by Clare Rayner

We had a great training weekend at Alexandra with our Award students. It was certainly a valuable set of experiences for the students over the entire weekend. The students really applied themselves in all activities; they hiked and navigated around the bush, they developed their confidence and abilities around camp - in particular cooking filling meals on the trangia stoves and pitching their tents to keep the water out. They also developed their first aid skills and learned knots, putting them to good use in building a bridge to support the whole group whilst crossing a water-logged creek.

As this was the first time the majority of these student had been away as part of the Award Program, they coped extremely well. They were constantly having to draw upon their resilience, strength, thinking and problem solving skills. They were positive and really wanted to help each other and build their skills. It is always a pleasure to work with students in this way, sharing and hoping to build their connections and passions for working in the outdoors alongside the nature of the Award Program.

Well done students! Please remember to contact me if you have any questions with the other aspects of the Award Program.