Hale And Hearty

The Age

Monday November 24, 2008

Denise Ryan

School camps are bigger than ever. But there's more to heading outdoors than sending out permission slips and finding a teacher keen on bushwalking, reports Denise Ryan.

FOR the students and staff at Geelong Grammar's famed Timbertop campus it looms as the ultimate challenge: After a school year of intensive training that included 65 days of hiking and camping, they now await the marathon.

In a few weeks, after months of preparation designed to build "mutual respect", 23 staff and 224 year 9 students will set out on the 29-kilometre run through the foothills of the Great Dividing range near Mansfield. "It is a fairly gruelling run. After 28 kilometres,the students have to go up a final hill to finish at the heart of the campus," says Timbertop school principal Stephen Meek.

All this is to reinforce Timbertop's philosophy, which in turn is based on the thinking of German educator Kurt Hahn who founded the Outward Bound Movement. Hahn believed facing physical and emotional challenges in a new environment helped young people to cope with life's hurdles.

Modern teenagers can take a while to adjust to the demanding regimen, Mr Meek says. Students do not watch television nor do they have access to mobiles phones or e-mail. And there are certainly no video games.

"In the 1950s the students were more from the land and they were used to the bush. Kids these days come from a life of comfort and luxury. For many of them it's a tougher existence than it was 50 years ago. But the essential ingredients of Timbertop, to develop responsibility and self-reliance, are the same," Mr Meek says.

This ethos is shared by many secondary school outdoor education programs. But while the philosophy is the same, there have been significant changes in how outdoor education is provided.

Twenty-five years ago an enthusiastic teacher could take teenagers into the great outdoors for a few days of hiking with little more than a permission slip signed by a parent. "The people who used to run outdoor education programs were people with a bit of experience and a real passion about sending kids into the outdoors," says YMCA camps group manager Brendan Smith.

He and other outdoor education experts say such relaxed times are long gone. These days outdoor education programs are integrated into the curriculum and are carefully planned, with skilled instructors rather than classroom teachers constantly assessing the risks - and potential liability - of each activity.

And where outdoor education used to be about building confidence and skills through challenges such as rock-climbing, it is now also about environmental studies.

Timbertop was one of the first purpose-built outdoor education campuses. Caulfield Grammar's Yarra Junction campus, established in 1947, has a similar environmental focus. Year 9 students have spent the school year at Howqua, the remote campus of Lauriston Girls' School, for the past 15 years.

The cost of running such campuses is high, and while Wesley College still sends year 9 students to its Clunes campus for a term, as does Methodist Ladies' College to its Marshmead campus, many independent schools have decided to outsource their outdoor education programs to specialists.

Most state schools have done the same, applying to send students to State Government residential outdoor schools, YMCA or other camps.

Some state secondary schools struggle to provide students with any outdoor education, while many aim to offer a week to students in years 8 and 9 - a time, educators recognise, when students can turn off school.

MLC's director of remote sites Mark Gray says the planned $8million renovation of Marshmead is driven by the curriculum.

"The school wants to increase its sustainable education and get students to take action to reduce their personal footprint."

The move to upgrade Marshmead follows the decision in 2003 to establish the Banksia campus, on the Gippsland Lakes, for years 5-8.

"We looked hard then as to whether to run our own programs. We made a decision not to outsource because we wanted to see these sites as an extension of the MLC community. It has allowed us to keep control of our curriculum between campuses," says Mr Gray.

He says this policy also ensures that outdoor education has the same influence as other departments. But rural campuses mean high costs.

"Marshmead is a small town of up to 100 people, with 65 to 73 students and 20 support staff and their families who live permanently on site. It is an amazing place but it is really remote. The power and water are off the grid.

"It is a big philosophical and financial commitment to run a place like this. We continue because we can see the benefits in student learning."

Many schools are taking a different path. More than 80 mostly independent schools now outsource at least part of their programs to a not-for-profit provider, the Outdoor Education Group.

Among the 46 Victorian schools are Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne High, Scotch College, Korowa Anglican Girls School, Loreto Mandeville Hall and Firbank Grammar School.

OEG acting chief executive Peter Griffiths says fewer schools want to run their own outdoor education programs because of the expense of maintaining properties, plus being confined to one location. "They also want to outsource their risk," he says.

OEG's founder Tony Pammer started the company 25 years ago, deciding a decade ago to break down the barrier between camps and school life. "He wanted camps to be more than just a hassle for teachers. Now it is part of the curriculum, integrating subjects such as environmental studies, chemistry and creative writing," Mr Griffiths says. Personal development is also more important, with programs aiming to improve self-confidence, resilience, community work and conflict resolution.

