This term the TCE Outdoor Leadership class has been focusing on human-nature relationships, and how different people will view nature differently, depending on their culture, upbringing and worldview.

The town of Derby in Tasmania’s north-east provides an excellent example of this, and was the venue for a two-day field trip last week. Throughout history the area around Derby has seen the comings and goings of Aboriginal clans, tin miners from around the globe, loggers, farmers, and now mountain bikers. Each group perceived and valued the land differently, and each group has left a legacy of their time spent in the Derby area. The focus of the field trip was to experience the area through the eyes of the different groups to better understand the different perceptions and values and to link it to the theory we have been learning in class.

Mark Hassell
Head of Experiential Learning