For centuries, poets and philosophers have extolled the benefits of a walk in the forest. Composers have drawn inspiration from the oceans, mountains and trees. We sit on golden beaches, feel the sand between our toes, gaze at the azure expanse and rolling surf, and marvel at its majesty and beauty.
Understanding that we live in a world that has become increasingly complex and fast-paced, Brisbane Girls Grammar School recognises the restorative power of nature, and its role in developing enduring and important life skills. In addition to the School’s Main Campus at Spring Hill, Girls Grammar maintains the Marrapatta Memorial Outdoor Education Centre in the Mary Valley—the only outdoor education facility operated by a girls’ school in Queensland.
Outdoor Education is embedded into the curriculum at Girls Grammar—reinforcing its contribution to the development of students’ personal, social-emotional and leadership skills. The School’s dedicated Outdoor Education campus was established in 1978 to provide myriad opportunities to expand girls’ learning and skills in a supported natural setting removed from the city, where girls can take calculated risks and learn from their mistakes.
When students visit Marrapatta, they discover a vibrant world of opportunities that synergise learning from the Main Campus into real-world scenarios. The program inspires in students the confidence that they can achieve, no matter what the sphere. It helps them to develop a strong sense of self identity and build their appreciation for, and understanding of, both the natural world and the people with whom they interact. 22 Outdoor Education is embedded into the curriculum at Brisbane Girls Grammar.
The three key focus areas of the program are:
• personal discovery and reflection
• social development
• environmental appreciation, awareness, and action
The carefully considered Outdoor Education Program is provided to students sequentially through Years 7, 8, and 9, with each program building on the one completed previously.
Year 7: Connections
The program offered to the Schools youngest students focuses on developing a growth mindset, and the personal and social skills that are essential to meaningful interactions with others which can be drawn upon in future years. Students begin developing connections and sense of place as they explore the Marrapatta campus through challenge and initiative-based facilitated learning experiences.
Year 8: Navigate
Building on the skills that they developed the previous year, Navigate has an increased focus on decision making. Students have time to explore the outdoor environment further afield from Marrapatta, learn to be part of a group, and discover more about themselves. Community living further develops their social relationships—encouraging reliance on, and collaboration with, their group to achieve optimal outcomes. Students expand their interpersonal skills as they navigate the challenges that come with completing camp-out, canoeing, and bike-riding activities as a team.
Year 9: Journey
The culminating stage of the Outdoor Education Program requires students to further develop personal responsibility and transfer their skills to help them function as a successful group, by travelling through landscapes further from Marrapatta. The students undertake an expedition where they canoe and walk or bike ride and canoe; empowering students to set both individual and group goals that challenge their level of ability. Students are encouraged to adopt leadership roles, under the careful guidance of staff, and take action to care for the environment through which they travel.
Marrapatta Seniors
Year 10 students are encouraged to strengthen their leadership skills by volunteering as seniors, to support younger students to engage in the program at Marrapatta. As Seniors, the students act as mentors and leaders, guiding Year 7 students towards positive outdoor experiences. Through these unique, shared experiences, students develop strong connections across Year levels, which are valuable ‘back home’ on the Brisbane campus.
Students across all year groups can also access the Marrapatta campus for short visits and retreats throughout the year, during curriculum extension activities, Student Care Programs, and various co-curricular offerings, including the internationally recognised Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.
Director of Outdoor Education, Ms Kim Wood, reflects on a Year 8 student group who visited Marrapatta earlier this year:
“While the activities are visible, it is the deep underlying conversations around the theme ‘navigate’ that is the bedrock of this program. It is the confidence and capacity that grows when students try something new for the first time; it’s the emotional growth when they navigate the social challenges of community living and it’s the adaptability they show in the dynamic outdoor environments.”
A treasured aspect of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School experience, the Outdoor Education Program provides students with exciting, authentic learning experiences and unforgettable memories, which students treasure long after they have left the School.
For more information please visit: https://www.bggs.qld.edu.au/