To read the digital edition of this publication, visit au.educationhq.com
It’s often the case that the most transformative and impactful moments of our school life don’t take place in the classroom. From epic kayaking adventures, sleeping ‘rough’ under the star-studded Kakadu sky with your best friends, getting up close and personal with majestic reptiles or simply being immersed in a moving theatrical performance, excursions, incursions and camps really do light up learning. It’s said we don’t get anywhere from lingering in our comfort zone, and this year’s Guide is all about how to challenge students in new ways. Whether it be connecting and empathising with the cruel hardships endured by Australia’s female convicts in Tasmania, or building incredible STEM projects alongside people with a disability, you’ll find everything you need to plan the best off-campus learning experience for your students.
SARAH DUGGAN EDITOR
CONVICT FACTORY OF CRUELTY & HARDSHIP
Grim, cruel and entirely unforgiving, the lives female convicts in Australia endured are unthinkable today. One site is ensuring their stories live on.
BY SARAH DUGGAN
LARGELY eradicated from our history books and barely a blip in our national consciousness, the extraordinary stories of female convicts who found themselves at the mercy of the Cascades Female Factory in Tasmania during the colonial era present a powerful – if not soul-clenching – learning experience.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the factory runs a variety of guided tours, dramatic performances and creative writing workshops for primary and secondary students, bringing to life the untold stories of those women and girls swept into forced migration and lives of unimaginable hardship.
FORGOTTEN STORIES BROUGHT TO LIFE
Katy Warner, the education program manager at Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, says an excursion to the site is emotionally gripping from the start.
“I think the female convicts’ story is one that’s often untold and overlooked and forgotten. And so, it’s really quite eye-opening for the students to come here and see and understand what that experience was like for female convicts, because it was quite different to the male convict experience,” Warner says.
It’s an immersive history lesson with a twist, she adds.
“The experience here is all about trying to immerse young people into those stories of the women who were here, the real stories, because I think that’s the most affecting way to teach history.
“Of course, we talk about the facts and the figures, they will come up. But that’s not our focus here.”
Guided tours present an opportunity to really connect and empathise with the (unlucky) women who called the factory home, Warner notes.
“We get visitors to stand inside [a] cell and realise there were, once upon a time, 48 women in this one cell; like, can you imagine?
“We use a lot of imaginative, sensory learning when we do the tours.
“They also get a sense of the environment as well, because it is quite open. We’ve got kunanyi / Mount Wellington looming over us.
“So, they get a sense of just how claustrophobic it would have been for the women, and how cold and damp it would have been on those days and how hot it would have been on sunny days.
“The senses are really a big part of the experience here.”
NT Learning Adventures
The Territory is the education tourism destination of choice. From the majesty of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to the extraordinary rock art of Kakadu National Park, school groups experience unrivalled cultural immersion, are captivated with the natural world and given the opportunity for a digital detox.
To make it simpler for you to choose the best options for your students and bring the Australian curriculum to life, Tourism NT has created NT Learning Adventures (NTLA).
A collaboration of tour, transport, attraction and accommodation providers, NTLA connects you with businesses that provide specialised services for school groups.
Committed to working with schools to design and deliver student journeys that meet the needs of educators, NTLA businesses provide quality experiences and peace of mind, with risk assessments and emergency action plans available upon request.
Download the comprehensive and practical NTLA guide and find suggested itineraries, school travel tips and other useful teacher resources online at www.ntlearningadventures.com
Katherine River, Nitmiluk National Park
8 days Central Australia
Sample itinerary
Fly or drive into Alice Springs and out of Yulara – or easily reverse the trip – and learn about sustainability, culture, environment and history.
Day one
• Visit Alice Springs School of the Air and understand how flexible learning works in the remote outback.
• Learn about native flora and fauna at the Alice Springs Desert Park.
• Camp at Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre and learn about ecology, astronomy, sustainability and culture in Central Australia.
Day two
• Undertake interactive educational programs with Desert Knowledge Australia.
• Discover Aboriginal art and artefacts at the Araluen Cultural Precinct (including the Museum of Central Australia).
• Visit the Alice Springs Reptile Centre.
• Drive to ANZAC Hill to see the sunset on the surrounding ranges.
Day three
• Explore the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park’s gorges, gaps, chasms and waterholes and take a guided walk with the Traditional Owners at Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye.
Day four and five
• Travel towards Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon). On the way you can visit Curtin Springs Station and Kings Creek Station.
• Complete the challenging Kings Canyon Rim Walk.
• Arrange an Aboriginal Cultural Discovery Session with Remote Tours at Lilla community.
Day six to eight
• Travel to Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park and visit
the Cultural Centre to learn from Anangu, the traditional custodians of the land.
• Take a guided Uluru base walk (or hire bicycles from Outback Cycling) before watching the stunning colours of Uluru transform as the sun sets.
• Watch the sun rise at Kata Tjuta and complete the Valley of the Winds Walk.
• Take an afternoon ride with Uluru Camel tours.
• Book a dot painting workshop with Maruku Arts.
• Be mesmerised by 50,000 solar lights at ‘Field of Light Uluru’.
AliceSprings Reptile Centre
MarukuArts, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
7 days Top End
Sample itinerary
Fly in and out of Darwin, learn about history, culture, environment and outdoor education.
Day one
• Explore Darwin on foot with Walk Darwin.
• Visit the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory for a dedicated school program.
• Experience the Darwin Military Museum and Defence of Darwin Experience or re-live the Bombing of Darwin Harbour at Royal Flying Doctor Service Tourist Facility.
• Finish off the day at the famous Mindil Beach Sunset Markets (seasonally Thursday and Sundays).
Day two
• Delve into an education program with the Territory Wildlife Park team.
• Learn about sustainability while developing bush and survival skills with Sticks and Stones Adventures.
• Arrange a catered program of activities at Batchelor Outdoor Education Centre.
Day three
• Make the wonderful features of Litchfield National Park the focus on day three, including incredible Magnetic Termite Mounds and refreshing swims at one of Litchfield’s famous waterfalls.
Day four
• Spend the morning with Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours experiencing and learning about bush tucker, dilly-bag making, Yidaki (didgeridoo) and clap-stick demonstrations.
• Continue driving into the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.
