Dwellingup Camp

On May 3rd, all three outdoor ed classes took a day trip to Dwellingup. Activities included kayaking in the river, high ropes course in the canopy of the trees and bush cooking on the hotplates. This camp was so fun as I was with my friends expanding my comfort zone and trying new things. My favourite bit was the bush cooking. As it was our last rotation, we had no time pressure and we could relax whilst cooking some delicious food. Me, Austin and Zoey cooked delicious bacon and egg burgers on the hotplate for afternoon tea. One of the hardest part was kayaking in the cold river. Thankfully I didn’t capsize but I still got drenched. I came out shivering and cold which was very hard. I then got changed into the comfort of my warm clothes. Overall this camp both stretched my limits but also made for an enjoyable day.

Rock climbing

In the single periods at school, our class did some rock climbing on the wall in the ISC. We would strap ourselves and send it to the top. Before we could start climbing, we took our time on the safety aspect of it. We would learn how to do knots and set up the wall before we could climb. When we were allowed to climb, our class would take turns seeing how high we could get. It pushed my ability to the max as I would come down sore and tired. I nearly got to the top but I couldn’t make it all the way.

Kayaking

Throughout term 1 in the doubles, we would bus to shelly foreshore for some kayaking assisted by PaddleWA. Before we could get out into the water we had to prepare our kayaks, put on our lifejackets and spray decks and carry them to the foreshore. Once out on the water we practiced skills, went for long paddles and played games. We also had to practice capsizing which was one of the parts I found fun. Canoe polo was another highlight for me as it was very fun and even better for a competitive person such as myself.

Bush Cooking

In term 2 and the day camp me and my started bush cooking. Bush cooking was cooking foods such as eggs and stir-fries and more dishes on the camp fire. At the Dwellingup camp, our cooking group cooked bacon and egg burgers on the hotplate over the fire. At the school cooking area, we have been cooking different cuisines and recently we cooked pizza for the Italian cuisine. Some challenges for bush cooking is figuring out what to cook and how you cook because some foods are harder to cook on a fire then others. One benefit is that it is normally very relaxing as when your fire is burning or your food is cooking you can relax and have a conversation whilst sitting out in the nature.

Values and Capabilities

Over this outdoor ed course I have learnt many values and many capabilities. One of my most important capabilities from the capability wheel is problem solving. In all of the activities that I have done on Outdoor ed such as kayaking and rock climbing all require problem solving. If something goes wrong then you need to think and try and solve the problem at hand. Some values that are also nesecarry in outdoor ed include leadership and perseverance as without these, you will struggle to achieve anything.

Leave No Trace

Leaving no trace is when you are trying to be sustainable and leave no trace in the environment so it looks like you were never there. There are 7 principles in the LNT idea. Plan ahead, camp in durable spaces, dispose waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wildlife and be considerate of others. These 7 principles are just a rough outline on how to treat our environment. After all, we only have one earth so we can’t have any do overs. Following the 7 principles of LNT take little effort but makes a huge difference.