23 Mar Top Outdoor Education Activity for School Camps
We think that Outdoor education activities at school camp are just the best! We believe in the benefits and learnings kids gain from outdoor learning. So much so that we take great pride in providing professional instructors to provide the safest experience. We even invest in interns and train them to be the next generation of passionate outdoor education instructors and experts. Have you got a favourite outdoor education activity? We asked QCCC Intern, Brianna, to...
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.
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.
We recently had a school at one of our sites who had to bring some classroom work with them because there were some assessment deadlines they couldn’t shift for camp. They didn’t like doing it – the preference of many schools is to make camp a time away from the pressures of the classroom. That doesn’t mean however that schools, students and parents shouldn’t expect learning and educational outcomes from their Queensland school camp experience.
A quality school camp should be what psychologists call a “liminal” experience. A liminal space is a place of transition, waiting, and growth. Liminality happens when you get removed from your everyday environment into a place of experience, learning and relational memory.
When booking a camp it is important to understand the subtle distinctions operators make between their programs. Calling a camping program a “recreational” or “adventure” package means it’s probably a very different experience to an Outdoor Education program. There’s not anything wrong with any of these options, but it matters when you book to know that they have a different focus and outcomes.