In LOCK this year we have done Kayaking, Bush cooking, Rock climbing and ropes. We started the year with Rock Climbing, ropes, and Kayaking. We did Bush cooking in the second term. We started all activities by learning the skills. Some of the skills we had to learn were paddle strokes for kayaking, making a fire for bush cooking and belaying for rock climbing. All these skills helped us to do the activities that were a part of this subject.

The first activity we did was Kayaking. Every week, during the double period, we would go to Shelley Foreshore and kayak. The first week we did it, we learnt how to hold the paddle and control the kayak. Controlling the kayak took multiple weeks of practice. After we had learned to control the Kayak, we started learning how to get out of the kayak with the skirt underwater. We were flipped upside down and we had to take the skirt off the kayak or use another person’s kayak to flip ourselves back up. After we had practised this, we did multiple sessions of kayaking up and down the river. We finished off the topic by doing some fun things like kayak water polo and getting pushed off a jetty in the kayak. At the LOCK Day trip, we also did kayaking but we only did it for a short time and did things such as sliding down stairs into water and paddling up and down a river. Kayaking was a fun and positive experience.

We also did rock climbing during the single periods in term 1. The first step was learning how to tie knots that we needed for setting up the wall. The main knot we needed to learn was the figure of eight on the bite. Once we learned the knots, the next step was learning how to set up the wall. This involved setting laying down the mats, setting up the belaying rig and creating a knot so the climber could attach to the rope. We then had to learn how to put harnesses and helmets on correctly. This included making sure that certain straps were tucked away and tightened, making sure our hair was tucked into the helmet and making sure that the helmet and harness didn’t move around too much. We then learnt how to belay. This meant we had to control the tension of the rope while the climber was climbing and control the speed at which they were lowered after they were finished climbing. After we had learnt all these skills, we were finally ready to climb. We spent multiple periods climbing. When we weren’t climbing, we were practising knots. Later in the term, we did our knots test. We had to do knots such as the figure 8 on the bite, the butterfly knot, and the reef knot. At the Lock Day trip, we went to a ropes course, and this was the highlight of climbing. This was not as fun as kayaking as we could not climb for the entire lesson because there were many people.

The final topic we did was bush cooking. For bush cooking throughout the term, we had to plan, bring ingredients, then make a fire and cook the food. The first step for bush cooking was to plan. We planned all our recipes at the start of the term. For the planning, we had to find a recipe that was simple enough to cook on a fire, then we had to list the method and ingredients. After planning, we went and collected wood down near the ISC. After we collected wood for a few periods, we went to the fire pits and learnt the structure to build a fire. The 2 structures that we were told to use were box and pyramid. We then lit the fires and learnt how we should try to make all the wood burn out when we are finished. After we learned all this, we went on the LOCK Day trip where our first activity was to cook brunch on fires. My group cooked pancakes with fresh batter. We had to buy and bring all the ingredients on the bus, make the fire then cook. We cooked during the double periods back at school. I missed 2 cooking sessions due to COVID. The overall bush cooking experience was fun and required a lot of collaboration and teamwork from each group member.

I think the most useful topic was bush cooking because it has taught me new recipes and how to cook on a fire. I think that I enjoyed kayaking the most because it was active and each week, we learnt a new skill or did something fun such as being pushed off a jetty in the kayak. The day trip was the best part of the LOCK. The activities we did at the day trip were fun and it was a nice break to get away for a day and use the skills we learned in an outdoor environment away from school and the city. The outdoor ED this semester has been a fun and enjoyable subject that has taught me new skills that I can use in my everyday life.