S P R I N G N E W S L E T T E R

Director’s Editorial:

From the Snow Line “I didn’t push her I was just motivating gravity,” is what one unnamed young person said as they shoved their mate into the snow and then later that same day, “I’ve got cold feet and it’s not even my wedding day.”There are some funny quotes said during programs however there are more often things said or written by young people that make us all step back for a moment. Take…. Who wrote ‘If you’re the kind of person that finds that you’re only going outside to get to another inside location then Mittagundi will show you a different way… outside at day, inside for night!’ Amid all the laughter and jokes there has been a great deal of effort from the staff to fix, repair and maintain the property and with the help of many young willing bodies the bus floor has been sanded back and is in the process of undergoing a face lift. The Chook pen now is fit for royalty as we pray for more eggs, the fences and paddocks are clearer and tighter than they have been in some time, and the Orchard and Garden are now ready for spring, the merchandise store is full of fire pokers and felted goods made in the forge and joinery.

One of the most creative constructions, since Ian Stapleton was here is the completion of ‘The Throne Room,’ a fully functional composting toilet completed by Bob Vincent and a sea of volunteers, and young people, made from a recycled corrugated veranda. As adults it’s fair to say that often we do a lot of the ‘teaching’ when it comes to talking to young people.

What I have learnt to do since my time is to listen to what they have to say because sometimes the ideas they bring are far beyond our minds.

Thanks for your support and see you at the Mittagundi Festival 11th & 12th Jan 2013…

Sam Walmsley, Director

Mittagundi

www.mittagundi.org.au

Special Events & Follow-Ups

Wine Bottling: 15th SeptemberGarden Party: 2nd-6th NovemberFolk Rhythm & Life Festival (FRL) 7th-9th DecemberEnterprise: 13th-18th DecemberWoodchop: 29th December-4th JanuaryMittagundi Festival: 11th-13th January

What’s Coming Up...

CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS

10 Day Program Dates

Girls 397: 21st - 30th September - School Holidays (Helpers Wanted)

Boys 398: 30th Sept - 9th October - School Holidays (Helpers Wanted)

Girls 399: 19th -28th October Boys 400: 9th - 18th Novemb

Girls 401: 23rd Nov - 2nd December

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We are now hiring for 2013

We are looking for a diverse range of people to apply. The 2012 team has been made up of...

• An earth worm expert in charge of horses and plumbing• An environmental scientist in charge of the gear store and toilets• A wine expert in charge of pigs and chainsaws.• An Outdoor Educator in charge of Chickens and the Kitchen• A biology student in charge of the pantry and the goat

They all have one thing in common, a love for the outdoors and sharing it with young people and we give you the skills, amongst other training, to look after the job areas that you choose.

Mittagundi is not your regular outdoor education centre… The young people have a three day hike into our pioneer style property and spend four days doing activities such as rafting, abseiling, skiing*, and maintaining the farm before they hike out again. Our property backs directly onto the Alpine National Park and is situated in one of the most beautiful areas in Victoria. If you or someone you know may be interested in working at Mittagundi for 2013, check out our website for further details or contact Sam, (03) 5159-7238

Positions are limited, applications close November 12th 2012.

www.mittagundi.org.auSAVE A TREE? Get this newsletter via email and save a tree or two.

Simply email info@mittagundi.org.au and let me know. You can see the full newsletter online and in colour visit www.mittagundi.org.au

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The Journey So Far...It seems just yesterday we jumped in the deep end with summer courses. Yet since then, we’ve learnt to swim, or at least navigate the rapids of the Mitta Mitta River during sledding and rafting. We manage to come up for breath occasionally, in between the abseiling, wood chopping, paddock clearing, hay bale stacking, cow halter training, hiking the high plains, horse handling and more wood chopping for good measure. From starting the hikes in and out of Mittagundi in shorts, t-shirt, hat: and the ever present gaiters, we finished the final summer course clad with all our warm clothes and raingear due to the snowballs which somehow ended up flying through the air. Lying on the tussocks at Wildhorse Creek watching the snowfall by the light of 20 head torches was definitely a highlight. On a sadder note we lost Bruce’s calf, but in true Mittagundi style we made the most of the opportunity experiencing skinning at first-hand.

Soon the rocks became mere features to watch as we steered our way down past the roughest section of the river and before we knew, it was time to pack up the rafts, abseil gear and summer gear and don the skis instead, enthusiastic for the next challenge, winter courses! night and you’re welcome to camp at Mittagundi.

