Outdoor Edge

Right now, Outdoor Edge is just an idea. At the start of 2008, it will be a 12 month long experience for 6-10 male teenagers from the Long Gully area, taking in Urban Seed's Edge program, as well as several challenging trips to the bush and mentoring by youth workers, outdoor education practitioners and elders. It aims to improve the physical, emotional, social and spiritual health of young men in Long Gully.

This page will document some of that journey.

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20th October 2007
Last weekend we had our last pilot trip for the year - a canoeing trip on the Loddon River near Laanecoorie. We had 8 kids coming on the Wednesday, then by Saturday morning we had 3! But those three had a ball, as did we - a much more relaxed vibe prevailed, given that we didn'y have to be continually on the lookout for catastrophes. After canoeing down the river to camp, we fished, sat by the campfire, discussed John Marsden's "Secret Men's Business" and played with a fluorescent frisbee in the dark.

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7th September 2007 - Day Trips
We've had 2 day trips since I last wrote here: a wide game in Vaughn Springs near Castlemaine and a canoeing/fishing trip on the Loddon River. Both have taught us a lot: about managing difficult behaviour, building group culture and helping young people reflect on themselves....and how to fall out of canoes gracefully.
26th July 2007 - Pilot Progress
We've decided to do a pilot run of Outdoor Edge this year, so Finn and Dave have just finished handing out letters to parents about the trips we're doing. Most parents were only too happy for us to have them for a weekend!

Also, we had another meeting of interested leaders, which was fantastic. We now have about 5 committed leaders, plus two 'mature' people, who will act as elders. Young people need a variety of age groups to relate to, and Rondah and Simon are just the people to be an older and sympathetic ear.

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1st June 2007 - BYTE funding
Eaglehawk SC has a student foundation that gives funding for stuff that benefits the Eaglehawk community, which includes Long Gully. We've just heard that we've been given $500 towards a pilot of Outdoor Edge, which will happen over the next 6 months! Fantastic! (BYTE stands for "Borough Youth Taking on Eaglehawk" - the 'Borough' is the local word for Eaglehawk).

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23rd April 2007 - First meeting for Outdoor Edge
After some weeks of talk, Finn and I arrange a meeting with interested others. It is notable for the fact that we had more apologies than actual attenders.