Rock Climbing – Resiliant
At the beginning of term 3, our class began rock climbing, so for the first few weeks, we practiced a few different types of knots that we would later use to keep us safe while climbing. Some of these knots included, the figure of 8, figure of 8 on the bite, clove hitch, the bowline, and the alpine butterfly. After learning each of these and more, we began to practice setting up the rock climbing wall in the ISC. This task also took a lot of practice as it involved many different details to remember. Finally, after we had learnt everything that was necessary, our class began to rock climb. Out of all the capabilities we have displayed, the one I believe I have developed the most, during this term of rock climbing, is resilience. It took a lot of effort and determination to continue trying and trying after falling down so many times. There were a lot of opportunities we could have all given up and slacked off, but we never did, and as a result, we have developed both a new ability and a very beneficial attribute.
Bush Cooking – Organised
As well as rock climbing, we also began another subject, bush cooking. Before cooking we had a few sessions in the classroom to prepare our groups and decide who was bringing what food. After a few periods of planning, we began to start cooking our meals. The first thing we had to do was start our fire. To do this, we needed a lot of kindling (small sticks or twigs), tinder (grass or bark) and fuel (large pieces of wood). After collecting these, you could build your fire in one of three ways, these included, the log cabin, teepee and upside-down pyramid. We chose to build our fire using the tee pee structure as it gives room for spaces and gaps between the wood, it is also excellent for starting a fire fast. During this semester of bush cooking, I believe the capability I have developed most, is organised. Before every session of bush cooking, we would have to spend a lesson in the classroom to arrange who was bringing what. We also had to make sure that we remembered to go to the shops and buy what was allocated to us and bring it to school the next day. One last way the class displayed this capability was while making our fires. We needed to have all our tinder, kindling and wood laid out, as well as the fire starters, matches and pots and pans. This was an extremely fun and enjoyable activity to do in a class and helped all of us to try new things.
Block Camp – Effective Communication
During the first days of term 4, our class, the other Lock and Blair class went on a three day camping trip to Honeymoon Pool. Throughout these days, it was expected of us to display many (if not all) of the capabilities, however, I believe the most important one was effective communication. While at this camp, we were given the opportunity to participate in three class activities. The first was rock climbing and abseiling. Effective communication was most important between the belayer and climber during this activity. This was because we needed to make sure that the climber is safe at all times and is not at risk of falling or slipping. The second activity was white water rafting. Effective communication was necessary here as you were in a small raft with one other person and needed to communicate with each other easily and clearly to maneuver the boat through the rapids and rocks. The last activity was the amazing race. Effective Communication was significant during this activity as we were spit up into groups of four before going through a series of challenging activities together were comprehensive communication was needed to ensure that we were including everyone’s ideas and suggestions.
Leave No Trace
While on this camp, there were many ways we demonstrated Leave No Trace. First, we made sure to plan ahead and prepare which we completed both at home and in class while allocating roles in our cooking and camping group to ensure that we were not bringing extra plastics that could harm the environment. Second, we camped on hard and durable surfaces to avoid damaging the area. Next we were careful to dispose of waste properly in small bins brought along to stop our rubbish getting into the lakes and streams. We also made sure to leave what we find, this would mean we could leave others with the excitement and sense of discovery we also felt. By minimising campfire impacts we then were able to leave the site as we found it so the next campers could enjoy it us much as we did. We did this by ensuring the fire was out before leaving it unattended and also left it almost empty to make it easier to build a fire later. Next, we were careful to respect the wildlife by not only not scaring or chasing them, but also avoiding feeding them as this could cause damage to their diet. Lastly, we were considerate of others by staying as quiet as we could past a certain time and also not interrupting them as we walked past.