• Take a guided walk at Ubirr and discover vibrant Aboriginal rock art.
• Stop at Cahills Crossing to spot saltwater crocodiles or join a Guluyambi Cultural Cruise for insights into local culture, mythologies and bush survival.
Day five
• Enjoy a morning boat tour with Yellow Water Cruises and visit the Warradjan Cultural Centre.
• Arrange a guided tour of the outstanding rock art protected by ancient shelters at Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) and visit nearby Anbangbang Billabong and Nawurlandja Lookout before making your way south to Katherine.
Day six
• Spend the morning soaking up the ancient culture and geological formations of Nitmiluk Gorge. Explore by tour boat, on foot, in canoes or with an educational cultural activity with Nitmiluk Tours.
• Visit Cutta Cutta Caves, Top Didj Cultural Experience, or see the entertaining Katherine Outback Experience Show.
Day seven
• Engage with a variety of aspects of First Nations culture with Djilpin Arts and learn about traditional life and culture.
• Make your way back to Darwin via Leliyn (Edith Falls) and take a swim in the paperbark and pandanus fringed natural pool.
WangiFalls, Litchfeld NationalPark
Experience Aboriginal Culture
Top 20 Things To Do
Top End
• Order a bush tucker infused breakfast and browse the gallery at Aboriginal Bush Traders.
• Uncover Darwin’s Aboriginal art trail at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
• Experience being on Country with Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours.
• Listen to ancient stories and sight rock art with Yibekka Kakadu Rock Art Tours.
• Travel to East Arnhem Land to experience a tailored education program with Culture College.
• Discover local culture and tour on country with Djilpin Arts.
• Learn stories first hand walking with a Jawoyn guide along Nitmiluk Gorge.
• Listen to stories at Top Didj Cultural Experience and Art Gallery in Katherine.
• Visit the cultural centres of Kakadu National Park and Nitmiluk National Park.
• Hop over to the Tiwi Islands for an immersive tour of Tiwi art and culture.
Red Centre
• Discover Aboriginal art at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs.
• Learn about the harvesting of bushfoods with Kungas Can Cook.
• Attend a bush medicine workshop with Bush Balm Social Enterprises.
• Explore the birthplace of renowned watercolour artist, the late Albert Namatjira and visit the Hermannsburg Historic Precinct.
• Walk through the walls of Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye with a local guide.
• Learn on Country with the Abbott family at Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Experience.
• Join Remote Education Tours on a 4-hour cultural discovery tour to Lilla community and meet the Traditional Owners.
• Try your hand at a dot painting workshop with Maruku Arts at Uluru.
• Learn about Anangu culture and the Park’s natural environment at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre.
• See the rock art of Uluru and visit a peaceful ancient waterhole on the Kuniya walk with Red Spaces.
PudakulAboriginal Cultural Tours, Darwin
Tjoritja/West MacDonnell
NationalPark
Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye
Alice Springs Desert Park
The Alice Springs Desert Park is a purpose built facility that brings the desert to life in Central Australia. Students will gain an understanding that the country around them is ancient, alive, exciting and dynamic. They will recognise that there is a connection between desert plants, people, landscapes and culture. Offering guided and self-guided tour programs for local, remote and interstate students. These experiences include areas of science, flora and fauna, geography and history specific to Central Australia.
Students can gain a greater awareness of intercultural understanding on a cultural walk. With a guide, explore how it is possible to survive in a desert. Hear the survival stories of desert people as you walk through their ancient supermarket, hardware shop and pharmacy. It’s these experiences that will inspire the students to find answers themselves, presenting the challenge of research skills, creative thinking, personal interpretation and a general understanding of the area.
At night students can explore and learn about rare and endangered animals of Central Australia on a Nocturnal Tour. Step into the Mulga Walk, a large predator proof enclosure with your very own head lamp. See bilbies foraging, come centimetres from an echidna and if you are lucky spot mala now only found in captivity on the mainland.
www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au
asdp@nt.gov.au
(08) 8951 8788
871 Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs
Desert Knowledge Precinct
Desert Knowledge Australia (DKA) is located 8km south of Alice Springs. It was designed as a culturally safe place where travellers from the south, east and west would stop and light a fire to send a signal to request a meeting with Arrernte people, living on the northern side of Heavitree Gap (Ntaripe). Elders or other group members from Alice Springs (Mparntwe) would meet the travellers and share stories, share songs or ceremony. The edu-tourism program at DKA provides an opportunity for students to learn from the oldest knowledge systems on earth while gaining an understanding of renewable energy and space research. Programs are delivered by DKA partners Centre for Appropriate Technology and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and are aligned with the Australian school curriculum.
The DKA SolarCentre, a partnership between DKA and Ekistica (an Aboriginal owned engineering company), is one of the largest multi-technology solar demonstration facility in the southern hemisphere, providing valuable open access data to over 10,000 users across the world every year. Students explore the importance of solar and renewable energy in our lives by engaging with an engineer, along with on-site demonstrations of various solar technology.
A number of other activities on site include the Garden of Reflection (Stolen Generations Memorial), conservation and land management, Business and Innovation Centre, and industry specific speakers and tour guides.
www.dka.com.au info@dka.com.au (08) 8959 6000
475 Stuart Highway, Alice Springs
Earth Sanctuary
In 2022 Earth Sanctuary hosted over 1,200 school students, travelling to Central Australia to experience ancient landscapes and engage in essential cultural and sustainable STEAM-focused programs. Earth Sanctuary offer a space observatory and exclusive campground for students to spend an unforgettable night sleeping under the stars. Learning Adventures begin on our 100% carbon-neutral property just 15 minutes south of Alice Springs.
Mapped to the Australian curriculum and aligning with Duke of Edinburgh program, Earth Sanctuary have sustainability and cultural immersion at the heart of their programs. The 1-12 day tours explore several local Indigenous cultures, survival skills, sustainability, earth and space exploration, conservation and health and wellbeing. All of this while travelling across iconic Central Australian locations – Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Watarrka National Parks, Alice Springs and the West and East MacDonnell Ranges (Larapinta Trail).
Each tour is tailor-made and strives to provide schools with one of the best leadership programs in Australia. With a critical learning edge, the team aims to inspire students to be agents of change for our future, both inside and outside the classroom. Tours include all transport (excl. flights), meals, accommodation, experienced guides, national park tickets and activities. If your school has a climate active program, speak to the team about making your whole journey carbon-neutral!
