From 28 to 29 April, the Duke of Edinburgh students completed their practice journey for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. It started at Bells Beach and then we walked 11km on the first day to the Eumeralla Camp where we set up tents and cooked our own meals on some trangia stoves. On the second day, we completed the last part of the camp where we walked for 7km to Anglesea. On the hike, we saw some amazing views that included beaches, cliffs and a section of track with signs showing how the traditional owners of the land lived.
The hike was a challenging experience but despite people being exhausted, nobody gave up and everyone completed the hike. This experience taught us that if you keep on going at your own pace, you can complete whatever you set your mind to and that friends are very helpful and good for motivation and support.
Our favourite parts over the whole of this experience were making the dinners on the trangia stoves and creating new connections among our peers.
Overall, we all enjoyed this challenge and experience and highly recommend completing it if you are interested and have the opportunity.
Coco Hirchfield, Ariana Dino & Mia Pounder, Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh students
From 29 to 30 April, the Year 9 Outdoor Education students were treated to beautiful sunny weather for our Anglesea adventure which consisted of a two day bushwalking camp.
In Term 1, we learnt about Victorian outdoor environments, conservation, flora and fauna. The camp was a great opportunity for us to connect what we learnt to real-world examples. The types of environments that we saw included heathlands and the coast. We saw a variety of different flora (plants) and fauna (animals) including snakes, kangaroos, native grasses and ‘pig face’ succulents, just to name a few. It was great to see conservation efforts at work. Before you could do part of the walk, you had to wash and wipe the bottoms of your shoes to ensure you didn't spread any damaging pest species or diseases like cinnamon fungus into the environment.
The hike was challenging at times but despite us being exhausted and sore, no-one gave up. This experience taught us that you can do whatever you set your mind to with the right frame of mind.
Our favourite parts included the campfire, the views, the memories and connections we made. We also got a ‘pop-up’ lesson from a local man named Roy. He taught us about the local geography and history of the area.
We all enjoyed the experience and recommend the subject to any students who love the outdoors and aren’t afraid of a challenge.
Bridget Lloyd, Year 9 Outdoor Ed student
