Find your place: the Zero Program

Peter Robson, Deputy Principal – Student Wellbeing and Zero Program Co-creator

Katherine Cameron, Head of Middle School Newnham House and Zero Program Co-creator

One of the core tenets of belonging to the Carey community is believing in the power of possibility. Ours is a school that celebrates diversity, welcomes change and encourages innovation. Throughout the pandemic, we were all undeniably challenged, but at Carey we were also invited to imagine how things could be different, how things could be better.

We want to equip students with the skills to not only navigate their future, but contribute to the solutions that will help secure the future of their generation. The development of the Zero Program was based on the belief that students need to feel empowered to make change before they can begin to do so, and in order to take ownership of their country and its future, they first need to connect with it.

What is the Zero Program?

The Zero Program takes students on a 21-day immersive journey to Far North Queensland with three key focusses: the People, the Land, and Australian Coastal Environments: PLACE.

Drawing on a developing partnership with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), students will have the opportunity to spend time on the land at AWC’s Mount Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary. The natural wonders of Mount Zero’s pristine environments allow students to connect with and take responsibility for the planet in a way that city life doesn’t often permit.

The Zero Program was based on the belief that students need to feel empowered to make change before they can begin to do so, and in order to take ownership of their country and its future, they first need to connect with it.

To further empower students about the positive impact their actions could have on Australia’s coastal environments, the students will explore and learn about the Great Barrier Reef at James Cook University’s Orpheus Research Station. The experiential learning that happens in these environments is what makes the Zero Program so invaluable.

Underpinning the learning from both natural environments is the importance of recognising Australian First Nations people. Carey’s commitment to contributing to Australia’s reconciliation journey means providing students with opportunities to hear a truthful retelling of their country’s history from a First Nations voice. Spending time at the Mungalla Cattle Station, a property owned and run by the Nywaigi Aboriginal people, allows students to develop a deeper understanding and respect for First Nations history, land management and culture.

With a strong focus on a technological detox and the importance of connection through the 21-day immersion, the Zero Program ensures that every student will have the opportunity to know themselves and others.

The Pilot Program

In the winter holidays of this year, 42 Senior School students, along with a group of staff, piloted a two-week version of the Carey Zero Program. Six students – Lily, Josh, Charlie, Beppe, Spencer and Mercy – reflected on their experience.

Connecting with self

With devices left behind, the students were able to be present and look inwards. The disconnect from technology immediately invited a closer connection to self, and to others. For Lily, it enabled ‘deeper and more coherent reflections due to the lack of distractions’. Charlie felt that it was ‘probably the safest environment I’ve ever been a part of and allowed me to be who I am’.

For the duration of the experience, students were randomly placed in three separate teams, without the guarantee of being put with friends. The students made new friendships easily. ‘All those students from different friendship groups coming together in one new group made it easier to connect,’ Spencer says. ‘If you’d gone with five of your best mates it wouldn’t have been the same, it wouldn’t have been as special.’

Beppe echoed this sentiment. ‘Sitting around the campfire and being able to open up was so valuable,’ he says. ‘Just being comfortable sharing with my own group and feeling like I wasn’t being judged by anyone.’

Reflection is valued highly in the student journey through Carey. We teach students to pause, slow down and contemplate as a key to wellbeing. The trip deliberately made time to simply appreciate the surrounds, and Mercy aptly summed up the observations of many of the other students.

‘Back home, we are usually thinking of the next thing, but the time away has allowed me to sit back when I’m going through a really fast-paced week and take a moment to reflect,’ she says.

Slowing down enabled many students to have their eyes opened to what they now know are issues in need of urgent attention. They each experienced a sharpened sense of purpose through their study of the land and time with the Traditional Owners.

Connecting with the earth

The program allowed each student to spend time exploring Australia’s remote natural coastal environments, including coastal wetlands, rainforest and coral reef habitats along the coast of northern Queensland. Their time on the Great Barrier Reef, including trips to Orpheus and Magnetic Islands, was as beautiful as it was educational.

An important aspect of the program has been partnerships we have established with James Cook University’s Research Station on Orpheus Island and AWC, who have enabled access to the Mount ZeroTaravale Wildlife Sanctuary. At Mount Zero, the students undertook a magnificent bushwalk into spectacular waterfalls and engaged in conservation work on the sanctuary.

The students spent a great deal of time with ecologists Rhi and Oli of AWC, assisting with the important conservation project of removing the non-native lantana plants from the Mount Zero property, and they learnt the benefits of re-wilding parts of the country. In future, students will be part of monitoring populations and maintaining the habitat of the endangered northern bettong.

It is difficult to capture in words or pictures the natural beauty of Mount Zero. ‘Seeing the beauty, I became aware of what I wanted to protect,’ Josh says. ‘When you’re working towards something bigger, like when you’re at Mount Zero, it helps you to be present’.

All students were struck by the natural landscape, the ‘untouched beauty’ as Mercy described it, and felt motivated to preserve it. ‘Rather than talking of what climate change is ruining, it was the surrounding beauty I noticed,’ Lily says. ‘It inspired a need to protest for change in how we live on our planet.’

Josh, Year 11: Seeing the beauty, I became aware of what I wanted to protect. When you’re working towards something bigger, like when you’re at Mount Zero, it helps you to be present.

Connecting with history

The Nywaigi people have lived on the land of Mungalla Station for 60,000 years. Most of that time has been peaceful and productive, with caring for Country a significant focus throughout. It was both interesting and inspiring to hear from Nywaigi man and Mungalla Station Director, Jacob, but it was also confronting to learn the history of the Nywaigi people.

The students explored the museum on the property and had the opportunity to ask questions of Jacob and his family. Lily felt moved and shocked at some of the treatment of First Nations peoples since the settlement of British colonials, remarking that, ‘historical events being kept under wraps is ridiculous’, and Charlie felt driven to take action and learn more.

Listening to the stories and experiences of First Nations peoples not only helps us understand more about the history of Australia, but there is also so much to be learnt from generational knowledge of how to take care of the earth. Jacob’s passion for and connection to the land motivates him and teaches us that Traditional Owners can help guide us to true sustainability.

A lasting impact

It is clear that the experience of the 42 students represented more than just a school trip during the holidays. It is one that will continue to ripple through aspects of their home and school life; as Spencer says, ‘The camp ended but it wasn’t the end of the learning’.

Josh has since reflected on the impact of the trip. ‘If ever I feel stressed, I know I can go back there, in my mind, and be centred,’ he says. Mercy, Beppe and Charlie are now driving change through the student Environmental Group, and Lily, as part of an art project, is calling on the Carey community to be more effective recyclers.

The students were exposed to different environments and customs, and were given a personal challenge to consider how their life is best lived in order to enhance life for all. Our planet is precious, and Australia has a unique environment that must be preserved. These students were fortunate to have the opportunity to pause and appreciate, listen and be inspired, work and make a difference, and we are excited to extend this opportunity to more students in the years to come.