We started off the day with Mr Findlay and his usual level of disorganisation - forgetting the clipboards and failing to update the roll. Once sorted, we headed off to the Porongurups for the day.

The first stop was at the class A reserve, where we undertook a small amount of non-distributive bush bashing to reach our site.  From there, we were able to describe the ecosystem and determine if it was a mature forest. Unfortunately, our class Bear Grylls (Jenaya) copped a small bite to the head on the way in, which was of course very devastating.

Next on the to do list was visiting the tree in the rock (on the path to Nancy’s Peak). Although drawing the forest and measuring the trees with some observational trigonometry was rather fun, I think the best moment was when Mr Findlay picked up a handful of soil and promptly ate it so he was able to describe the taste.

The last stop was the Castle Rock skywalk. After copious amounts of complaining, we finally made it to the top. From there, we had a look at the different plantations and forests as well as how the rock interfered with establishing an ecosystem. Luckily, no one was silly enough to run on the way back down and accidentally fall over at the end.

After the good day out at the Porongurups, we headed back to school, where everyone swiftly came up with reasons as to why they couldn’t clean the bus. Overall, the excursion was well planned, with the perfect combination of geography and fun. 😊

Ellenor Barnett
Year 11, 2019

                  Castle Rock - Group Sandwich                                             Tree Stacking