CULTURE Outdoor Education
YEAR 9 ACTIVITY WEEK The Year 9 outdoor activity week was held over two three-day blocks from 25–27 November and 30 November–2 December and split into different activities, including rafting on Lake Pearson, Cave Stream, and a two- night tramp from Cave Stream to Lake Pearson via Broken River and Helicopter Hill in Craigieburn Forest Park. This was a change from the previous two years when we were based at Omaka Scout Camp on the outskirts of Christchurch. The programme was changed to come into line with the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award adventurous journey tramps in Year 10, and hopefully the proposed Year 11 trip in 2022. The week was organised by outdoor adventure group Horizons Unlimited. The boys were divided into two groups of approximately 65, with one group doing the Craigieburn camp for two nights – half starting at Cave Stream and heading to Lake Pearson, the other half starting at Lake Pearson and heading to Cave Stream – and the other group involved in a day of surfing at Sumner, another day of water-based activities at Cass Bay, including stand up paddle boarding, and the last day of zip lining or mountain biking at the Christchurch Adventure Park. Variable weather made it difficult some days for the boys on the tramp, as some had to contend with rain or cold mornings due to snow on the hills, while others experienced really hot days that sapped the energy. Others that enjoyed the tramping were challenged by the cave or the teamwork required to build the raft and work together to get down the lake.
YEAR 10 ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY Year 10 outdoor education is now integrated into the four-week Immerse & Inspire programme and takes place at the Boyle River Outdoor Education Centre. Covid disruptions meant that the first camp was postponed until Term 4. The other camp dates were changed to fit into the new term dates and schedules. I wish to thank the Boyle River Outdoor Education Trust for making the changes necessary for the boys to get their trips in. They went above and beyond to make it happen. All Year 10 boys are registered for the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. The boys who went followed the same programme as the one the Immerse & Inspire groups followed in 2019. By completing the week, the boys could achieve the adventurous journey section of the Hillary Award. The format was they had two nights out in the Boyle
In my opinion, this was a really good outdoor education experience, as outdoor education is about using the outdoors to learn more about yourself – which includes finding strengths you didn't know you had. I saw boys develop as leaders (and followers), saw them testing their physical and mental limits and finding new limits, and saw them learning how to get along with their fellow Year 9 students whom they had not previously met. The sub-goal for the Year 9 activity week was also to start preparing the boys for the Year 10 Immerse & Inspire adventurous journey. The boys were in a group sleeping arrangement in tents – similar to what they will experience at the Boyle River Outdoor Education Centre – and the tramp was designed to give them an idea of what the adventurous journey might be like. Many boys will now have a better idea of what to take and what to leave behind.
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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