by Clare Rayner

Investigating the healthy environment.

Our year 12 group ventured up to both sides of the Baw Baw National Park; the side which was the watch catchment area leading down to the Thompson Reservoir and the other side the Baw Baw Ski resort. Our focus was to investigate the health of these environments; analysing and evaluating the impacts.

The Baw Baw National Park

This was their best camp so far, they clearly demonstrated resilience, perseverance and total support for the whole group as well as the environment / community we were working in. The students knew the importance of being prepared with their equipment and the possibility of the weather / temperature conditions changing in a second. Well this happened as soon as we got into the Baw Baw National Park, the rain started and continued throughout the first day. The student s didn't complain, they listened to all instructions and gave their all. They hiked, set up camp and cooked in the 10 to 15mm's of non-stop rain. This meant we had to change our campsite at the last minute. On the second day the students walked an extra distance with their hike experience so they could still measure and observe the health of this remote venue; again we could clearly observe their developments of ability as walked with big packs, made the effort to use their skills and cook hot food for lunches in the middle of the national park and recognise the impacts as they walked through the Baw Baw Ski Resort observing the first amounts of snow being made.

The Town of Walhalla

Our experiences continued into the town of Walhalla; we made special connections with the Old Walhalla Lolly Shoppe as they opened especially for our students, sharing stories and information of the town throughout its historical development in the gold rush. To top this off, one of the highlights was to hike 2km up the side of a mountain to the town historical cricket pitch which was made in 1878 (as a means of relaxing away from their work in the gold mines). It was great to see the students play an exciting game of cricket and have fun in this special place.

Overall i feel the students certainly had the opportunity to learn and experience a considerable amount of info they would be able to use in their studies towards their sacs and end of year exam. But what stands out is that they are certainly growing in their coping strategies with the outdoor environments and their skills / abilities with using specific equipment. We have one more camp experience to go next term and I hope the students are looking forwards to it as much as i am.