I would like to tell you about more about Outdoor Leadership exploration, and what we learned as a short weekly reflection with many different photos and a video. Have a nice look!
Weekly Reflection of OLE
Week 1, Oct 15th – Oct 19th, 2018
For the 1st week of OLE, we learned and understand about nature and what does it mean to each of us. Everyone’s in our class, each has a different opinion about nature. Some said nature is a producer, protector, creator. Some said nature is a destroyer, a teacher. Even though we all have a different definition, but we understand nature is natural. We also get outside of the classroom to search, observe and find what does nature looks like in a different place. From under a log to in water to around the trees. We found a lot of animals, flowers and many types of plants. We did some debate about Is Liger campus a wilderness? We spent an hour and a half on debating and questing each team. At last, we understand that all of the words such as natural, wilderness and nature were dependent on our definitions. If we think that nature is bad, its bad. If we think it is good, it is good. On the last day of our 1st week OLE, we did some Trust Fall and Trees and ropes scenario. We faced some challenges when we do the Trees and Ropes scenario that made us had, but we all talked, we all helped, we all safe and succeed.
Week 2, Oct 22nd- Oct 26th, 2018
For the second week, it was wonderful, fun and challenging week. It was the week that we had to prepare for our trip on Thursday and Wednesday to Kirirom National park. We learned how to pitch the tent and how to take it down. We prepared our stuff, discussed what we need and what we don’t need and about the trip. The morning of Thursday arrived. We were prepared and ready to do some trekking and hiking. We spent 3 hours until we arrived at the park. We did a three hours trekking in Teuk Chhou waterfall. We listened and ate our lunch there. While we were eating the sound and the feel of the waterfall made us felt relax and enjoy. Unexpectedly, we saw 5 gibbons were swinging around their habitat and finding food. It was very fun to see them and it was one of my 1st seen seeing real wild animals. We came back and find our camping place close to Srah Srang lake. This made the trip one of the most memorable moment. We helped each other to pitch the tent, cook the food, build a campfire place. We were hungry, we sang, we dance and saw a big moon shined a bright moonlight and it made the place very wonderful. We slept very well and it was rain in the dawn till morning. It was cold and moist in our tent. However, we were all happy with what we were doing. We laughed a lot and we arrived at Liger at 1 pm.
Week 3, Oct 29th- Nov 2nd, 2018
The third week of OLE was learning about risk management, how to make a safe route and learned to face any risk that might occur during trekking in a forest. A risk is a situation that might lead to danger or hazard. In our learning session, there are four ways that we can manage the risk and make sure that it is safe to take it. The four risk management are identified risk; knowing what is the risk, assess risk; knowing how dangerous is the risk, control risk; knowing what to do with the risk (should I take it or not?) and review controls; knowing what you do is safe and right. After the session, we made our own imagination risk trekking route on Liger campus. The paper told what is the risk, where is the risk, and what to do to avoid the risk. Later, we exchanged the risk paper with other groups, do a 10 minutes trekking around Liger by following their instructions. It was fun but also vague. It was hard to imagine that Liger was a dangerous place. However, we did it and everyone was happy. We spent the last to days to think about what will some risks that might happen for the future trip to Mondulkiri. What will be the solution to control the risk and how to avoid the risks.
Week 4, Nov 5th- Nov 9th, 2018
For the fourth week, the first day was simple but excited. We made the trip prep for Mondulkiri trip. We planned to go from Tuesday the 13th till Friday the 16th. We also planned to meet a South African park ranger who came and have a project with Wildlife conservation in Mondulkiri. We emailed him and was very pleased to work with us. However, there was a problem and we couldn’t work with him, but it was great to know from him. On Tuesday Keriean arrived back to Liger. She has been sick for a while. Start from that day we learned about some first aid skill. After we finished the lesson she gave us many different scenarios and three different characters: lead rescuer, assistant, and victim.
Week 5, Nov 12th- Nov 16th, 2018
The most exciting week of OLE has arrived. We spent the first day of the week to prepare any last minutes preps for the trip to Mondulkiri. Tuesday morning came and everybody was ready to feel their five senses with every form of nature in the wilderness. We left at 7 o’clock morning and it took us 7 hours to arrived on RDI red land. We spent some time on the bus to think about what are some goals that we want to see happen during the trip. After four days and three nights, here is the result.
“We had a fun and wonderful experience on the trip to Mondulkiri. We got to walk in the wood, step on the tall, green grass, scouted for the new beautiful and colorful wildlife, heard and saw the endless-long-icy waterfall surrounded by the most delightful green nature, and cooked the most delicious food for ourselves. We were given scenarios to help and save our friends when they were in need, took unimaginable risks while trekking, built a safe emergency shelter that happened to be strong and cozy, built the dramatic dancing fire to keep life warm, sat on a soft wet wood and rested to find the meaning of each form of nature, and met the old but not ill mama elephant. This experience was all about being a leader and figuring out how to help yourself and others in collaboration with nature.”