Kayaking
Before starting the kayaking course this semester, I had been kayaking many times before. I have a kayak at home; however, it was a different type to the ones we used in the course, and there were many new pieces of equipment we had to use such as the skirts, and the footrests inside the kayak. On our excursion we also got launched off a flight of stairs and onto the water, whilst we had to keep afloat. We began with learning the basic techniques required, such as paddling, adjusting, and putting on equipment. We then focused on what to do if we capsized, in which we had to pull the skirt off underwater, return to the surface, and use another person’s kayak to empty ours of water, and flip it back over. I thought this was a very important skill, as it can save you if you capsize, however, the emptying the kayak of water and flipping the kayak back over was difficult as it was heavy and head to move. Throughout the course, the weather conditions varied. Some days were hot, with calm waters, others were cold and windy. The three capabilities I used in kayaking this semester were organisation, through being ready for kayaking with my bathers and equipment, and getting the kayak ready quickly, self-awareness, through being aware of the obstacles and other people around me whilst kayaking, and effective communication through helping each other flip the kayaks back over. I would, however, like to work more on my self-awareness, as it was very difficult to keep the kayak heading straight forward and without blocking the path of others.
Roping and Climbing
I had previously done a little bit of rock climbing and had done the Dwellingup tree climbing course many times before, however, I had not done much on knots before the course. I enjoyed rock climbing each week, and although I wanted to reach the top, each week I returned, I found it much easier to climb higher than before. Towards the beginning of the course, we worked on climbing safety and technique. This included the 7 H’s, which ensured we were properly applying and using our gear. We also began to learn some common knots that we needed for climbing. I found the knots easy, as after I learnt them, I could easily repeat them, and I found it very useful as I might use some of them when I use a boat. During the Dwellingup day trip, we did the treetop adventures course. I found this extremely fun and ended up doing the black course. Three capabilities I had to use were resilience, effective communications, and collaboration. Resilience to try everything no matter how hard it was, effective communication and collaboration between me and my belayer/climber when rock climbing to keep us both safe. In the future, I want to work on my communication, as sometimes the collaboration was lacking or slow.
Bush Cooking
Before we did bush cooking in lock this term, I have been camping countless times before, and have had to light a fire as well. We worked in groups of three to plan and create meals on the fires we made. Each week, we would have someone missing, and therefore we would miss ingredients, and equipment. While the meals were still complete, they were not as presentable or tasty as they could have been. I thought that our plans were very well made and accurate, however we needed to actually use the method instead of winging it. We also need to stop covering our fire in wood too early, as the fire would get smothered. Our Dwellingup cooking however was the most successful, as there was more organisation and planning beforehand. Three capabilities I used in bush cooking this term were effective communication, collaboration, and resilience. I used effective communication and collaboration to plan and create our meal plans, and resilience when stuff wouldn’t go to plan. I would like to work on my effective communication in the future so that we know when people are not coming and when we need to compensate for these absences.
Leave No Trace
Leave no trace was a very important part of the Outdoor ed course, as it is important in each course we used in lock this semester. It means leaving the space you used how you found it, or cleaner.
In kayaking, we planned our trips beforehand so that we could finish preparing and packing up earlier. We also made sure to move the kayaks on suitable surfaces, so we don’t destroy the land moving the heavy kayaks.
In climbing, there was not much opportunity to leave no trace, as most was done indoors, however, when on the dwellingup day trip, when doing the adventure course, we made sure not to touch the surrounding bushland when climbing or walking up to the climb.
When doing bush cooking at school and at Dwellingup, we made sure to clean up after each time we used the area. This was done by emu bobs, and burning down the fires we lit, and only using fallen leaves and debris in the fires.