Royal Flying Doctor Service, Alice Springs Tourist Facility
Keep the Flying Doctor flying, visit the original Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Alice Springs working base that commenced in 1939. Learn about the importance of the RFDS to outback Australians and the medical care required to service isolated regions. See, experience and learn through the wonder of technology the heroic tales of the birth and growth of the RFDS. Learn about the history and the activities of the RFDS’s pilots, engineers, doctors and nurses, and the experiences of the patients that are carried and cared for each day.
• Two virtual reality stories relive a patient’s true experience of medical care and what its like to fly with an RFDS pilot
• ‘touch and learn’ about the aircraft and women of the RFDS
• experience a life size hologram of John Flynn; the founder of the Flying Doctor Service
• meet Alf Traeger and Nurse Kathy through interactive technology
• step inside a replica RFDS aircraft and feel what it’s like to be a patient at 15,000 feet.
Crocosaurus Cove, located in the heart of Darwin city, allows visitors a unique, up close and personal view of Australia’s iconic Saltwater Crocodiles.
Bringing together some of the largest Saltwater Crocodiles in Australia and boasting the World’s largest display of Australian reptiles, Crocosaurus Cove is a must see attraction when visiting Darwin and the Top End of the Northern Territory.
Students can smile for the camera on the Fishing for Crocs platform while holding a baby Saltwater Crocodile. Check out the Barramundi, Archer Fish & Whiprays in our 200,000 litre fresh water aquarium and visit our turtles in our Top End Turtle Billabong.
Crocosaurus Cove welcomes school groups and can tailor learning experiences based on both education and curriculum requirements. Behind the scenes access, educational talks and guided keeper tours are just some of the ways to ensure your group has a uniquely Territorian learning experience.
The team looks forward to introducing you to the cute and mesmerising inhabitants of Crocosaurus Cove.
www.croccove.com info@croccove.com
08 8981 7522
58 Mitchell Street Darwin 0800
Experience life in the Outback at the award-winning Katherine Outback Experience, just 6km from central Katherine.
Owned by national award-winning singer songwriter Tom Curtain, the 2-hour Outback Show celebrates life on the land through real horse-starting, live music, working dog demonstrations and story-telling, entwined with live music and humorous bush stories.
The show is entertaining, engaging and educational. There are opportunities to pat, feed and train the animals as the team show how they build trust and confidence in the animals to get the best from every personality – relating it to lessons in the classrooms.
Katherine Outback Experience now offers groups an exclusive behind the scenes Stockman’s Workshop where guests get a hands-on experience of what it takes to be a stockman or stockwoman on an Australian cattle station.
This workshop includes exclusive experiences and can be tailored for a min of 10 to max of 50 participants. Katherine Outback Experience also offers school group camping and meals.
Overland Oz offers 6, 8 & 11 day outdoor educational camping tours for students aged 11 - 17 years, connecting travellers with the richest of Aboriginal places in the Northern Territory. The team from Overland Oz provide students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the true culture and stunning beauty of outback Australia. Overland Oz aims to close the gap between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal Australians, through interactive cultural experiences, educational activities and community development projects.
Overland Oz caters to specific needs of both schools and students. As part of a tour’s itinerary, a large focus is centred around completing community development projects. The team has established important connections with Traditional Owners and Elders in communities, identifying specific needs such as sustainable food sources. As part of tours, students and communities work together on these projects. This provides the students with a rich work experience, creating connections and memories and allows them to be immersed into a community, which they may not have had the opportunity to do otherwise.
For the community, they are receiving a service enabling them to meet a need and providing opportunities for locals. This combined with incredible hikes, waterfalls, campfires and nature makes for a tour students cannot forget.
www.overlandoz.com.au ringer@overlandoz.com.au
0475 595 470
Royal Flying Doctor Service, Darwin Tourist Facility
Learn about two iconic Territory stories in one location at Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin. This exciting world-class facility brings history to life through cutting edge technology.
Enjoy the heroic tales of the birth and growth of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), including:
• a life size hologram of John Flynn, the founder of RFDS
• interactive story telling with mini ghost holograms of Alf Traeger and Nurse Kathy
• a decommissioned RFDS Pilatus PC 12 aircraft allowing students to experience a full aero medical fit out.
Relive the drama of the Bombing of Darwin Harbour that rocked Australia in 1942:
• interactive story telling with mini ghost holograms of Prime Minister John Curtin and WW2 Japanese pilot, Hajime Toyoshima
• Bombing of Darwin Harbour virtual reality experience and window of 1942 illustrating the aircraft firepower used during the first raid on the wharf
• suspended full size replica Japanese Zero aircraft.
www.rfdsdarwin.com.au
rfdsdarwin@flyingdoctor.net
08 8983 5700
45 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin
Save & Learn in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory Government is investing in the domestic education tourism sector by increasing the Save and Learn funding program to $3,000 per eligible school group in 2023!
School groups are invited to submit an application for travel to receive $3,000 funding support to assist in delivering your NT school excursion.
The planned excursion simply needs to meet the following requirements:
• minimum of 10 students in the group
• staying at least five nights in the Northern Territory
• the itinerary must include at least three NT Learning Adventures (NTLA) operators.
Application forms and list of current NTLA partners can be found at ntlearningadventures.com
For help planning your NT Learning Adventure and to register for the NTLA Save & Learn program, or request a copy of the NTLA guide, please contact Tourism NT:
P 08 8999 6395
W ntlearningadventures.com
E education.tourismnt@nt.gov.au
Territory Wildlife Park,BerrySprings
UluruCamelTours, Uluru-Kata Tjuta NationalPark
A FORAY INTO WOMEN’S RESILIENCE
“ONCE ... THERE WERE 48 WOMEN IN THIS ONE CELL; CAN YOU IMAGINE?”
Teacher Georgie Routley, from Oakburn College in Launceston, knows the impact an excursion to Cascades Female Factory can have.
As part of the college’s ‘Southern Tasmania trip’, and well immersed in the thick of a learning unit on Australia’s convict history, Year 9 students recently dropped in for a guided tour followed by a writing workshop.
Routley was “really impressed” with how well the students took to the experience.