Farewell Danni!!In January our staff team was joined by Danielle Hammond, all the way from the

corn fields of Illinois, USA. Since arriving, Dani has been one to fully embrace the Mittagundi life particularly in the realms of knitting, baking and not to mention a love for working with young people in the bush. Having identified a passion for Outdoor Education and big adventures Dani has returned home for the beginning of the Northern Winter. With aims to further develop her Mountain and Alpine leadership qualifications, an accent of Mt McKinley (the USA’s highest peak) and perhaps inject a little bit of ‘Mittagundi’ back into her old school’s Outdoor Education program.

Upon leaving, Dani wished to say a huge thanks and farewell to all those people in the Mittagundi community who she has come to know over the last 8 months.

All of us here on the Mittagundi staff team would like to thank Dani for the hard work, friendship and good times and wish her all the very best perusing her dreams in the US.

Winter Follow-up

This was our first winter course, which turned into a

great success and was a very relaxed and fun skiing

experience for both staff and young people. We went to Mac’s hut, because the snow cover there was sufficient and in a very good condition at that stage, ideal for soft landings when tripping over your skis, which all of us discovered pretty soon. We had a couple of basic cross-country skiing lessons and heaps of fun going up and down and sideways on the mild hills of the Falls Creek road as well as throwing snow at each other during a big snowball fight.

It was great to catch-up with all the young people that

came earlier this year and meet the ones that have been coming to Mittagundi in previous years. For some, as well as for some staff members, it was the first time on cross-country skis and everybody had a great time

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Bob (Robert) Vincent “The Dunny Dude”

Bob has built five dunnies, two on Mt Feathertop, (that has since been replaced by composting loos,) and three of Bob’s Bogs now stand proud at Mittagundi.

When I was first introduced to Bob he was completing the construction of his 4th master piece, a long drop style loo, with a beautiful North facing aspect that ensured your toilet break was always accompanied by a visit from a Flame Robin or Tree Creeper. This year we set Bob’s sights much higher, further from the ground anyway, as we asked him to design and build a composting style loo with recycled materials in the Mittagundi fashion. I showed bob a rough sketch; I had drawn on the back of an envelope, and left him to his own devices for one month…

Upon returning to Mittagundi I found Bob with his head in a hole altering the angle of the ‘shoot’ or ‘baby catcher’ (some may refer to it as) to ensure that there was going to be no spillage from wayward shots.

In Bob’s words to best describe the new ‘Throne Room,’ the building looks like a ‘cross between Ned Kelly armour and the Sydney Opera House.’ I don’t know anybody, other than Bob, who licks his finger when scrolling through images on his i-gadget, like it were pages of a book, but it was truly great to have him here. Thanks Bob!!!

Special thanks for the Dunny construction: Bob Vincent, Sam Paton (who just could not leave the place during his holiday), Doug F, Noel S, Mike L, Ian & Krystyna, Brook (Bruce), Olivia and the many other young people that helped dig the urine evaporation channel, and only burst one water pipe in the process.

Sam Walmsley (Bob’s biggest fan!!)

Meet one of the Young Folk

Kaisa Haebich

Kaisa spent her early years in Finland (and is fluent in Swedish!). She moved to Australia a few years ago. She became involved with Mittagundi through her

school, Beechworth Secondary College, when she attended one of the girls programs earlier this year. She was attracted to Mittagundi because her friends had all been last year, and she wanted to join in the fun too! She later returned to the farm for our Winter Follow-Up program because she’d had such a great time.

Kaisa says she has a lot of highlights from her time at Mittagundi, but that the thing that sticks out the most in her memory is evenings spent singing and

talking around the dining room fire after dinner and wash up are finished. Her biggest challenge was getting to know so many new people in such a short space of time.

When Kaisa isn’t at Mittagundi, she enjoys hanging out with her friends, reading, going walking or bike riding.

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Mittagundi Rhythms

“C’mon  get  rhythm,  when  you  get  the  blues.                  C’mon  get  rhythm”  Johnny  Cash

Mittagundi provides Young people with the opportunity to (amongst other things) experience 9 days of life without the structure of the 24 hour day. At the

beginning of each course they hand in their watches and phones and we even scramble the time on their cameras.

