A group of AMES Australia settlement clients have completed an overnight camping trip aimed at imparting knowledge about camping skills and the outdoors.
The trip, organised in collaboration with volunteer led organisation First Hike Project, saw nine clients participate in this outing on May 18 in the Brisbane Ranges National Park.
For most of the participants – from Syria and Afghanistan - this was their first time camping and enjoying the Australian bush.
AMES Australia HSP Team Leader Ami Nakatani said the day started with an Acknowledgement of Country.
“Participants had a great time getting to know each other and other volunteers, learning about camping skills and ways to responsibly enjoy interacting with nature,” Ami said.
“They also learned about Aboriginal history and its deep roots in the country. The clients shared food and chatted around the campfire.
“We were lucky enough to be greeted by some Koalas on the second day,” she said.
We set up ourselves at Fridays Campground and did 8km walk on the first day and 3km hike on the second day around the camping ground.”
“The participants asked what it meant when the land we stayed was introduced as Wadawurrung Country. They were unaware that there are many different Aboriginal clans and nations existing in Australia and they were interested in hearing about it,” Ami said.
She said there were plans for more hikes, the next one in Spring.