Treverton Prep’s Grade six had their first excursion of the year to Roselands in the stunning Umkomaas Valley learning about the environment and themselves through the medium of challenge and fun!
Roselands is situated in the mist belt and is an environmentally vulnerable area of significance because it is one of the remaining breeding habitats of the endangered blue swallow. The grade learnt about the importance of the mist belt grasslands, which are being threatened by forestry and habitat destruction and how to identify exotic plant species while exploring the beautiful valley.
An unforgettable challenge was spending a night outdoors in a makeshift shelter and they had to prepare their own food.
The commando course was completed in the chilly weather, but the children responded to the tough tests by navigating their way through a series of challenges and obstacles in thick mud and green algae!
The Roselands experience is a powerful outdoor learning exercise that covers a large section of the Grade six syllabus, especially in Natural Science.
The educational value of this type of excursion is that the children learn while having fun, and the teachers have an opportunity to observe the children in a different setting, especially from a social perspective. Grade six teachers Andy Dijkstra and Di Tanner reported that the trip back to Treverton was unusually quiet as there was a busload of sleepy children.