Our Staff / 23.07.2020
Covid Safe Testimonial
There's always a nervous anticipation when you start something "new", which was really what it was like last week when we re-opened for schools with Covid-Safe operations. So we were really chuffed to get this feedback on how we went. It was so good to bring the students to Mapleton last week. I was not sure we would have the opportunity to do so this year, so while there were many differences in this camp to the format we are used to, it was wonderful to be there and some of the changes turned out to be highly valued. That is especially the case with the Triballink programs and I have already had conversations with the administration about retaining that component for next year's camp program.
Over the last few years the traditional activities of Outdoor Education have become mainstream commercial activities. It’s possible to fly a zipline in a shopping centre, clamber over a high ropes course on an individual double carabiner setup or scale climbing walls with nothing more than the assistance of an automatic belay system. Activities are getting bigger, better, longer and some of our competitors have installed similar options because it’s cheaper, less labour intensive and allows larger participant to staff ratios. Some climbing walls even offer strobe lights and blaring disco music.
The concept of “sequential school camp” programs have established a foothold in the consciousness of many schools over the last decade. With a lot of schools running camping programs from Grade 3 right through to Year 12 it can be a mammoth task to find an operator capable of offering a program with sufficient variety and quality. No two schools are the same and each school wants different outcomes and has different needs.
QCCC’s Senior Supervisor of Outdoor Education, Neil Robinson, has received the recognition and accolade he’s due from his industry peers, taking home the Queensland Government Outstanding Achievement Award (Individual) from the annual Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation (QORF) Awards on Friday night. Queensland Conference and Camping Centres (QCCC) won the Outstanding Organisation Award in 2013 largely off the back of the successful team Neil has assembled over more than two decades of service with the organisation. Neil is a trusted pioneer of Outdoor Education in Queensland, joining the staff at QCCC Mapleton in 1994 to start a one-man operation. From humble beginnings QCCC is now one of the largest providers of Outdoor Education programming in Queensland, catering to nearly 20,000 participants annually.
He is renowned for his attention to detail and high level of care, and the expectation all staff will embrace the highest level of service delivery. From the outset Neil has attempted to make Outdoor Education accessible to all. The earliest Mapleton events were camps for single mothers and their children. The vast majority of QCCC’s activities are accessible for people in wheelchairs or significant disabilities, with instructors trained above and beyond normal requirements to make sure all can participate. We congratulate Neil on this recognition of his service to the industry and wish him all the best with the Awards process.
Teachers place a high value on their school’s outdoor education and camping programs. Many tell us it’s the best time they get to spend with their students - an opportunity to build both peer-level and teacher-student relationships. They also say camp establishes an environment for out-of-the-ordinary experiences, which tend to be remembered more than experiences in ordinary settings. Little wonder then that teachers invest so much time and energy to take their classes away on camps where they can have both a quality Outdoor Education experience and observe their class in setting outside of the everyday routine.