“The girls, particularly, related to it really, really closely. But lots of students were like, ‘I can’t believe they had to do that. I can’t believe they were treated like that’.
“A lot of them were shocked at the idea that these poor women had travelled all the way from England, often with their infant children, and at the last minute at the gates of the prison, their children were taken away from them.
“They thought that was just astonishingly cruel,” the teacher reflects.
Warner says that for older students, the excursion connects with many contemporary women’s issues that were “born out of the resilience” of the Cascades convicts.
“It’s very confronting, especially when we tell them the only way out for these women was marriage…”
Routley says many students were surprised and “quite incensed” to learn of the lack of rights handed to female convicts.
“There’s other horrific aspects of it, like the rule of
silence and forcing people to be silent, and realising that that was a really cruel punishment for women who get so much joy from communication and collaboration,” she adds.
GETTING CREATIVE
Teachers were thrilled with the outcomes from the writing workshop, which Routley describes as systematic and focused.
Responding to three sensory prompts, students crafted an original piece of prose from a convict’s perspective.
“It was really encouraging to see the students go through that process, and reflect on the things that they’ve seen and heard in the presentation that we’ve just had, and be in the moment…” Routley says.
With direct links to the curriculum and the general capabilities, the educator highly recommends the excursion.
“I think it’s a really wonderful educational opportunity, particularly for Year 9 students.
“And it’s such an amazing national treasure that we have in Tasmania – being able to preserve that history and tell these people’s stories, I think, is really important in terms of acknowledging where we’ve come from.”
Keeping the site’s history alive is what it’s all about, Warner concludes.
“We frame it [in a way that] it’s up to them now to continue telling those stories, to tell their parents, tell their friends and just not let it become forgotten again.”
ALL ABOARD FOR A PUFFING GOOD TIME
After more than a century on the tracks, Puffing Billy is still running full steam ahead – but recently, students have been offering ideas to improve the iconic train, and in the process make for an Endless Discovery adventure.
BY DENIZ UZGUN
THINK about carriages that spray water to reduce the spread of bushfires, or a siren to frighten animals away from railway lines.
Or going even further – perhaps transitioning the train away from coal to reduce its impact on the environment.
These innovative solutions were suggested as part of Puffing Billy’s education program called Endless Discovery, launched in late-2021.
One of the subjects, Sustainable Tourism at the Railway, puts Year 11 VCE students in the driver’s seat to improve the landmark’s tourism prospects.
“A lot of students have talked about how we could minimise the use of coal by trying to create a train that might have a different engine,” education officer Peta Howard says.
“So thinking along the lines of your Maglev trains and your electric trains in the future, but remembering that we still have to keep that heritage railway alignment.”
The program involves students studying the environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability of the railway.
“Students get access to statistical data from all of our international and domestic visitation,” Howard says.
“They get to look at our digital images and the way we market a lot of our events and programs, and then they get to use all of that information to inform their big fieldwork back at school, or if they want
to develop their own ideas and experiences that we could launch here at Puffing Billy Railway as well.”
The students take their data collection back to the classroom for their VCE project.
“So in Year 11, a huge part of their VCE geography curriculum in tourism is doing a 1600-word field work report. So comparing two or three different tourism organisations in Victoria, looking at their marketing, events, numbers, sustainability, and then breaking that down back at school and thinking about opportunities for that to progress or get better,” Howard says.
“So a lot of the groups we’ve had have actually surveyed some of our staff or had a particular question that they’re looking into. And so before they’ve visited, they reached out to me and asked if they could [speak with a] marketing manager or a passenger ops manager.”
For more than 60 years, Puffing Billy Railway has been an iconic Victorian tourist attraction, drawing guests from right around the world.
But after the pandemic hit – bringing international tourism to a standstill – the non-profit organisation has had to pivot.
This was a major driver for the launch of Endless Discovery, with seven curriculum-aligned programs offered to students from Early Years to VCE.
The programs have a STEM focus, and include subjects like Maths in Motion for Year 5 to 8 stu-
SUPERCHARGED SCHOOL EXPERIENCES
“A great opportunity for kids to put down their screens and reconnect with nature”
Located near the Great Ocean Road in Lorne, Live Wire Park school programs are suited to educational groups of all ages and abilities.
While the park is known for its physical challenges, our trained staff also incorporate educational elements.
We offer a 25% discount for school groups as well as teachers attending free of charge.
– Social skill & teamwork development
– Confidence building away from the formal classroom environment
– Learning about the bio-diverse Otways ecosystem
– Experience native wildlife habitats
– Information on our sustainable off-grid resource approach
– Core sustainability principles and how we implemented them
– A Covid-safe environment
Make the most of the great outdoors, with activity options for primary and secondary students and school groups
We’re also happy to tailor something specific to your school’s needs. We have catering options available and can even help recommend local accommodation for longer trips.
The below 25% discounted pricing includes 1 hour access to the Spring Circuit, and Canopy Circuit Walk.
For full details visit: livewirepark.com.au/school-programs
To book an excursion phone 1300 LIVE WIRE or email groups@livewirepark.com.au
Mention this ad to receive the above 25% discounted pricing.
“A LOT OF KIDS LOSE THEIR MINDS WHEN THEY GET TO RING THE STATION MASTER’S BELL.”
dents, and Puffing Billy Railway Pathways for Year 9 and 10 students.
Located within lush forests in the Dandenong Ranges, Puffing Billy is the largest operating steam railway in Australia.
“We are one of the few places that you can see an operating steam railway that’s over 120 years old,” Howard says.
“So it’s very cool to come up and visit not only this amazing piece of engineering that’s still alive today, but also be really immersed in the Dandenong Ranges and this amazing habitat up here of this millions of years old rainforest with all the beautiful tree ferns.”
When they arrive at the scenic destination, most school groups hop on board a one-hour journey from Belgrave to Emerald, before arriving at the brand new Lakeside Visitors Centre.
Here, they get a look inside the inner workings of the Puffing Billy Railway steam train and learn about the landmark’s engineering systems, community, history, and design and technology.
“They get to visit the new museum here and have a really immersive hands-on education workshop in this beautiful new space,” Howard says.
The feedback from students so far has been hugely encouraging, Howard says.