Many schools don't want to disrupt classes by pulling part of a year group out to go to camp. Mr Griffiths says OEG has 140 staff, which means it can work with hundreds of students at a time.

It also has staff at some client secondary schools to ensure the curriculum is integrated into its courses. Permanent OEG staff are based at St Michael's Grammar School, St Catherine's, Beaconhills Christian College, Billanook College and Haileybury College.

Its competitor Outward Bound, also a not-for-profit organisation, runs courses for eight private or Catholic schools in Victoria. Partnership manager for Victoria Sean Powell says Outward Bound would love to work with more state schools but cost is a problem. It has established a scholarship fund to help students attend.

On Outward Bound programs, which run for five or more days in the Snowy River National Park, students go hiking, rock-climbing, abseiling and rafting and use a high-ropes course.

"Kids are the same, the issues are the same, the activities are the same. What has changed is community expectation. People are far more risk-averse and are really concerned about their children. I go to talk to parent groups and they worry about snakes, about falling trees, about bushfires. It's all understandable. We address their concerns and put systems in place," Mr Powell says.

Extensive form-filling has become mandatory. "The medical information collected has grown because of the large number of students with preconditions, food or bee-sting allergies, asthma or eczema," he says.

Outdoor education courses have also become peanut-free zones. This has been rigorously policed after the death of a year 9 student from anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction after eating satay - on a Scotch College cadets' camp last year.

Comcare, the federal workplace safety agency, has commenced court proceedings against the head of the Army over the 13-year-old boy's death, alleging the Australian Defence Force breached its duty of care to protect the health and safety of the cadets. The matter is still before the court.

Mr Powell says Outward Bound staff carry an EpiPen in their first aid kits and are trained to use it: "We have factored out some of the risk."

Outward Bound's database on the 250,000 people who have completed its courses has helped to assess risk. For example, no incident of snake bite has been recorded.

"The prime accident time is 3pm in the afternoon and it is from tripping over a log or cutting yourself with a knife while preparing food or from whacking trees with sticks or from throwing rocks and hitting someone. It is when the formal activities have ended. The accidents don't occur when you are climbing or abseiling because everyone is switched on."

Mr Powell says the accident rate is low, particularly when compared with sporting injuries.

Mr Griffiths at OEG says students often take risks in the city, such as walking the streets at 2am, but find the outdoors intimidating.

"This is the bubble-wrap generation. Rather than shying from risk, it is important to recognise the positive outcomes that arise from it. If you teach students in the outdoors, then it helps them to recognise risk away from it."

When serious incidents happen - such as the death of six Auckland students and their teacher in a canyoning accident at New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in October last year - Mr Griffiths says there is usually a reaction of risk avoidance.

"But, these days, everything we do is predicated on 100% good risk management. We have a full-time director of risk."

Serious incidents are rare, but when they occur industry practices are tightened. Following the death of a student struck by a tree branch three years ago, outdoor education staff have been routinely trained to assess tree hazards. Some schools have banned camping near trees.

The threat of litigation has convinced many state schools not to run their own programs. In last year's canyoning disaster in New Zealand, unexpectedly high rainfall caused river levels to surge, trapping students on a ledge. When they tried to swim to safety, only four students and their instructor survived, with the others swept to their deaths.

New Zealand's Department of Labour laid four charges against the Outdoor Pursuits Centre last month, claiming the centre failed to adequately protect the instructor, to ensure her actions did not expose others to avoidable risks or to ensure the safety of others in the workplace.

The executive officer of the Victorian Outdoor Education Association, Tony Carden, says recent, more rigorous, safety requirements have made it harder for schools to run programs. "There is a fair bit of paperwork and forward planning to comply with the guidelines. It has put some people off and has weeded some people out, which is not a bad thing," he says.

Instead, state schools can send students to one of the State Government's residential outdoor schools.

Steve McMurtrie, principal of the Bogong Outdoor Education Centre, says state schools can apply to send students to his school for a week, and many do so because the program can be integrated into the school curriculum - and also because, at $145 a student, it is affordable.

The school, established in 1969, caters to years 9 to 12, with programs ranging from five days to a 21-day trek from Mount Kosciuszko to Marlo on the Victorian coast. It also has a specific VCE program.

Bogong is part of the Residential Outdoor Schools Association, which includes the Somers School Camp for years 5 to 6 and the Rubicon Outdoor Education Centre for years 7-10.

