Hi, my name is Erinn Harnden and my home school is Wonthaggi Secondary College. It’s split into two campuses with around 1200 students in total. I attend the Dudley Campus, for students between Year 7 – Year 9. It’s the only public school in the immediate area and it gets its students from about nine primary schools in the Bass Coast Shire. As such, 60% of the school population travel to school by bus. It’s a pretty nice school and most of the teachers are really funny and caring. The students there are generally welcoming and kind. There are six students, including myself, from WSC attending the School for Student Leadership at the Snowy River Campus. Everyone is really nice and we are all trying our hardest to contribute to our Community Learning Project.

The School for Student Leadership is an amazing opportunity for Year 9 students such as myself to become the leaders they want to be and to learn life skills. We learn a lot about team work and social relations and how to better operate as a contributing member of society. We do this through outdoor activities, such as hiking, bridge-building and surfing, but also through class-based activities. Everything we learn here is so much fun and I’m still struggling to believe that this is even real. Whilst we are here, everyone is required to take part in a Community Learning Project. This project can be anything from fundraising for an emergency service to getting a garden bed for a local school. The purpose of doing this is to give us a chance to take what we’ve learnt from Snowy and bring it back to our community at home.

Community Learning Project (CLP)

Our CLP is called Reducing Environmental Impact (REI).
Our vision is for a community where people care for the environment and work to keep it clean, through education and action, so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come. As a part of our CLP we have created a motto, which is: ‘Our future, clean future.’ Our CLP is aimed at reducing the litter that scatters the coast in our area. We have two main stages and a possible third that are designed to help us achieve this. Our first stage is all about education. We plan to visit a local primary school and teach them about pollution in a fun and interactive way. Our second stage is organizing a local rubbish pick-up day at one of our local beaches. We will advertise this in the local paper, in school newsletters and with flyers. Depending on the success of this, we may have a third stage. Our third stage involves approaching our local shire/council with a proposal asking for there to be more bins on local beaches. If necessary, we can help fundraise for this to happen. Everyone in our team is really excited and passionate about our CLP and I can’t wait for it to actually begin.

One of my highlights of my time here so far has definitely been getting to know everyone else at the Campus. There are so many funny, like-minded people here, it’s incredible! Another highlight from my time here has definitely been surfing. It’s so much fun to get out and about in the coastal environment around here. It’s a really beautiful place and I’m so glad I get to experience.