“We had a lot of teachers saying students had a wonderful time, they’ll be back again this year.”
And the most exciting part of the excursion?
“Oh, it’s always the train ride,” Howard says.
“But then also getting those hands on experiences and getting to actually touch and hold things from the railway – I think that would be second.
“A lot of kids lose their minds when they get to ring the station master’s bell or they get to touch a spanner that’s taller than them that’s used on the railway. They really enjoy that part of it.
“Just getting to go to the Dandenong Ranges and seeing the wildlife out there is [also] really special.”
Close to 9000 students have jumped on board the excursion in 2022.
Bookings for Endless Discovery are now available for Term 2 and 3 of 2023.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE GREEN AND THE BLUE
Whether you’re lucky enough to have a beach or river environment close to your school, or you’ve just put in your own veggie patch or nature garden – green or blue spaces are fabulous for mental health, wellbeing and so much more. It’s important you take care of these valuable resources.
BY ANNE VIZE
TAKING charge of a nearby patch of nature feels great when you’re a young person. It means engaging with the things that you see, hear and touch every day, and knowing you can truly make a difference to a space that is important in your life. We know that spending time in green or blue spaces is great for mental health and wellbeing, and there is good evidence to support outdoor activities as a tool for building positive behaviours and interactions within groups. Many school communities have nearby patches of nature they can access for an incursion or excursion activity with students across the year levels.
Here’s a few ideas to get you started on caring for a patch around your school:
TREE PLANTING
Tree planting is a popular activity with students, but it is not quite as simple as just popping down to your local store to buy some plants then putting them in anywhere in the school grounds. Take the time to research your location, weather conditions, prevailing wind direction, soil type and existing vegetation cover. Work with an expert who
can guide you in choosing trees that will work for your location and are appropriate for doing all the things we want trees to do – provide habitat, offer shade, store carbon, maintain healthy soil, produce oxygen and reduce air pollution. Your students can be involved in drawing, planning and designing an outdoor space that includes tree planting, researching landscapes and vegetation cover, or making a poster to invite visitors to their new space.
CLEAN UP DAYS
Although Clean Up Australia Day is officially held on March 5th each year, every day is a great day for cleaning a nearby patch of nature. Provide students with gloves, hessian bags, pick up sticks and a sorting mat so they can collect, collate and sort rubbish they find. Give clear guidance about how to clean safely and what should and shouldn’t be picked up, particularly for younger year levels. Sort and organise rubbish into categories then make data tables, charts or graphs of the results. Report on rubbish findings as part of the weekly school newsletter or in a special report to the community.
See Sydney city like never before.
Youthworks City Mission takes you to a place like no other. Incorporating both education and adventure, this eye opening experience is perfect for groups looking to understand the lives of some of Sydney’s most disadvantaged.
The City Mission program is highly customisable and Youthworks partners with a number of charities and organisations that work with Sydney’s less fortunate.
Issues of social justice are very real for many people in our society, and while education of these issues in the classroom is important, spending time face-to-face with these issues can be a life changing
experience for students and the way that they view the world. On a City Mission program students will experience the harder side of life like never before as they:
• Walk the streets of Sydney with a tour guide who is currently experiencing homelessness.
• Spend a night sleeping rough in a safe and controlled environment.
• Learn how to identify if a friend is experiencing homelessness.
GOING BEACHY
“...IT CAN BE WISE TO EXTEND YOUR THINKING BEYOND SAUSAGE SIZZLES...”
If you are lucky enough to have a beach in your neighbourhood, this is a great option for learning about the marine environment. Link with a local provider who can host an education session in your location and teach students about the marine ecosystems and how to care for them. Explore rock pools with a marine specialist, watch for dolphins and record observations, find out what you can and can’t do at the beach and learn how a changing climate is affecting beaches around the country.
NESTING BOXES
Reach out to members of your school community or local men’s shed group to access support and skills in building nesting boxes that can be installed as homes for wildlife. Engage students in doing a survey of bird and animal species, then check which box sizes are suitable. Nesting boxes are great as an activity for collaborating over a design, planning and problem solving and observing changes in animal and bird behaviour over time.
CARING FOR THE SOIL
Good soil lies at the heart of many activities where a patch of nature is being cared for and restored. Do some soil tests to find out what soil type you have in your location, and what the pH is. This will help you work out what you can plant and what will
do well in the area. Explore the role of soil scientists in caring for the soil and discover how soil type relates to vegetation and eco-systems.
DRONES ABOVE
If your school is lucky enough to have access to a drone, why not take it for a flight over your nearby patch to see what you can see with a bird’s eye view? Footage can be shared with the wider school community and the visuals are perfect for showing before and after shots once you have worked on restoring or caring for an area. Students can learn about the role of drones in wildlife conservation, bushfire or flood recovery and in agriculture.
RAISING FUNDS
Caring for a patch of nature often requires tools, equipment, consumable resources and human effort. While students are great at providing the effort, they may need a helping hand when it comes to accessing the materials they need to get the job done. Show students how to raise funds by applying for a grant, reaching out to a community organisation for support or linking with the local council or friends groups. Your school community is a handy source of support, but it can be wise to extend your thinking beyond sausage sizzles and smoothie stalls and see if you can access funds through community grants, programs and wider support networks.
Experience how TRANSPORT HERITAGE has transformed the way we live.
Discover the wonders of the ENVIRONMENT amongst our native bushland.
Enjoy the benefits of HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION at out all-abilities play space.
Take your students behind the scenes of one of the biggest engineering feats the world has ever seen.
The Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma is the perfect stop for your next school trip. The exciting and interactive centre showcases the past, present and future of the Snowy Scheme, Snowy Hydro and renewables.
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Our Next Generation Education Academy provides unique learning experiences across the STEM and HASS curriculum for students in years K to 12. Bring the Next Generation Education Academy into your classroom, learn more online at
snowyhydro.com.au/ education/nextgen
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A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES!
Exclusively for school groups: Enjoy a one-of-a-kind cinema experience in the National Film and Sound Archive’s grand Art Deco cinema, in Canberra.
Tickets: $12 per student Including a sweet treat!
Scan the code to explore all our school programs or visit NFSA.GOV.AU/SCHOOLPROGRAMS
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INSECT PROJECT SPREADING WINGS
Finding and offically naming a new insect species carries a certain kind of thrill. And thanks to a flourishing science citizen project, some lucky students know the feeling exactly.
