Year 8 at Hattah: ’Things grow slowly in the Mallee’

Fiona Sherar, Outdoor Education Teacher

Carey students have been visiting the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park since the 1960s. Programs have changed over the years, but we currently take our Year 8 students there for a sixday Outdoor Education program in July/August each year. The program focusses on educating students about the environment, sustainability and community connection. What better way to teach students about a place than by walking through it? Visiting sites significant to the Latji-Latji people, learning about local industry while picking oranges straight from the tree or seeing firsthand the impact humans have had on the Hattah lakes system through environmental watering programs.

Sometimes these experiences are uncomfortable. Students are taken away from their creature comforts, deal with all sorts of weather conditions, carry their limited possessions on their backs and get their hands dirty planting trees.

But these experiences can also be immensely rewarding, like a climb up a sand dune that results in a fantastic view over Mallee landscapes, a rainbow on the horizon after a rain shower or the knowledge that a tree planted by our hands may stand tall for the next 100 years. Our students need to have these experiences if we are to inspire them to take on the responsibility of caring for the environment and advocating for the preservation of these places in the future.

The many years we have spent at Hattah have allowed us to connect and engage with the local community and build partnerships with people and organisations in the area. We buy our citrus from local growers, the Mansell family, who allow our students to hike through their orange grove and pick the fruit from the tree. This simple experience is a highlight of the program for many students and allows for a rich contextual understanding of the importance of buying local produce and supporting local businesses.

Our students have planted more than 350 trees on Raakajilm this year ... Phil and Fiona have plans for Carey students to keep planting trees each year and have named the next planting location ‘The Carey Dune’.

Another key local partnership we have is with Phil and Fiona Murdoch who run Mallee Conservation, a social enterprise which aims:

‘To build a wider appreciation of the plants, animals and habitat of the Mallee of northwest Victoria through a digital presence, and by providing volunteering opportunities and citizen science projects.’ Their 490-hectare property, Raakajilm, sits on the northern border of the Hattah National Park and is Mallee Conservation’s first Sanctuary. During their time at Hattah, students spend a night camping on Raakajilm and taking part in conservation work, benefitting from the in-depth knowledge that Phil and Fiona have of the Mallee landscape and the history and culture of the region. During our Hattah programs this year, Phil and Fiona dedicated a huge amount of time and effort engaging our groups in tree planting, weeding and seed bowl making works.

Our students have planted more than 350 trees on Raakajilm this year. These trees were donated by an organisation called Fifteen Trees and grown by the First People of the Millewa Mallee at a new local nursery. Phil and Fiona patiently explained to our students why they are planting the trees and showed them how to do it properly. It is a slow, mindful process and we hope that a portion of these seedlings will survive and flourish. Phil and Fiona have promised to post photos of their progress on their website and social media platforms but have given a warning that ’things grow slowly in the Mallee’. Phil and Fiona have plans for Carey students to keep planting trees each year and have named the next planting location ‘The Carey Dune’.

As well as tree planting and weeding on Raakajilm, each expedition group spends time with Yithi Yithi man, Will Hannah. Uncle Will loves to chat and has a passion for educating young people about his culture. He has a soft spot for anyone who shows a keen interest in his sessions, often sneaking the student a gift of a homemade boomerang at the end of the session. Will spends a couple of hours with each of our groups of students at some stage during their week at Hattah. He isn’t shy about students asking questions and they walk away from his session with a greater understanding of not only the traditional ways of First Nations peoples but also the hopes that Will has for his culture in the present day.

The Hattah program is a long standing, fundamental experience for our Middle School students. We hope that they walk away from the program with an appreciation of the environment and a sense of pride in their contribution to the work happening through Mallee Conservation. It is a relationship that we hope to continue and build upon for many years to come.