MUIR was a fun and engaging elective in which we were able to learn important life skills like reading a map and using a compass, water safety and having good teamwork. My main goals for choosing this subject was to try new things that I wouldn’t normally be able to do, get to know more of my classmates and learn to navigate the outdoors.
Some main courses we did within this elective were orienteering, snorkeling and archery and a Rottnest Island camp.
CAMP PHOTOS
ORIENTEERING
In orienteering, I learned about safety bearings which we could use to get back to recognizable ground and back to the teachers if we ever got lost. I also learned that staying as a group of 4 or more is crucial when venturing into the bush because if someone got injured, a person could stay behind and the other two can go find a teacher. In class, we also had lots of lessons on how to read and interpret maps and how to find bearings.
Jorgensen National Park – During one of our largest courses, my group got lost. We had to work together to figure out where we were and the direction we would have to go in to continue the course. We also learned about the natural wildlife and wore Gators because there was a chance of us encountering and being bitten by one.
SNORKELING
I learned the basic skills of snorkeling such as kicking with fins, breathing through a snorkel, equalizing in deeper waters and duck diving. I also learned underwater signing such as “Are you ok?”, “HELP!” and “Come to me”. We also learned the SAFE SNORKEL acronym which prepared us for any situation that may occur while out snorkeling.
ARCHERY
Archery was a really fun course that I was able to participate in during the MUIR course. I learned how to hold a bow and shoot properly with the correct techniques to get high scores. I also learned many safety procedures like don’t pick up your bow until the instructor blows the whistle and don’t pick up or shoot the arrows until she blows the whistle again. We had to straddle a line while shooting and retrieved the arrows after she blows the whistle. When shooting, I was taught many things about posture and aim so that I could get better scores. Overall this was a very fun and safe activity that I was able to do during MUIR.
CAPABILITIES
The MUIR elective has helped me improve and implement the capabilities of self-awareness, resilience and problem-solving. These have helped me and develop positive relationships with my peers.
Self-aware
When we were sharing spaces with the public (Piney lakes, Manning Park, Jorgenson and Rottnest) I had to make sure that I was respectful to nature and the local residents. This made sure I was representing the school well and conducting myself in a respectful manner.
A different kind of self-awareness I learned was to space myself a good distance from others when snorkeling so that I wouldn’t kick or get kicked by other people.
Resilience
When we were doing archery, I had to learn how to be resilient because it was difficult for me to get good scores. However, I listened to the advice the archery teacher gave me and kept on trying the new techniques I learned. This helped me get more and more consistent shots (and even though they weren’t accurate), it was a great improvement from continuously missing the board. This was how MUIR taught and helped me practice resilience.
Problem-solving
During orienteering, our group got lost several times throughout the course. This meant that we had to use problem-solving to find out where we were and how to get to our next location. Practicing this meant that I could find out how and why mistakes were happening and way to improve for next time. This was how MUIR taught and helped me practice the capability of problem-solving.
FUNNY, MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS?
A funny moment on camp was when my group was in Jorgenson and we realized we were in the large open space in the middle of Dieback. We took 10 minutes just figuring out we were there because we were all in denial that we went into the no-go zone, but in the end we all just laughed about it. Another moment was when I went trick-o-treating during the amazing race at Rottnest, and talking to the locals/people and kids who were spending time there.
THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF AND FOR THE FUTURE
I learned although I could withstand the cold without a wetsuit, it was still very fresh and that the whole experience would’ve been more fun if I was less cold, so next time I should also get a wetsuit. I also learned that snorkeling really enjoyable So in the future, I will go snorkeling more often with my friends.
WEATHER OBSERVATIONS/CONDITIONS
On our first beach swim at Coogie, the weather was worse than expected. This made for a difficult first snorkel and meant that everyone had to quickly adapt to the high swells. I managed this by listening to the instructions from the teachers and staying close together with my buddy and the class. The bad weather also allowed me to practice snorkeling in bad weather and prepared me to face any conditions that the Rottnest camp might throw at me.
FLORA AND FAUNA I’VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE CAMP
LEAVE NO TRACE (LNT)
In all our excursions, we made sure to remember the sustainable practice of “Leave No Trace”. This was really important because it made sure that we left each environment the same as when we came. This encompasses principles such as traveling on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, leaving what we found, respecting wildlife and being considerate of others.
I did this by leaving the plants and animals alone, staying on the bush tracks, leaving large objects like logs and rocks where they are, being respectful to the locals and doing emu bobs before leaving every location we went to. This minimized our impact on the environment and made sure that we were being sustainable and caring to protect and preserve it for future years.