BY SARAH DUGGAN
AS Queensland entomologist Dr Andy Howe puts it, “you need to be a particular sort of person to get into insect taxonomy”.
And with just 35 full-time taxonomists currently working to classify newly-discovered creepy crawlies in Australia, Howe says the profession would welcome an influx of enthused young scientists who share a fascination of the natural world and the many weird and wonderful insects within it. Indeed the sector would be buzzing.
This is precisely where Insect Investigators – a trailblazing citizen science project involving 50 schools from across three states – is stepping in.
KIDS TACKLE TAXONOMY
Howe, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, is coordinating the 17 Queensland schools involved in the project.
He says the initiative is uniting real scientists and students in what is a huge mission – think of it as an ongoing incursion of sorts, and with a very real impact.
“The whole idea is to get kids engaged in science, and then getting them engaged in insect taxonomy as well, because we have some challenges,” he explains.
“We want to try and name [every species] in Australia in a generation, which is a massive undertaking.
“And when it comes to insects, we estimate there are 225,000 or so, and just over 30 per cent of them have been described by Western science.”
This means they have been given a Latinised name and placed in the phylogeny of insects, Howe adds.
“There’s a lot of work involved in describing a species … so we’ve got a long way to go.”
NEW WASP DISCOVERY
“THE OPPORTUNITY TO ... WORK ALONGSIDE A SCIENTIST HAS BEEN NOVEL...”
With help from a range of scientists, last year students placed ‘malaise’ insect traps in and around their schools with the hope of capturing elusive species.
More than 14,000 specimens were selected from these traps and sent off to Canada for DNA barcoding and taxonomy.
About 56 per cent of the DNA barcodes identified were new records placed in the Barcode of Life database, a freely available collection of molecular and species occurrence data.
Students are kept updated via Zoom meetings, videos and social media clips at every stage of the process, Howe says, with teachers incorporating the learning into their curriculum.
There’s been one particularly thrilling find, the scientist says.
“There’s a little wasp species that a PhD student, Molly, has found in the sample, it’s only from Beerwah – they had found one a male in New South Wales in 2020, and then this one turned up, it’s a female.”
The gender is important here, Howe explains.
“[Having found a female], that means that you can describe the species now, because the female becomes the holotype; the one that sticks in the museum that everyone will then compare other species with.
“So that was really exciting.”
Recently, in March, Howe visited Beerwah State High School on the Sunshine Coast to discuss the biology, behaviour and naming of its discovery – a parasitic wasp in the genus Mirax from the family Braconidae.
Students have also been given the rare task of naming the creature.
“It will certainly be interesting to hear what they want to call it,” he said.
“This wasp lays eggs inside living caterpillars and the larvae then eat their way out of the host.”
CITIZEN
SCIENCE GOES BUSH
The project has been incredibly rewarding, Howe reflects.
“We had an aim to get to every school in person. So in March last year, I drove five-and-ahalf thousand kilometres, and I’ve done another one-and-a half thousand just getting out to these schools.
“[Many of them] are fairly remote, and some of them are seriously remote.
“On Mornington Island there’s a little place ... which is 80 kilometres from anywhere, it’s just covered in flat ground as far as you can see, there’s a lot of grassland.
“So [the school there] had a massive collection of grasshoppers, because they suffered several floods just prior to our visit.”
For many students in regional and remote locations, teachers have said the opportunity to engage with and work alongside a scientist has been a novel experience, Howe reflects.
And given around 200 schools applied to be involved initially, there’s a strong appetite for more.
“Because it’s been such an amazing project, we’re going to try and get more funding for another iteration,” Howe reports.
“Just being able to engage with the kids in a project that’s meaningful, that has implications for their future as well, [is fantastic].
“[If we can inspire them to] get involved specifically with insects, and if some of them could pursue a career in that, great – we need them!”
MOBILE STEM VAN TO MAKER BIG DIFFERENCE
A ‘crazy and wacky’ idea for inclusive STEM education is about to be put in motion – literally.
The ‘MakerVan’ is rolling out to help provide robotics, coding and more for everyone.
BY SARAH DUGGAN
SOON to be touring mainstream and special schools in Victoria, the ‘MakerVan’ is fuelling up and preparing to welcome students of all abilities into the wild, limitless makerspace sphere.
The brainchild of a partnership between Monash University and disability support provider Wallara, the mobile STEM van will come kitted out with an array of inventive gadgets and one-of-a-kind tools that make things like coding, robotics, circuit making (and more) accessible for all.
Best of all, Wallara clients will be helping to guide students through the whole experience.
Driving the project is senior lecturer Dr Kirsten Ellis, who says many students with disability have been excluded from truly engaging in or pursuing STEM.
This is for two main reasons, she suggests. Firstly, inaccessible tools are a big one.
“Most circuit making is taught through breadboarding, for example, and you have to have really, really good fine motor skills, because little wires go
into little holes and you have to be able to see the holes, and things like that,” Ellis explains.
“So, I developed what I call a ‘tape box’, which is like a really big, chunky tape circuit that you can put together.
“And if you get it wrong, it doesn’t matter, you can try again. It’s really low-cost failure.”
A lack of specialist knowledge and confidence on the part of teachers can also contribute to STEM exclusion, Ellis says.
“There’s also that whole attitude [that questions] is it core knowledge? Like, what are the most important skills for people to engage with?
“[But] how do people know what they’re going to like and be good at if they’ll never be given the opportunity to try?”
Wallara founder Phil Hayes-Brown says the partnership has been “inspiring” for both his staff and clients, some of whom are now busy coding and programming with Ellis’ bespoke gadgets.
“Our frontline crew in the field really get a massive
lift out of having Kirsten rock up with her toys ... and them being trained on how to teach these classes and drive this activity and report back,” he says.
For Hayes-Brown, the MakerVan incursion bus is really about raising awareness around intellectual disability – something that’s sorely needed, he says.
“There’s three groups of people out there, there’s one group that get disability – for some reason – and another group who are fearful of it and don’t understand it.
“And there’s a ‘middle third’, that is sort of open to it, a bit awkward, doesn’t quite know [how to approach or engage people] and doesn’t want to offend...