Demand is high. Bogong receives applications from about 120 schools a year but can cater for only 2000 students from 80 schools. More than 6000 students apply for 3000 places at Somers each year.

Students can also go bush through the Duke of Edinburgh program. Chief executive Graeme Kent says there are 59,000 Victorians registered to do bronze, silver or gold awards. Each level requires students to undertake an expedition.

The YMCA has expanded its operations in an effort to meet demand, running seven residential camps, five of which are owned by the State Government. State schools can also send their students to camps accredited by the Australian Camping Association.

Mr Smith says the YMCA is committed to increasing access to outdoor recreation.

It runs fundraising activities to help students from drought-stricken rural areas visit the coast at Anglesea. It also works with Victoria Police to run community leadership programs for at-risk youth.

The need for such programs has never been greater, he says, given the number of hours students spend staring at computer screens and the high levels of obesity.

"People underestimate the importance of connecting with the environment, of not being afraid to go into the outdoors."

My bush life

The student

DOMINIQUE Simsion learned a lot about teamwork on a 20-day expedition from Mount Kosciuszko to the coast near Marlo, in eastern Victoria.

The year 11 student at St Michael's Grammar School says the most memorable night of the trip cemented some firm friendships. "One night there was a weather warning and the tarpaulins fell on us in pouring rain. We girls all started screaming, but when we went over to the guys' tent, it was flat on their faces. It was 11pm, with wind and rain, and we were out of control. But then we realised we had to stop, calm down and get things done. We worked together to do that."

The group carried their tents and food, as well as shovels and fuel bottles. Some nights Dominique collapsed into her tent exhausted.

It was the prospect of "comfort drops" - letters from home, fresh food and clothes supplied at predetermined spots - that kept her going. "Everyone was chanting for Mars Bars as we got to that spot."

Her challenging journey was one of several options offered to year 11 students. While some cycled in Tasmania or planted trees in Mansfield, Dominique and eight other students set off snow-shoeing, progressing to bushwalking, rafting and canoeing. The five girls and four boys were helped by a schoolteacher and a leader from the Outdoor Education Group. There was also a specialist from the Outdoor Education Group to assist on some legs such as rafting. Dominique never felt unsafe. "The outdoor education guy would leap across rocks and jump into your raft if needed. Nothing has ever gone wrong on the trips I have been on, and things can go wrong in Melbourne as well."

Dominique is no stranger to the bush. She went on five-day bushwalking trips in years7 and 8 and by year9 she and her mates had to self-cater for three days of hiking and two days of canoeing. The students learned to snow-shoe before the trip. "It was quite difficult with tennis racquets on your feet but it was great to be in the snow with your friends."

The instructor

OUTDOOR education instructor Kirra Dyer has an enviable lifestyle.

"Most of my friends spend their days staring out of the window," she says. "I'm out there waving at them."

As the director of outdoor education at St Michael's Grammar School, Miss Dyer and two staff from the Outdoor Education Group will run up to 60 programs for students from years 5 to 11 next year.

The Outdoor Education Group would like to hire 60 full-time instructors next year but there is an acute shortage.

Acting chief executive Peter Griffiths says many people do not realise there is a career in outdoor education. "There is a perception it is a male-dominated profession. If you are a woman with outdoor education skills like Kirra you can walk into any job that you like."

The YMCA also needs 60 more part and full-time staff for its camps next year, says camps group manager Brendan Smith. "Over the last 10 years the number of people with tertiary training certificates or courses has risen but we are not retaining them in the industry because we are not paying a lot of money. We can't pay more because the purchasers (schools and community groups) don't value it highly enough."

Mr Griffiths says the job appeals to energetic, fit young people but by the time they reach 30 they want to settle down. These days he says there is a career in programming and curriculum design for the older enthusiast.

OEG has spent $1million on training in partnership with Swinburne University. Instructors require a Certificate 4 in Outdoor Education and Recreation or a Diploma in Outdoor Education and Recreation.

Miss Dyer says her experience - she studied then worked overseas for some years - is typical. After completing a Bachelor of Education in outdoor education from Victoria University, Miss Dyer worked in Torquay for a while, before heading to Colorado in the US as the coach of an elite ski team at Steamboat Springs for five years and at Vail for two years. During the summer she ran grade 3-4 camps and worked for TrekAmerica running camping tours. She also worked as a hiking guide in Alaska for two seasons.

On her return she worked as a surfing instructor and taught at a high school. Now Miss Dyer spends 70% of her time working in an office and the rest outdoors. -- DENISE RYAN

© 2008 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home