
Year 11 Geography Blue Mountains Field Trip
On 13 and 14 May, the Year 11 Geography class went on an overnight excursion to the Blue Mountains to study the natural environment of the area and how it copes with frequent bushfires. Mr Sciortino reminded us many times of the importance of fieldwork when studying Geography and how this links to our assessment task coming up.
We started our two-day journey early in the morning by travelling to the Blue Mountains Heritage Centre in Blackheath, where we began a lecture about aspects and effects of fire on our Australian landscape from Ranger Neil. We then walked down the Blue Mountains Heritage Trail and took in the beauty and effects of recent fire damage as well as the immense regrowth after the fires, finishing with an amazing view of Govetts Leap. We then stopped off at Katoomba for some food and snacks and spent the rest of our evening debriefing the day and making slime.
On the second day, we walked the 6.3 kilometre Grand Canyon track led by Ranger Jamie. The track took us 5 hours to complete, hiking through the different biomes including rainforests and open woodland, down into the canyon, crossing creeks with the help of Mrs Smit, and walking under waterfalls. The hike was tough but definitely worth it, seeing how the different flora and fauna have adapted to the different conditions.
We would like to thank Mr Sciortino and Mrs Smit for organising the trip, driving the bus to the Blue Mountains and supervising us for the night. It was a great experience and we definitely learnt a lot.
Eva and Azzi – Year 11 Geography Students