General Announcement...

[corvus]

Clownfish as a retired leader of children I believe your comments are correct IMHO however it does appear to me that it is only a minority of Schools who allow this type of activity in virtually trackless areas and I hope that this can be a reality check for the future.
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[Ent]

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[tasadam]

Also consider our collective delay in getting EPIRBs in another section of the board. Our actions or inactions say more about our feelings of risk minimisation versus cost considerations than anything else.

To this I disagree, in part.
1. The delay was initially due to the inability of finding a supplier who felt like taking up our cause, then in their inability to follow it through resulting in the ultimate abandonment.
2. The units have been available to purchase through local and online shops for some time, though the ongoing supply delays and the cost carrot did have some of us holding off.
3. The units have always been available to hire if people wanted them, so the delay in purchasing may not necesarily relay to our unpreparedness in the bush.

To everything else, I whole-heartedly agree, and thank you for the insight into a different view of reporting.

[Ent]

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[Taurë-rana]

Robbo, I just read your post about the events on your school trip. I am impressed by the way you prepared the kids, and also their behaviour when something did happen, except for not staying put, but many of us probably would do the same in the circumstances - we always believe we can save ourselves. You are giving the kids the skills to be independent and think for themselves and make their own risk assessments, but in a way that is as safe as possible.
I think taking risks has become far less acceptable in our society, and that so many kids grow up wrapped in cotton wool. There was a time when kids disappeared all day and were only expected back before dark - their parents trusted them to look after themselves. I wandered the bush behind my house in Hobart from a young age by myself, and climbed the cliffs with my friends with no ropes. I was doing 30km day walks with a couple of friends when I was only a bit older than these kids, including up into the mountains, and multiday walks with a group but I wasn't as prepared as they are if something went wrong.
I'm so thankful for the independence that I was given as I was growing up, and I'm trying to bring my boys up the same way. Robbo, your program sounds fantastic, and the kids should come out of it being confident in their ability to look after themselves and probably be much safer than lots of us in the bush. Congratulations.

[Taurë-rana]

Another thought I have is that the "children" on this trip would have been 14 or 15? Being the proud parent of a sensible, independent 15 year old I sometimes wonder if we forget just how near to grown up they are - in the past many children that age would have been out working full time.

[tas-man]

<SNIP> I think taking risks has become far less acceptable in our society, and that so many kids grow up wrapped in cotton wool. There was a time when kids disappeared all day and were only expected back before dark - their parents trusted them to look after themselves. I wandered the bush behind my house in Hobart from a young age by myself, and climbed the cliffs with my friends with no ropes. I was doing 30km day walks with a couple of friends when I was only a bit older than these kids, including up into the mountains, and multiday walks with a group but I wasn't as prepared as they are if something went wrong.
I'm so thankful for the independence that I was given as I was growing up, and I'm trying to bring my boys up the same way. Robbo, your program sounds fantastic, and the kids should come out of it being confident in their ability to look after themselves and probably be much safer than lots of us in the bush. Congratulations.

Devon Annie, your comments brought back memories long gone of similar activities when I was a teenager in Brisbane. I used to take off with my mates into the local bush and countryside on my single speed pushbike with a sandwich and waterbottle and expected to be home by dark, with no apparent concerns expressed by my parents. We never came to any trouble exploring the caves below Mt Gravatt, and riding from the top of Mt Gravatt to bottom, on heavy bikes that needed a lot of distance to pull up! I came off my bike on many occasions, and turned up home with a blood stained hanky around elbows or knees without reprimand from my parents. You were allowed to take risks and suffer the consequences of going beyond your abilities! There always seemed to be someone in class with a plaster cast on their arm - it was a rite of passage into adulthood.

[north-north-west]

The question of risk management is a topic in its own right so maybe that should be split from this discussion. I am for one am worried that the media could use "experienced" walkers opinions and then demand that it is compulsory for everyone going into the bush, even on a day walk to carry an EPIRB and satellite phone along with a tent and sleeping bag. And I mean everyone with no sharing.

Fortunately, that's impossible to implement. How would you like a job walking tracks checking that everyone out there has the mandatory safety equipment? Every track, every day, everywhere? Just not on.

[Ent]

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[north-north-west]

Oh, I know how it goes, Brett. The changes in 'standard' recreational SCUBA equipment since I got into the sport are massive, and the list of mandatory equipment for charter dives has more than doubled. Not to mention the paperwork (indemnities and waivers etc) and the policing of 'appropriate' training and certification.
Used to be that with my Instructor's card I could dive anywhere, anytime, anyway I liked. Not any more.
And it's for the same reason: a media feeding frenzy every time there's an accident, especially a fatality - despite the fact that it's a safer sport than a great many less regulated activities.