Environmental Science Camp

On Monday the 4th of August the year 11 Environmental Science class headed to the Grampians (Gariwerd) for the first ever Hume Central Secondary College Environmental Science camp. Students had the opportunity to explore the Ararat Wind Farm, including an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the wind farm. After arriving in Halls Gap, students walked to the Venus Baths and welcomed the twilight collecting samples and reflecting on the First Nations people who had called the area home for at least 30,000 years. It was an honour to spend time in a place that holds such special importance for the Jardwadjali and Djab Warring peoples. After dinner in Halls Gap students spent some time meeting the local kangaroos, then headed back to the caravan park where we learnt how slow some students’ reaction times are! On the second day we visited the Brambuk Cultural Centre and learned more about the Indigenous history of the area, before a short hike to the Balconies, where we got the see the devastation caused by the summer bushfires, and the regeneration that has already started to occur. Before leaving we visited Bunjil’s Cave to see rock art depicting Bunjil, and learned about the importance of Gariwerd (the Grampians) in the Dreaming creation story. Students had a great time developing their understanding of some the concepts they have learned about in class, and even managed to avoid both the Moyston Puma and drop bears!