In doing this we try to connect young people to the idea that the hours and minutes, timetables and school bells can be substituted by the rhythms which occur every day. The rise and fall of the sun, the seasonal transformation of the orchid from bare wood to blossom and back again and the grumbling of a hungry stomach. To a young person at Mittagundi these things

that become the ‘clocks’ of everyday life and momentum is found in establishing a rhythm that somehow synchronises with all of these things.

The difference between a group, which has established a positive rhythm, and one that does not, always amazes me. No matter how long it is taking for the dishes to be done it always seems faster when there is a song being sung.

The gentle plod of a group behind the Clydesdales on track 107 always seems just a little bit meditative and the gentle ‘swoosh’ of 25 pairs of skis on fresh snow never fails to excite! Recently, farm days have rung out to the ‘clang’ of the blacksmiths anvil and the ‘crack’ of splitters making short work of rounds of alpine ash. To me, this is one of Mittagundi’s more subtle, yet most important lessons; that establishing rhythm is just as important as sticking to a schedule.

So what happens when we give the phones

back and our Young People return to a world of school bells and TV schedules? In many ways Mittagundi is a bit of a dream world in this respect, a lifestyle, which is basically impossible to obtain in today’s modern world. However, perhaps these experiences may give a young person cause to pay more attention to the changing of the seasons, take time to eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are tired or make choices that preference forward movement when faced with the challenges of everyday life.

Soon, as a staff team our rhythm will change again as we enter back into spring courses, the excitement of follow up courses, craziness of FRL, Christmas and our own Mittagundi Festival. So, if you happen to see one of us taking a moment to stare out onto the knocker during this time its probably just our way of pressing ‘pause’ for a moment before the rhythm of it all sweeps us away again.

Dennis Bainger - Program Manager (& Lizzy the Dog)

SponsorshipsMittagundi was built on a philosophy that all young people can come on a course, even if they can’t afford it. It is amazing to be in a place that supports young people that may otherwise miss out. To make this a possibility, each year we gratefully receive sponsorships from generous individuals and groups in the community to fund places. Each sponsor receives a letter from a recipient sharing their experiences from Mittagundi. If your interested in sponsoring a young person please either head to the website www.mittagundi.org.au, contact Sarah on 0467 678 818 or email info@mittagundi.org.au.

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Farm ProjectsThe Mittagundi farm has been a busy place these past few months. Many young people have come through the gate and put their hands to hard work to maintain many different areas of the property. Fencing has been a high priority recently with many days spent clearing the boundaries of paddocks, preparing fence posts and re-wiring the old and broken lines. Also, the garden has seen a huge transformation in preparation for spring time. The pigs were moved into one area of the garden to get rid of a large amount of weeds and also to turn over the soil. Young people have been keen to get into the poly tunnels & garden beds to clear out the overgrowth of grass and weeds so that they are ready for the planting of all sorts of delicious vegetables.

The St. Phillips courses had a great time in the forge area with Lance Tucker and our very own Sam Paton producing many great items for the merchandise store as well as a beautifully forged toilet roll holder

for the new toilet, built mostly by Robert Vincent in his stay during June.

The new toilet (aka: The Opera House, due to its nifty curved tin roof) has been completed now with the guidance of Bob Vincent & Kirrin Brown. Many young people have been involved in helping to dig a trench to disperse the liquid matter from the loo and also to help construct many great features of the structure itself including its unique ramp entrance.

Danielle, an ex Wollangarra staff member, came up the valley to share her skills with wool. During her stay she helped young people produce an array of bright and wonderful knitted and felted items.

Caillan Sainsbury has been taking young folk into the chook shed area and re-creating it from the inside out. Over a few winter courses the pen has been developed into an adventurous place for the chooks to scratch around and lay lots of eggs. Every day it seems the property is being spruced up in new and beautiful ways. The young people have had many great opportunities to try new things and contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the farm. I’m sure between now and the summertime there will be a whole lot more great projects to report on and many hilarious stories to go with them.

Chainsaw chapsClean 44 gallon drumsNumber 8 Fencing wireNNN BC Cross country ski bootsHorse Harnesses, Carriages & HobblesGood Pack Horse

Wishlist

Long Handled Brush HooksMatchesPhillips Head Screw Drivers½ Inch RatchetWheelie Bins (with Wheels)Small Drill Bits20L Jerry Cans (plastic)Tomohawks

An Acoustic Guitar & StringsTrenching ShovelLong Handled Scrub HooksPrying Pans/SkilletsLong Bladed ScythesTape MeasuresA Fencing ShovelSplittersCan Opener

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Keep Mittagundi Skiing! In preparation for next years winter Mittagundi is seeking out new or second hand NNN BC Ski Boots in good condition. With our boots withstanding a lot of use our

numbers are getting low and there is only so much that gaffa tape can do! If you have an old pair or know of a business that is turning over old hire stock please let us know!

