Muir this year has offered me many opportunities as well many adventures. We were given so many opportunities where we got to step out of our comfort zone and experience something we have never experienced before. For many people the activities we did were a first timer. This semester we participated in orienteering, archery and snorkelling.
Goals:
For this subjects I had set myself 2 goals for the semester.
- Step out of my comfort zone
- Approach everything with an open mind
My first goal was really hard to achieve. It is sometimes really hard to do and try something you’ve never done before. Orienteering was something I had never done before. I really enjoyed it but was quite nervous that I was going to get lost in the bush. We learnt many techniques of how to make sure we wouldn’t get lost.
My second goal was also quite challenging. I tend to come into new situations quite closed off and not wanting to do it as soon as I hear about it. Rottnest was a really good challenge for approaching everything with an open mind as we tried many new things I wouldn’t have tried.
Capabilities
The 3 capabilities I used most during Muir was effective communication, organisation and self-aware. It was really important to use effective communication especially when we were snorkelling. We had to effectively communicate under water with our buddy to make sure everything was okay. Organisation was most important as if we didn’t have an important part of snorkelling like our wetsuit we would be put into a big disadvantage. Last was self-aware, it was really important to be aware of our self and other during snorkelling. We made sure to always be at least 3 meters from our buddy and use hand signals to tell each other we were okay. Also during archery we had to be self aware because it can be very dangerous is you are not aware enough around bows and archery.
What I learnt
What I learnt was communication is so important whether it’s in the water or out of it. We mad sure we communicated with everyone around us to keep a safe environment where no one would get lost or hurt.
Best memories
The best memories of Muir was to do hard challenges with everyone and just do some activities to make everyone smile. I really enjoyed when we had a couple of hours to ourselves where many people were able to just talk to their friends and people playing soccer, cricket and footy on the oval.
Leave no trace
- Plan ahead and prepare
We made sure we had a buddy system so we would be safe both in and out of the water. We checked the weather for the 2 day camp at Rottnest and for the day we went snorkelling at Coogee Beach. We also checked the shark radar to make sure we were safe and there wouldn’t be a high chance of sharks.
2. Travel & camp of durable surfaces
Making sure we always travelled on paths and roads so we wouldn’t walk through bushes and nature. We camped on designated camp sites so we knew we were in the right spot.
3. Dispose of waste properly
Anytime we went to a beach we did an emu bob to make sure there was no rubbish anywhere and to leave the beach cleaner than when we arrived. Whenever we did find rubbish we made sure it ended up in the bin and not back on the beach.
4. Leave what you find
It was important to leave anything we find. If we thought a rock or shell was cool we sadly had to put it back. Made sure not to dig any holes in the ground or clear surfaces that were important for animals and nature.
5. Minimize campfire impacts
We didn’t do a campfire at Rottnest but it’s always important to not let the fire leave a big impact as it is really bad for the environment as well as animals.
6. Respect wildlife
We didn’t touch any animals, made sure we stayed a safe distance from the animals so they didn’t get scared. We didn’t feed any of them as that can be really bad for them.
7. Be considerate of others
Making sure we were aware that we were in a public place. We made sure to not use any explicit language and not be as rowdy as we usually might be.
Archery
For the first term of Muir we learnt archery and dove deeper into the techniques of archery. It was really fun to see our progress over the week and see how much better everyone was improving. It was a challenge since it was a lot of peoples first time doing archery before.
Orienteering
As well as doing archery we started to learn more about orienteering. We learnt all the skills on how to be safe in the bush and to know how to find your way around. We made sure to take bearing very carefully with the help of Ms Stieber. It was so cool to be able to direct ourselves around an unknown place.
Rottnest/ Snorkelling
A week prior to the Rottnest camp we took a trip down to Coogee to practice our snorkelling. After weeks of practicing in the pool. The conditions were risky as it had been bad weather that day. It was a challenge to snorkel around there as it was everyone’s first time snorkelling as a group.31st of December, Halloween, 3 Muir groups went to Rotto for the first 1 night camp the school has done. It was a really fun and interesting adventure. The first day we got there and walked to Little Parakeet Bay where we snorkelled with our groups. This was really cool as the water was really pretty and we got to see so much marine life. We then walked to back to camp where we set up all of our tents and got into our tent groups. We then did an amazing race where we got clues and had to find that answers which were scattered around the island. We came back together and had an hour of free time where we all had a kick of the footy. Dinner rolled around and then we went to bed. The second day we walked to the basin where we spent majority of the day snorkelling. We then walked back to the bakery got some food and sat around for a couple of hours.