“And so our mission as a company is to try to provide our clients with unique experiences, so they can be the best they can be, but do it in a way which helps us reach the middle third, because we want to help engage and convert that [group] to become more comfortable and supporters of disability.”
Keen to connect his 500 clients with tertiary STEM experts, Hayes-Brown has been “on a bit of a mission” for the past three years.
“I invited [Ellis] to treat us like a living lab, an
open lab, and asked, ‘how can we interact with you? What do you want to test out and trial out?’” he says.
The project has been a real thrill so far, he reports.
“We’re all inside the disability tent, but in my view, the intellectual disability group and the people we support receive the least attention, or are … the least heard from, the least understood.
“The loudest voices come from minority camps in disability, and so we’re really keen to change that. And having people like Kirsten see us, and want to work with us, is just inspiring to us.”
Ellis says there’s a lot of fun to be had in the maker realm – and that’s exactly what the MakerVan plans to deliver.
“If we go to schools or community events, having someone with an intellectual disability teaching kids how to program can really change perceptions of what people with intellectual disabilities are able to do.
“The programming that we’re doing doesn’t require written words or specific code or whatever.
“Because it’s hands-on and tactile, it means that it’s accessible to lots of people and a really good entryway for kids as well.”
“THE LOUDEST VOICES COME FROM MINORITY CAMPS IN DISABILITY...”
CAMPS & ACCOMMODATION
WAITOC
WAITOC
JUMPING INTO DEALING WITH RISK AVERSION
It’s worth pushing through your own risk aversion so students can truly challenge themselves outside the classroom.
BY GORDON CAIRNS
TRY and recall the worst accident that you have witnessed in the classroom throughout your teaching career.
Was it a slightly bruised knee from someone tripping over the wastepaper bin rushing to get a seat at the back of the room? Perhaps a student bumped their head, and pride, after swinging too far back on their chair and toppling over?
I presume it didn’t stop you taking a group of young people back into the classroom to teach the following day.
While a nasty paper cut might nip, it isn’t going to stop paper being used to write on, and yet often teachers tend to get overly stressed about taking learning outdoors and decide the excursion or camp is too daunting, whether the danger is real or imagined.
For some, there is just too much responsibility in taking students out into nature.
Yet even though paddling flimsy fibreglass kayaks into wide open waters or abseiling down vertiginous rock faces may sound life threatening, or
at the very least life changing activities, the reality is they will have been as thoroughly risk assessed in advance to the same degree as the movement of bodies along a school corridor.
The trick is, by looking scary, the students challenge their own risk aversions, while undergoing activities that are completely safe so that in real life scenarios that have an element of risk, they will be better prepared to cope and hopefully not shut down due to an overload of stress.
The irony is, students are now encouraged to go on camp to do activities that look a bit dicey as risk aversion is becoming a real problem amongst young people who, likely due to their keenness on devices, tend to be more sedentary and indoors than older generations.
However, they are hindered from becoming fully immersed in the outdoor task because the teachers, who climbed those trees when they were kids themselves, are either now too cautious to take their classes outdoors or let their more timid charges sit out the bits that look a bit dan -
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All of our major sites offer great conference facilities, including modern Audio Visual (AV) systems, guest wifi, meeting halls and breakout spaces. As well as facilities for learning, Youthworks has plenty of outdoor activities and recreational spaces for your students and staff to enjoy. We own and operate 9 Centres across 4 locations in NSW, all within 2 hours of Sydney.
gerous as the teachers look for an excuse to avoid the gorge walk themselves.
“[SADLY] THE OLDER WE GET, THE MORE CAUTIOUS WE NATURALLY BECOME...”
As research has shown, part of the problem is the older we get, the more cautious we naturally become, but the young people we work with come to us at the same age and need their own risk aversion to be stress tested.
Of course, the teacher’s reluctance to encourage their kids to jump into the freezing water is not only due to the perceived dangers involved, but also the horror stories that appear in the media of teachers being personally liable for millions of dollars due to accidents on their watch in our very litigious society.
I must admit when taking students outdoors, I do feel like I am on a constant state of alert, like a nervous meerkat on my hind legs scanning the horizon for any approaching dangers, ears cocked, while the pack get to play.
When deciding what activity we should do on a given week, I find myself wondering if we should just do something safe this time, like a spot of bark rubbing
on a benign tree. But sometimes even simple can go wrong. On one occasion I lost a student who wandered outside of the boundaries during a straightforward, or so I thought, game of hide and seek.
Once the disappearance was discovered, the school, parents and almost the police were involved before the errant one was found.
On the other hand, I’ve taught groups of teenagers to use a wide array of cutting instruments, from bow saws to axes, while we have been out in the forest and no one has lost a finger, or a drop of blood for that matter, although I lost a lot of sweat when one strong but clumsy boy was splitting logs.
Losing a student became my own risk aversion therapy as what the (almost) worst that can happen, actually did – but we all survived it.
We just have to accept that there is always going to be a possibility that accidents will happen, but we can minimise the risk by using a system that makes it manageable.
In this way, the benefits to young people outweigh the imagined outcomes.
Youthworks Christian Outdoor Education is the industry leader when it comes to integrating the Christian worldview with professional outdoor education.
Our exclusively Christian leaders are each highly trained, qualified, and experienced, not just in outdoor skills, but also in transforming those teachable moments into life-shaping, faith-developing experiences.
Youthworks COE is passionate about working with your school to influence and challenge young adventurers physically, relationally and spiritually.
Choose from a range of our pre-built programs or design a Tailor Made Adventure. Whatever time of year, Youthworks COE can help you create a unique outdoor experience for your students. Creation is Calling.
ENSURING CAMP IS A FUN TIME FOR ALL
It’s important that schools ensure that camps are truly inclusive for all students. With a little catering to their needs and preferences, students who are on the autism spectrum can have just as much fun on them as anyone else.
BY ANNE VIZE
FOR many secondary students, the prospect of going on camp is an exciting one, filled with a range of fun and challenging activities and time spent with friends away from the ordinary routine and hustle of school. Camps are an essential part of the curriculum in many school settings and form a key component of subjects such as Outdoor and Environment Studies.
