Outdoor Education

Scottie Williams Outdoor Education Teacher

A more normal…

2022 saw the return of a more normal Outdoor Education at Glenaeon after the recent years of relative uncertainty. Our students have seen the return of the Glenaeon classics, as well as the reappearance of experiences outside of the standard program.

The previous years have necessitated flexibility and reactivity, limiting the potential for ambitious thinking and grand plans. Instead, simply finding achievable ways to including outdoor learning into students lives had become the new normal.

Our societies more recent shift forward has allowed the Glenaeon Outdoor team to look forward with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of the impact and the importance of time spent outdoors in the lives of our students.

The Year 7 program on Newnes Plateau followed extensive rainfall which inundated Deep Pass – our regular campsite was at least 5m under water! Perhaps a fleet of canoes would have been at home here on top of what is typically a small creek?

With no ability to pull the plug at the bottom of the valley, we instead explored the nearby River Caves area – where the eyes of students and staff alike lit up under the light dappled green mossy fern walls of the canyon.

The flooded valley floor provided a stark contrast to the fire scorched hilltops of the area, not dissimilar to society – undergoing recent severe changes, followed by necessary recovery.

Nine students made the journey up to Far North Queensland for the 2022 Hinchinbrook Sea Kayaking trip. Leaving the cold wet winter of the south, they escaped to the warm northern sun, beaming down onto the turtle laden clear coral waters and tree lined beaches under the omnipresent skyline of Mount Bowen. 