Last blog entry - Blue Mountains

It was time for the second and the last trip of this class, this would be to the Blue Mountains (BM). Since I went to the first of the three weeks the days before was pretty hectic due to the information about the BM trip was just the days before, also me and my colleague should finish half of our Bachelor's thesis. But we managed to handle this pressure.

After packing my supplies I got to the central station and a pretty long train journey began. I was very excited to begin the first day of this field trip.


I have learnet a couple of things about myself on this field trip to BM and also the trip to Royal National Park (RNP). First of all I enjoy being in nature and especially hiking more than I thought I would. Even though it is physically tough I was very relaxed throughout the whole weekend.

The other thing I learnt about myself and I found it very true was the part "earning the view" which we talked about at the evenings around the camp fire. I can relate to this even if I am in the city, e.g. when I take my bicycle to Coogee Beach which is about 10km from where I live. The times when I take my bicycle there is so much more enjoyable than the times I have taken the bus. You get to fight for the view much more which I think it's worth in the end.


In order to learn about other people a field trip like this to the BM and the one to RNP is a great way to bring people closer faster, faster than the would get to know each other in a more "regular environment or situation". Even though most of us do not have any common interests it easier to talk to one another because the situation in the nature brings us all closer. Maybe it is something primitive inside the human that "comes alive" when we spend time in nature together, just as we have done for so a very time, before most of the population lived in the cities.

Something more in detail that I have learnt about others would be that everyone is very willing to help each other out and push towards our destination, which in this case would be the final spot of the hike. But also things as giving away food and water if someone may have forgotten something (I am thinking about the RNP trip).


Both the trip to the RNP and the trip to the BM really made me think more about the environment and that we should be more careful with our surrounding than we are now. I interpreted the things we have talked about in class as "we need to be careful when we are on the field trips". I am more thinking about the global perspective of the environment that we all need to help in order to solve this huge problem with the climate changes. A good start to solve this problem could be that we are more careful of our surroundings. Now that I have seen more ecosystems than before I realise that there is so much more we need to take care about then just the places where you live. So when I come back to Sweden I will have a better perspective of the environment and I know that something I do back in Sweden will eventually affect other ecosystems around the world.


My first picture I have chosen is from the second day, this is the first part of the hike. The feeling at this part of the hike was amazing, feels like a rainforest and you can feel that the air is so fresh. Especially this about the fresh air got me thinking more about the environment and that we need to be very careful with our surroundings.

Picture 1: Rainforest look-a-like

The second picture I have chosen is of the Govetts Leap Waterfalls which we got to see on the end of the second day. I chose this picture because the view was simply astonishing. This picture can also be related to the things I have learnt about my self. In order to get to see this stunning waterfall there is a pretty tough and steep track on the way here. Just the corner before we arrived to this place we did not know what would happen next and what it would look like. This just made this experience even better, we had really earned the view when we got here.

Picture 2: Govetts Leap Waterfalls

My third and last picture was taken just after we had left the waterfall in my second picture. This was the last part of the second day. To get here it was an even tougher walk, very steep track and I chose this picture because of the amazing view over this valley. This picture can easily be related with what I learnt about the group, every single member of our group fought in order to get here. I just had to stop here for a moment and enjoy this amazing view, probably one of the best views I have ever seen.

Picture 3: Govetts Leap View

I will try to write some concluding about the BM trip. The second day was by far the most spectacular, even though it was a pretty long walk. I got to see so many ecosystems just within a few hours. I will be looking back at this day for a very long time, thanks to cabin three and the staff. Great experience during the weekend.

I have found a quote that really describes my opinion on the topic of outdoor learning. "The benefits of outdoor education outweigh the risk of an accident occuring" (Managing Risk in Outdoor Learning Experiences, 2013, p. 1). The outcome of both the field trips has been very good for me personally, as I described earlier. This even though there is a lot of safety risks like slippery spots very it is very easy to lose your balance and so on. My personal thoughts is if you are aware of the different risks then the nature is more enjoyable than dangerous.

Last but not least is the "homework" video:

References
Managing Risk in Outdoor Learning Experiences, (2013, March). Tasmanian Catholic Education Commision. Retrived from http://catholic.tas.edu.au/our-schools/curriculum/managing-risk-in-outdoor-learning-spaces

Second blog entry - Royal National Park

So finally we had our first field trip with this unit of study, to the Royal National Park (RNP). In the early morning we left the university by bus. My first impressions, the first views from inside the bus was "wow" and I was about to be more amazed throughout the day.

The main task apart from getting to know the group and the group leader a bit more, was to capture three key pictures of the unique ecosystem in the RNP. Since I enjoy taking photographs this task is both easy and difficult for me, I have taken far more than three photos but I have chosen three down below.

I will start of the three pictures with a great quote that I read prior to the RNP trip.

"We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium." - Ansel Adams

To me this quote describes the art of photograpy in a very keen way, the picture you take is all about the details you put into in an what you want to show to the viewer. With my three photos I will try to show the viewer some of my highlights with the RNP trip, but also show the ecosystem as that was the main task.

The first picture I have chosen is this one of some sandstone in the RNP. This pictures shows what happens when sandstone meets the wind from the ocean. For a very long time the breeze from the South Pacific Ocean has blown in to the land of the RNP, this has formed the sandstone in strange but beautiful shapes. The shapes and the various colors is probably due to the different toughness of the materials.

Picture 1: Sandstone

My second picture have been chosen because I have never seen so many trees and plants growing right in the sand. This shows how the vegetation has adapted to the surronding nature.

Picture 2: Vegetation in the sand

My last picture is of the coastal banksia. Simply because I was very fascinated of this plant. Very clever of the Aboriginals to use this as a hairbrush.

Picture 3: The coastal banksia

The differences of the ecosystem in the RNP compared to back at home, in Sweden, are huge. Since I live in a neighbourhood with not too much nature but only houses my experience from the RNP is all new to me.

I have never been hiking in Sweden, but after my visit to the RNP and also other national parks in Australia (Lamington National Park, Noosa National Park) I am sure more interested in visiting some national parks back at home. There is some beatiful national parks in the northern parts of Sweden, like "Sarek National Park" which I would like to visit after my experience here.

All in all the Royal National Park was a great experience with some new knowledge which I had no clue that I would learn during the day! Thanks to group three and our teacher Nicky, on the first of three RNP trips with the class.

First blog entry - initial thoughts of the subject

Name: Robin Sedman

Student ID: 460260130

This blog will contain some of my experiences and thoughts about outdoor education, hopefully with some great pictures aswell from the two field trips to the Royal National Park and to the Blue Mountains.

I do not have any prior experience in the subject apart from a few trips into the woods when I was younger. It was like a small group of children together with their parents and we were exploring the woods and different tracks and paths in the nearby areas from where I was living by then.

For me personally I have chosen this unit of study just to get to see more of Australia's nature and to get to know more about outdoor experience and see if some of it could contribute to my daily life, both here in Australia and also back at home in Sweden. I will also have to practice my skills with working in a group which will be great in both my education and later on in my carrer as an engineer. My best possible contribution to the group would be some critical thinking, basically because I am studying engineering and that kind of thinking is what I get to practice each and every day.