This year, the whole year 9 cohort went to Kalbarri as part of their OLP (Outdoor Learning Program) experience. Throughout the program, we were tasked to help each other in carrying supplies and learning how to survive with minimal resources in the wild. The most significant memory I have about the camp, in terms of teamwork, was learning to bush cook our dinner every night.

Every night, we would have to cook our dinner with the food resources we packed and carried to each campsite. Starting, we would have to carry our equipment such as trangia (portable stove), methylated spirits, chopping boards, cutlery, etc. Each person in our cooking group was assigned a part to bring. The people in my group were Liam, Violet, Joseph and me. Liam took the trangia, Violet took the board and I took the cutlery, spirit and spice kit. Using our teamwork and assigned roles to carry the equipment, we were able to successfully have the correct equipment and cook dinner each night.

Another example of our teamwork during bush cooking was our each assigned role. Due to safety reasons and efficiency, we each took up a role in our cooking process to create our meals quickly, safely and tastily. I was assigned the role of the ‘trangia ninja’, meaning I had to fill up the gas pot with methylated spirits, and safely mix and cook the ingredients on the stove. This was a dangerous job as it involved fire and spilt methylated spirit can result in a large fire accident. Violet was assigned as our cutter which meant that she was the one cutting ingredients and making sure it was all ready by the time to cook. Joseph was Violet’s assistant in helping Violet cook and prepare ingredients by doing most of the peeling and fine chopping of onion and garlic. Liam was assigned to make sure we were doing all of the cooking safely by providing us with a different perspective and he was also assigned as our taste tester to make sure that the food was good before we served it. He was also in charge of making sure we had all the right ingredients for our recipes.

Using our teamwork and collaboration skills, we were able to successfully cook delicious meals for 4 nights together. We listened to each other’s stories while cooking and we created bonds that will last for a long time. We got to know each other and build new friendships through cooking together on camp, certainly a time to remember.