2008 Environmental Studies Letters
February 21, 2008
Greetings,
It's been a long time without word from us students. They keep us
busy with a lot of adventures and learning.
Things are going quite well. Since we last wrote, we've had many
exciting experiences. To begin with, the group traveled to
Queenscliff, a small touristy coastal village. The town is largely
comprised of fishers, aquatic researchers, and those in the tourist
industries. Our accommodation was quite pleasant. We stayed in a
group lodging called "the Salt House" and lived with our own private
caterer for the week. Her name was Jade, and she prepared excellent
meals for us each day.
We had complex and diverse schedules from day to day, but our studies
in Queenscliff were facilitated by a government-funded research and
education laboratory called the Marine Discovery Centre (MDC). A man
named Harry guided us around in Port Phillip Bay (and Swan Bay) on
snorkeling and canoeing adventures, through the biologically thriving
tidal pools on the southern coast of the continent, and in the
laboratory dissecting fish and exploring other aquatic life in an
indoor setting. Harry is an exuberant and passionate educator, who
managed to keep everybody awake while similarly draining us of our
energy. Enid (our GED guide) remarked, "Harry must eat Fruit Loops
for breakfast," because Harry has more enthusiasm for everything than
most have for the extraordinary. Students spent their free time
resting and playing: Queenscliff is a nice town for jogging at any
time of day; our lodging was a two-minute walk from both Bass Straight
(the water passage btwn Tasmania and mainland Australia) and Swan Bay
which provided beautiful waterways to walk and beaches to lay on; the
common areas in the Salt House were good environments for casual
reading or study; and there was a rec room with a ping pong table
which got loud late into the night as tournaments played themselves
out.
In addition to the marine biology/ecology studies we participated in
with Harry, we had a couple of lectures on the history and heritage of
the town and also received a presentation of colorful pictures from an
underwater photographer who has been SCUBA diving in the area for 30
years.
At the end of the week, we packed our bags for the Otways. The Otways
are a range of mountains covered in dry scrub heathland and cool
temperate rainforests on a cape that juts out into Bass Straight and
the Southern Ocean. A man named Mike joined us on a large tour bus,
talking intermittently throughout the entire journey. Mike works for
the Country Fire Authority (CFA), managing fires in the countryside,
as fires are a natural and healthy part of many Australian ecosystems. We spent three days on the road with Mike, mostly heading westward
along the coast on the Great Ocean Road. Many beautiful views here.
Mike shared with us a good deal of knowledge about the local ecology
as we took walks through forests and the bush, and also taught us some
cultural history about white settlers of the countryside. We stayed
at a couple of different places for the two nights we spent on the
road in the Otways. Both were comfortable but brief. We spent very
long days traveling the Otways with Mike. Luckily there were a few
opportunities to relax on the beach. A number of students have
experienced mild sunburn; and increasingly the group has started to
listen to the continued reminders from the Health Committee that
sunscreen must be reapplied hourly.
The type of class and study we have on this trip is foreign to most of
us, and has taken some getting used to. We are taught many things in
lectures and discussions but have no daily homework to reinforce
concepts. This requires that we spend time each evening reviewing
what we've learned, or if not at the end of the day then certainly at
the end of each week. Paul and Ann Marie are excellent resources for
us because they experience all of the same things we do and synthesize
it all themselves. They're "grown-up" students, if you will.
Additionally, their amiability and efforts to reach out and engage us
students on a personal level has been very effective at building a
positive group dynamic and helping everybody feel connected.
The group of students seems to be bonding well on its own. Our
Social/Entertainment Committee (SEC) organized a "secret admirer" gift
exchange for Valentine's Day. Students employed their creativity
singing love songs to one another; choreographing dances; making cards
or small gifts or preparing special foods. The SEC also put on a
speed-dating activity on V-Day and just yesterday hosted a birthday
party for Julia Demakis. Common study areas and bus rides are other
places where our students connect and spend time with one another.
And finally the Housing Committee arranges who rooms with who so that
students are encouraged to branch out and more intimately get to know
those whom they know less well. All said, the dynamic is remarkably
positive.
We're back in Melbourne for lectures this week, after which we depart
for a week at Wilson's Promontory. We have heard many exciting things
about "the Prom" from the Aussies we meet and interact with, so we
look forward excitedly to embarking south again, which enjoying the
time we have in Melbourne—an excellent city.
Following this note are some photos.
We hope all is well back home. We think of you as we travel and enjoy
the small contact we do have with our loved ones through phone calls
or emails. Thanks for taking the time here to catch up on what we're
doing, and we look forward to writing again soon.