VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies

A truly eventful week that will not be forgotten

Early on Monday morning, the 1st March, the VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies class left to spend the week camping out at The Plantation Campground in The Grampians National Park. It was an exciting time for all involved, especially the kids. The crazy year that 2020 was, meant that we couldn’t go on any camps. This made things interesting as we were teaching and learning about outdoor environments whilst being inside! The smiles on all the students’ faces, even though it was 6:30 in the morning, showed their enthusiasm and excitement for the week that lay ahead of them. 

On the camp, students had the opportunity to go rock climbing and abseiling, swim in fresh waterholes and visit a variety of the beautiful locations that The Grampians has to offer. It truly is an incredible part of Victoria. The class visited sites including MacKenzie Falls, The Pinnacle, Boroka Lookout, Hollow Mountain and Fish Falls, which is where we all had a swim to freshen up.  We had blue skies and sunshine for the entire week which was perfect.

An important component of the camp was to learn about the relationships the Indigenous and non-Indigenous had with the Grampians. Students developed a strong understanding of the relationship the Indigenous community of the region, the Djab Wurrung, had with The Grampians. We visited sacred sites in which Indigenous rock art, which is thousands of years old, could be seen. Students were not only challenged when they rock-climbed and abseiled cliffs, that were 24 metres high, but they had the task of supplying and cooking their own meals on trangias for the entire week. All students did an amazing job with this and I couldn't be more proud of them! They were all fantastic!

It was a truly eventful week and one that will not be forgotten. Thank you to the 2021 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies class for making the camp a memorable one.  A massive thank you also needs to go to Rob Neale and Sammy Parkes for coming along and supporting the smooth running of the camp.