the various types of natural environments found in Australia. Students learnt to identify the characteristics of natural environments including varieties flora and fauna as well as understanding the various threats posed to these environments due to climate change, loss of biodiversity, overpopulation, deforestation and pollution. Term 4 saw students analyzing aspects of food production and food security, including threats posed by climate change and population increases.

In practical classes, students developed skills related to a number of outdoor pursuits. They practiced camp cooking using Trangia stoves and developed map-reading skills by participating in a number of orienteering challenges. The term 4 excursion saw students tackle a 25km mountain bike ride through Plenty Gorge Parklands where they encountered narrow, rocky trails, a number of steep, fast descents and challenging climbs. The students tested themselves to overcome the physical and psychological obstacles associated with the ride and all did a wonderful job of encouraging each other and persevering through an especially challenging activity. Following the ride, the student’s setup their campsites and enjoyed some free time before a group dinner. The days’ activities concluded with game of ‘spotlight’ after sunset before lights-out. The night brought with it a new range of challenges; strong winds buffeted tents causing one to collapse and early morning rain added to the discomfort experienced by the campers. Despite their weary faces, bumps and bruises, the year 9’s came away from their overnight experience with big smiles and some fantastic stories to tell. Congratulations to all the ‘Climbing Everest’ students on a great semester of work and to the support staff who assisted the facilitation of our excursions and activities this semester.