In term 1 we did a snorkelling course in Muir outdoor ed. in this course we learnt the basic skills of snorkeling and got the chance to go and practice these skills in places like Coogee beach at the Omeo shipwreck and a day trip to Rottnest.
SKILLS
Some skills that we learnt on the first couple lessons of snorkelling were things like duck dives, clearing out masks underwater, clearing our snorkel. these skills were very beneficial for our snorkelling trips as it made snorkeling a lot easier and quicker. When first learning these skills we were in a controlled environment (the pool). This ensure that we could practice these skills in a comfortable environment where we could make mistakes and it would be ok. As we got more comfortable with our skills we moved out into a less controlled environment – Coogee beach- where we could practice these skills in a less comfortable environment but still feel safe. As we moved to Rottnest for our final snorkelling day, we were in an uncontrolled environment-meaning that we couldn’t control anything about the space, e.g temperature, animals- This allowed us to show our skills in an uncomfortable situation but we could still feel safe as we knew what we were doing and had everyone around us.
CAPABILITIES
I worked on a lot of capabilities during this course. some of these capabilities are, collaborative, organisation. I worked on and used collaboration a lot during this course. it was a skill that was heavily needed and was also used for safety. collaboration is a skill that requires you to work with others. I used this skill when at school and in the pool practicing our skills, at Coogee when we had to buddy up and work together in the ocean, and at Rotto when we had to stick together to make sure that we were all safe. Organisation to me was one of the most important skills that we needed in this course. It ensured that we all could participate in the snorkelling activities, it gave us a sense of safety, it allowed us to enjoy the beautiful ocean and the surroundings. I improved majorly on this skill during this course as it tough me to always be ready the day before we had a snorkelling day and to know where all of my equipment was. Being organised the day before and having all my stuff ready, allowed me to enjoy the snorkelling more, knowing that I had everything I needed and didn’t need to worry about it. One skill that that I feel that I need to improve on and that has been brought to my attention during this course is leadership. I felt that I did hold back a little when it came to student lead briefs as i was scared that I would get something wrong. Now looking back at it, its ok to get some things wrong as it shows that i’m thinking and striving to learn about it. In the future I wish for me to take on any leadership roles that arise in these subjects as it is a vital part of outdoor ED.
SUSTAINABLILITY AND LEAVE NO TRACE.
Rottnest and coogee are very beautiful places. They are very big and popular tourist attractions as well. One very notable aspect of there places is the cleanly less of the beaches/whole island. In this course, whenever we went out on our snorkelling trips, we always made sure to LEAVE NO TRACE, meaning to leave the environment the way we found it or even cleaner- e.g picking up rubbish, keeping out belongings all in one place- this ensures that we preserve the beautiful environment and the animals and plants that live there so that generations after us can also enjoy the beautiful serenity of places like Rotto and coogee beach.
EXCURSIONS- ROTTO AND COOGEE
As I previously said we got to practice out skills in uncontrolled environment. These places being Coogee beach at the Omeo shipwreck and Rottnest island at the Basin. We went to Coogee a total of 3 times, but I only went twice. The first trip out was a bit nerve racking at first but after a little while it was pretty fun. I was nervous about being out in the open water and having to practice some of the skills, but after a little while, I settled into my surroundings and found it quite peaceful out in the water. The 2nd session at Coogee was a lot more fun. our boundaries were widened and we got to explore further out into the water and saw a lot more fish and sculptors. When the day arrive of the Rottnest excursion, i was very excited. I made sure that i was organised the night before and that i had everything i needed for the trip. I found that being out at Rotto was quite a lot different to being out at Coogee, as the space we were in was a lot bigger and had a lot more ocean life and coral to see and be aware of. But nevertheless it was a lot more fun. We saw so much more sea life- including a seal and stingray- and overall was just a lot more satisfying see how far I had come from the first sessions in the pool at school.
CONCLUSION
Overall I found this unit a lot of fun and would definitely recommend. this unit allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone, branch out and work with new people, use some new capabilities and work on some, to be aware of our surroundings and hep to preserve the beauty of it for generations to come and the importance of preserving it. and finally this unit taught me how beautiful our world really is, how such small things like fishes and coral can really make me smile and think about how lucky we are to even have an opportunity to go out and do stuff like snorkelling.