Learning and leading in the great outdoors

The voluntary Outdoor Leaders course, held at Trinity’s Lake Nillahcootie location, prepares Year 10 students to lead Year 7 and 8 Outdoor Education camps as peer mentors.

James Pirera’s (OTG 2015) experience in this program, both as a mentee and a mentor, is part of what inspired him to continue be part of the program as an OTG some eight years later.

What experiences have you taken from your time in the Outdoor Education program into your life beyond school?

I believe the most valuable part of the course, if it isn’t the leadership skills, is the confidence to communicate and be a leader, both directly and indirectly. Students learn to lead a group, teach lessons and adapt to the needs of a team.

The program is jam-packed with useful leadership, practical and soft skills. What I hope students take away from the course is to be a compassionate leader who can effectively communicate with a broad range of people while considering the needs of the task, the team and individuals.

What has surprised you about your experience now working in the program as an OTG?

Each year, I am impressed by the Year 11 training team. They are a committed group of young people who are willing to learn, take on feedback and are then utterly trusted to deliver a challenging task, teaching leadership to their peers in the outdoors. They do it with passion and skill beyond their years, without fail.

What do you enjoy most about being out in nature?

The slow pace of the outdoors is fantastic. Hiking up Mt Difficult in the Grampians on Year 10 camp, just before the 2015 bushfires, was one of my fondest memories of my time at school.

Recently as a group of school mates, we recreated the walk (pictured) and it was just as hard and spectacular.