Outcome 1

• Indigenous peoples ways of knowing outdoor environments

  Dreamtime stories are deep spiritual attachment to the land and Kinship connection to Country
• Non-indigenous peoples ways of knowing outdoor environments


  Private land, wilderness, managed parks, urban environments and built environments
• Kinship


  An indigenous person's relationship and responsibilities to other people, to their country and to natural resources
• Nature


  Human nature - A new term used to describe human characteristics e.g. sadness, anger
• Nature versus nurture


  Concept regarding our genetic makeup (nature) vs the environment (nurture)
• The laws of nature


  Laws of science and maths that relate to the way the world works e.g. laws of thermodynamics
• The nature of...


  Expression about the nature of something
• Mother nature


  A term that generally refers to the earth's biosphere and all the living things and systems within
• Natural, Unnatural and Artificial

  • Natural - Something that is said to occur 'out there' somewhere or comes from nature itself
  • Unnatural - Usually refers to an object or process that humans have influenced in some way
  • Artificial - At the end of the continuum, refers to things that are created by humans
• Country


  The term is often used by indigenous peoples to describe the lands, waterways and the seas to which they are connected
• Outdoor environments


  Areas of the natural world, either as a whole or in a particular geological area. Non-permanent structures may also exist
• Private land


  Land that is owned by a government. The rest of the land is referred to as public land, or crown land, and is managed by various government authorities
• Majority of Australia's land is owned by non-indigenous individuals, families, companies and other entities
• The management of private land is also influenced by government policies and regulations e.g. there are rules around land clearing, and some community led organisations
• 66% of Victoria's native habitat has been cleared for food production
• Wilderness


  Modern concept of big and remote places that are untouched
• Wilderness


  • Big - Usually set at about 2000 hectares, an area needs to be big enough to be self-sufficient in maintaining its ecosystems process and biological diversity
  • Remote - Refers to the ease with which humans can access a place, usually far from major cities and towns with limited public transport
  • Untouched (or relatively untouched by humans) - "A wilderness area is defined as an area that is, or is capable of, being restored to be: of sufficient size to enable long-term preservation of its natural systems biological diversity"
• Managed parks


  Areas of public land that are controlled by and are the responsibility of governments. In Victoria, managed parks fall within the responsibility of the government agency called Parks Victoria
• Parks Victoria is responsible for managing a diverse estate of more than 4 million hectares of public land, including 3000 of land, marine parks and reserves
• World heritage protected areas

  Places deemed so significant for humans and for environmental protection that they are given a status beyond the border of the state or country
• National parks


  There are currently 45 national parks in Victoria; together they cover about 11% of the state's total area
• Wilderness parks


  Three wilderness parks in Victoria: Avon wilderness park, Big desert wilderness park, Wabba wilderness park
• Marine parks


  Victoria has protected just over 5% of its coastal areas in 13 marine national parks and 11 marine sanctuaries - a world first in coastal area protection
• State parks


  26 state parks in Victoria covering over 3 million hectares. Managed to supplement the national park system, provide access to a range of natural resources (such as timber) and offer a more extensive array of recreational activities
• Local and metropolitan parks

  Victoria has over 3000 managed parks and reserves that are part of the protection system. Many of these are local, regional and metropolitan
• Urban environments


  Areas of permanent infrastructure designed to support higher population densities, such as cities and towns
• Built environment


  Areas that have been created or modified by people, including buildings, parks and transport systems
• Outdoor experiences


  • Recreational activities
  • Media
  • Social media
  • Research
  • Books and poems
  • Education
• Experiential knowledge


  An engaged learning process whereby students learn by doing and by reflecting on the experience
• Environmental knowledge


  When environments undergo change, people have the ability to reflect on what had changed and why it might have changed, and then try to make predictions about the future
• Perspectives


  • Ecological
  • Social
  • Economic
• Ecological perspective


  Interrelationships between living organisms and their physical surroundings are concerned. Can lead to a level of knowledge and understanding around an environment, can develop and appreciate things that go beyond the observations of the naked eye
• Social perspective


  A community refers to the actions of society. We can gather knowledge about which activities and behaviours are successful and which are not, leading to a greater understanding about specific environments
• Economic perspective


  Directly related to profit, meaning that whatever outdoor environments offer in terms of resources and income opportunities such as those in farming, timber harvesting, mining or commercial fishing. People who are driven to gain profit from the environment and protect their assets are more inclined to care about the money they make than the environment
• Biomes


  • Alpine
  • Coastal
  • Inland waterway
  • Heathland
  • Grassland
  • Forest
  • Marine
  • Arid
• Alpine biome


  • Victorian Alps, approximately 50,000 hectares covering the north-east and east of the state, mostly above 1300 metres
  • Covered with snow for more than a third of the year, rainfall exceeds 1400 millimetres a year
  • Alpine areas have been eroded over 500 million years to form rounded mountains and plateaus
  • Baw Baw frog, Mountain pygmy possum, sphagnum bogs (species of mosses), snow gum eucalyptus pauciflora
  • Threats: Lobbying and camping, development of ski resorts, continued summer grazing of cattle
• Coastal biome


  • 2,000 km of coastline along Victoria with sheltered bays, inlets, rugged cliffs, 123 bays, inlets and estuaries
  • Low altitudes, 0 - 200m above sea level, rainfall 700 to 1200 mm per year, varying climate conditions
  • Birds are the foremost faunal species living on the coast, including fairy penguins and migratory birds, as well as fur seals
  • Threats: More than 85% of Australians live less than 50 km from the coast, making them the largest threat to coastal areas through urban development
• Heathland biome


  • Found in Victoria from the coast and hinterland to the mountains, particularly prevalent on the coast and in south-west of the state
  • Altitude ranges from 50 to 300 metres above sea level, annual rainfall 600-1100 millimetres per year, soils are low and acidic
  • Many species have close relationship with fire, including woody fruit pods, grass trees, dunnarts, bandicoots, native rats
  • Threats: Some of Victoria's heathland has been permanently cleared for urban development, agriculture and mining
• Inland waterway biome


  • 29 major river basins, including the Murray River bordering Victoria, 17,000 inland wetlands linked
  • Altitudes range from low near the coast to the majestic Rocky Valley Lake near Falls Creek at 1600 metres
  • Variable climate depending on seasonal change, with tall eucalyptus, large wattle, kingfishers, swallows
  • Threats: Degraded and destroyed by human activity such as irrigation, drainage for agriculture, urbanisation and introduced species, many rivers severely polluted, 35% of wetlands drained for land reclamation
• Grassland biome


  • Cover the plains between the Murray Valley and the Great Dividing Range, found in patches in the northern and western part of the state and some in Gippsland
  • Flat to gently undulating landscapes below 700 metres, low to medium rainfall 400-1000 millilitres per year
  • Kangaroo grass, wallaby grasses, spear grasses, deeper soils with yellow gums, river red gums, bandicoots, bats, wagtails, lizards, snakes
  • Threats: Grazing, cropping and pasturelands have led to degradation and decreased biodiversity, less than 1% of Victoria's grassland remain intact due to weed invasion, urban development, salinity and agriculture