Outdoor Education

Our Outdoor Education Programme offers perhaps the key opportunity in our Learning Programme for our students and staff to develop a greater understanding, respect and appreciation for the Natural Environment. The Outdoor Education Department increasingly plans time on its expeditions for students to learn about local ecosystems, but also, being mindful of the negative environmental impact that group travel can have, actively seeks to build policies and practices to minimise this and build a commitment to care around its trips. Some examples are shown below which demonstrate approaches that are particularly unique, meaningful or deliberately integrated with other the 4 pledges or parts of our Learning Programme.

• Grade 5s at East are use their Outdoor Education trip to Taman Negara to enhance their classroom learning about rainforests and the importance of indigenous peoples as the cultural guardians of the forest.
• Grade 9s can opt for a Biodiversity research expedition in Borneo. Several members of this trip were inspired to join our own Rainforest Restoration Project.

Energy

• All Grade 9 and 10 expeditions are subject to a Carbon tax as part of our action on Climate Change. The tax is used to fund a tree planting and solar energy project with one of our long-standing partners (and expedition destinations) in Ladakh. This initiative is being expanded to more of our student groups travel in the coming years.

Stories on Energy

Grade 5s at Dover go on the Green Camp to Bali where learning about permaculture and sustainable agriculture is a good introduction to the year long composting service and Expo unit back in Singapore.

• Nearly new expedition gear is offered by the Outdoor Education department in an innovative partnership with the College shop to save parents money AND reduce unnecessary consumption and waste.
• Grade 5s at Dover get an introduction to composting on their Outdoor Eduction Trip to the Green Camp in Bali, before beginning a year long service back on campus.
• Re-usable water bottles , containers and utensils are now a standard feature of expedition kit lists as our Outdoor Education Department use this practice to teach our students (and trip providers) about waste minimisation.

Grade 3 Forest Adventure trips uses the setting of Gudung Ladang Resort in Malaysia to reinforce learning about some key water issues from the Grade 3 Blue Planet Unit.