The COVID years meant that overnight camps couldn’t fit into a shortened Induction program at Yiramalay, and when things returned to normal, they somehow fell between the cracks. Excitingly, the camps have now returned, and all involved have been reminded of how much they can enhance the program, for both the local students and the Wesley Year 10 inductees.
This year, camps at places such as Mimbi Caves, Windjana Gorge, Moon Rock and Manning Gorge have given local students the opportunity to share their prowess in spear making, animal tracking, boomerang shaping, barramundi fishing, bush weaving, trap building, damper making and storytelling, just to name a few.
‘I’ve witnessed a Melbourne student being successfully coached in the art of barramundi fishing land their first ever fish - a barramundi no less!’ says Induction Coordinator, Kym Adams. ‘I’ve seen a group tell stories around a roaring campfire which was lit by a student who was shown how to set a fire for the first time in their life. And I’ve eaten the lightest and most delicious damper, dripping with butter and golden syrup, made by a group of Melbourne students under the tutelage of a local girl.’
Time and again, the pride of our Melbourne inductees was outshone by the joy and satisfaction of the local students, who revelled in the confidence that came from being recognised as on-country experts.
Two-way learning has always been, and will continue to be, a central pillar of the Induction experience.
