Relationships with Forests – VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies Units 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Program Overview

The forested mountains which embrace the city of Melbourne are the setting for giant trees, dramatic geological events, human stories of tragedy and triumph, evolution of unique organisms and regular occurrence of bushfires. They have also been the focus of many court cases in recent years.

Victorian State forests are managed to balance a variety of values and uses. These values and uses include the conservation of flora and fauna, protection of water catchments and water quality, the protection of landscape, archaeological and historic values, and the provision of recreational and educational opportunities.

During your visit to the Toolangi State Forest you will go to a protected Cool Temperate Rainforest, a Mt Ash forest that has regenerated from the 1939 Black Friday bushfires and a clear felled logging coupe.  You will investigate how each of these areas are managed and the controversy that has surrounded them.  Throughout the program students are encouraged to develop and consider their own views on how Victorian State forests are and have been managed, and options to improve them. 

During this fieldtrip you will:

• Explore how First Nations people lived and their relationship with Forests.
• Discover impacts of European colonisation.
• Gain an understanding of contemporary Australians and forest values.
• Explore contemporary political, social and economic views of the forest, and how they affect the way in which Toolangi’s forests are utilized today.
• Discover the court ruling that stopped the logging of native forests in Victoria.
• Be able to make practical observations in order to complete journal entries/reports for Outcome Assessment tasks.
• Explore forest losses, be introduced to Great Forest National Park along with Biodiversity Credits and the Nature Repair Act.
• Investigate the ‘views of nature’ from a variety of perspectives.  
• Discover a portion of a forest that sequesters and stores more carbon per hectare than any other forest studied in the world. 
• Visit the home of the Leadbeaters Possum.

Explore contemporary political, social and economic views of the forest, and how they affect the way in which Toolangi’s forests are utilized today. Students will be able to make practical observations in order to complete journal entries/reports for Outcome Assessment tasks.

Inclusions and Notes

Equipment supplied by Gould League: Safety helmets worn by all participants; workbook and all tools required for fieldwork data collection.

Equipment needed: A chartered bus (which is required to remain with the group at all times). First aid kit , sun screen, insect repellent and PPE including hand sanitiser to kill viruses, bacteria and other micro organisations. 

Please note that our Gould League educators will travel on your bus for the duration of your program time. We ask schools to ensure when booking coaches that 1 one seat is allocated for each group booked as they will provide commentary on the bus to students and guide the bus drivers. Please advise the Bookings Manager if there is no room on the coach for our educators, and travel fee of $0.88 per km will be added to your final invoice. This amount will vary according to the activities undertaken on the day which can vary due to local weather conditions. Maximum travel fee is $40.  This covers the cost of one vehicle only as Gould League Educators will carpool.

Student needs to bring: Their own water and lunch, sunscreen, a clipboard, pencil, and a copy of the Gould League workbook (usually sent 14 days prior to excursion so copies can be made for students) to guide the program, bag to take away your rubbish.

Restrictions: This Gould League program is delivered in the Toolangi State Forest, in the North Central Fire District and does not operate on days with a Fire danger rating of Extreme and Catastrophic. On rare occasions, programs may be postponed due to extreme weather predictions involving wind/storms. In both cases, these programs will be rescheduled at the earliest convenience of both parties.

Programs however DO operate during wet/snowy weather. Please contact us to discuss the best timing to optimize your group’s experience and ensure suitable clothing and footwear for the conditions predicted. Plan for wet weather from April-October, and expect temperatures at least 5 degrees colder than suburban Melbourne.

Curriculum Links

Unit 1: Connections with outdoor environments
AOS 1 – Our place in outdoor environments

Unit 2: Discovering outdoor environments
AOS 1 – Understanding outdoor environments
AOS 2 – Observing impacts on outdoor environments

Unit 3: Relationships with outdoor environments
AOS 1 – Changing human relationships with outdoor environments
AOS 2 – Relationships with Australian environments in the past decade

Unit 4: Sustainable outdoor environments
AOS 2 – The future of outdoor environments

Although this program is designed for Outdoor and Environmental Studies, some key geographical concepts are also featured in the program.

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