Designed with just enough difficulty to make the learning engaging and stimulating, camps provide an opportunity to explore practical skills, apply knowledge gained in the classroom and build social and emotional competencies. But what happens on camp for students who are on the autism spectrum? How well do camps cater to their specific needs and preferences, and what can schools do to make sure camps are truly inclusive for all students?
PLAN AHEAD
Careful planning will go a long way to ensuring your camp is successful for all students. Work individually with students on the autism spectrum to ensure you fully understand their needs and preferences and any particular requirements they might have. Older students may already have information prepared for you to explain what works best for them in off-site activities, based on previous experiences. If not, consider things like making a map of the venue, drawing a journey story of the route to camp showing stops, putting photos of the venue and any stopping places into a small photo album and arranging a meeting with the student and camp staff. This sort of thorough planning takes some of the unknown out of the camp experience, which can reduce stress and anxiety for the student.
SYDNEY CBD LOCATION, SCHOOL FRIENDLY, BUDGET HOTEL WITH BREAKFAST
SYDNEY CBD LOCATION, SCHOOL FRIENDLY, BUDGET HOTEL WITH BREAKFAST
SONG HOTEL SYDNEY IS A 3.5 STAR HOTEL, OFFERING AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION IN SYDNEY’S CBD, RIGHT NEXT TO HYDE PARK, AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM AND A SHORT WALK TO DARLING HARBOUR. THE HOTEL FEATURES FREE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST, FREE WIFI, AIR-CONDITIONED ROOMS WITH LCD TV AND A LARGE RESTAURANT WITH AFFORDABLE GROUP MENUS AVAILABLE. THERE’S A VARIETY OF ROOMS AVAILABLE TO CHOOSE TO SUIT ANY BUDGET.
SONG HOTEL SYDNEY IS A 3.5 STAR HOTEL, OFFERING AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION IN SYDNEY’S CBD, RIGHT NEXT TO HYDE PARK, AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM AND A SHORT WALK TO DARLING HARBOUR. THE HOTEL FEATURES FREE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST, FREE WIFI, AIR-CONDITIONED ROOMS WITH LCD TV AND A LARGE RESTAURANT WITH AFFORDABLE GROUP MENUS AVAILABLE. THERE’S A VARIETY OF ROOMS AVAILABLE TO CHOOSE TO SUIT ANY BUDGET.
En-Suite Rooms:
En-Suite Rooms:
We have plenty of standard en-suite rooms with all the comfort you need during your stay. These range from Single, Double/Twin, Triple & Family En-Suites.
We have plenty of standard en-suite rooms with all the comfort you need during your stay. These range from Single, Double/Twin, Triple & Family En-Suites.
Premium Rooms:
Premium Rooms:
Premium rooms have a stylish interior, sound proof windows, USB port connectivity, Smart TV & more. These are Twin & Triple with extra bed option.
• Onsite restaurant Song Kitchen offers a delicious menu for group lunches, dinners or take away if you’re on the go.
• Onsite restaurant Song Kitchen offers a delicious menu for group lunches, dinners or take away if you’re on the go.
• The Rocks and the Botanical Gardens are less than 10 minutes drive from the property.
• The Rocks and the Botanical Gardens are less than 10 minutes drive from the property.
• All rooms feature a safety deposit box, clock radio and tea/coffee making facilities.
Premium rooms have a stylish interior, sound proof windows, USB port connectivity, Smart TV & more. These are Twin & Triple with extra bed option.
• All rooms feature a safety deposit box, clock radio and tea/coffee making facilities.
• We offer free WiFi access.
• We offer free WiFi access.
• Laundry facilities are available (extra fees apply).
• Laundry facilities are available (extra fees apply).
• We have a tour desk and airport transfers can be arranged upon request (an extra fee applies).
• We have a tour desk and airport transfers can be arranged upon request (an extra fee applies).
• Surrounded by a range of trendy shops, cafés, bars and restaurants, Chinatown is a short walk.
• Surrounded by a range of trendy shops, cafés, bars and restaurants, Chinatown is a short walk.
• Paddy’s Markets are just 10-minute walk away.
• Paddy’s Markets are just 10-minute walk away.
• Guests can enjoy discounted car park tickets at a nearby public car park.
• Guests can enjoy discounted car park tickets at a nearby public car park.
“HELP THEM ... BY REDUCING THE SENSORY LOAD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE...”
Work with the camp team on site and at school, so everyone knows about the expectations and plans for individual students. Discuss strategies for supporting the student if there are times of heightened stress, or if something unexpected occurs. Highlight things staff and volunteers can do to make the camp a positive experience for the student. For example, sharing information about food preferences with the camp cook can support the student by providing familiar food prepared in a way that is safe and comfortable for them.
LINK WITH FAMILIES AND SUPPORTERS
Work closely with families and supporters to make plans that will help the student achieve their own personal and educational goals in a safe and supportive place. Have the student as the centre of your discussion, so plans are made which focus on the student first. Planning for a camp is a busy and time consuming part of teacher and school administration, and it is all too easy to relegate individual support needs to the ‘too hard’ basket.
INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT
In a high school setting, some young people on the autism spectrum may inform you about their own needs and preferences. Engage the young person in conversation so you can learn about the strategies they use effectively to manage challenging situations. You could ask:
• What do you do at home when you need some time or space to yourself?
• How do you manage in a busy or noisy setting?
• Do you know the names for some of the emotions you feel?
• Can we talk about things we can do to help you enjoy camp?
• Which camp activities might be challenging for you?
REDUCING THE SENSORY LOAD
Some students on the autism spectrum may feel overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds and smells of camp. Everything on camp is different to home and school, and for most students this is really the whole point of camps. Remember that for students on the spectrum, this familiarity and routine is something they find reassuring and it can be truly challenging when it is not there. Help them manage the situation by reducing the sensory load as much as possible in a way that works for them. You could invite them to move to a quiet area of the bus, use noise cancelling headphones, have noise level expectations during indoor activities for other students, provide a quiet space in the camp itself, allow single person tents as well as shared, and encourage students to bring their own clothing, footwear and food if they prefer.
As you begin your planning, remember that for a camp to be successful it must be so for all students. Each student on the autism spectrum is unique, so investing some time and energy in the early stages of planning a camp which meets their individual needs will go a long way to ensuring success for all.