Winter’s Dreaming Wow, what a busy place Mittagundi has been throughout July and August.

While most of the valley and indeed the high plains were in hibernation, Mittagundi has been bursting with activity – and young people! In fact, we’ve had more than 200 young people come through our gates over eleven courses in these two months alone. Each got the chance to go on a 3 day trip together up to either MacNamara’s or Fitzgerald’s Huts to experience the beauty of the mountains during this time of year. This was no easy task with many cold nights, cold toes and lots of walking or skiing to do to get to their destinations. But they all pushed through and got to camp by the huts for two nights, explore the winter wonderland and enjoy the beauty and fun of the snow, and of course to all have a go at cross-country skiing! There were many who hadn’t even seen snow before (particularly many of those from the St Phillips school group who came all the way from Alice Springs!) so what an adventure for all.

Thankyou’s Mittagundi is so grateful for all things large and small

For being an amazing team of helpers this winter    Noola,  Kirsty,  Laura,  Foss,  Fliss,  Shannon,  Anika,  Bruce,  Liv,  Alex,  David,  Stace  &  Hamish,  Suz,  Jake,  Sarah  C,  Sarah  Y,  Ian,  and  Emily

St Phillips staff  For  their  much  enjoyed  care  package

Girton  For  donaHons  to  the  gear  shed

Lance Tucker  For  demonstraHng  in  the  forge.  

John the Butcher    For  ongoing  storage  of  meat,  cheese  and  buLer.  

Rubicon Outdoor Education Center: For  a  donaHon  of  Skis  and  Boots

The Outdoor Education Group  For  donaHng  an  enHre  set  of  50  waterproof  Jackets  and  Pants  and  20  PFD’s.

Jacob Malmo  For  the  DonaHon  of  a  pregnant  Milking  cow

Mick Batty  For  making  your  Bull  available  to  our  cows  yet  again!    

Claire Bennett For  the  care  package  

Sarah Guthrie  For  the  warm  woolly  socks.  

Josh Brown  For  raU  guiding

Suz Christison and the Regional Development Company For  another  great  day  of  facilitaHon!

Liz Leyshan & Andrew King  For  the  amazing  tents.  

Tom Hay  Ink  Cartridges

Faith and Jack    For  the  ongoing  support  and  advice.  

Timbertop  For  the  donaHon  of  skis,  boots,  trangias,  snow  tents  and  snow  pegs.

For Dunny Building Help:  Bob  V,  Doug  F,  Noel  S,  Mike  L,  Sam  P,  Ian  &  Krystyna

Donations

Appin  Park  Rotary  Club

Mrs  Hope  Stewart

ANZ  -­‐  FoundaHon  for  Outdoor  EducaHon

Jessie  Mawson

The  Miller  FoundaHon

The  Kimberley  FoundaHon

Diedre  &  Bob  Andrew

Richard  Kjar

Sally  Floyer

Barry  Stuckey

Gwenda  Alder

Bruce  &Gwen  Osborne

Anonymous  DonaHon

Daniel  Spencer

Mrs  BeLy  Hughes

MarHn  Clydesdale  

Sponsorships:

Jack  Brockhoff  FoundaHon  

MarHn  Clydesdale  (and  for  the  coffee)

Mrs  Neilma  Gantner

Judy  Phillips

WangaraLa  High  School

MaL  Walsh

Ryan  Pownell

Mike  Fitzgerald

Patricia  Hancock

Carol  Richardson

Kevin  Harris

Simon  Paton

M I T T A G U N D I N E W S L E T T E R

www.mittagundi.org.au Spring 2012

Mittagundi4385 Omeo HwyGlen Valley, VIC 3898

What is Mittagundi?An independent, non profit organisation with outdoor programs available to all young people. It was established over thirty years ago with a commitment to provide opportunities for young people from all walks of life to live and enjoy the challenges of a remote and simple lifestyle. On our classic outdoor program each group of boys or girls, aged 14 - 17, will spend ten days in a beautiful part of Victoria’s high country; bushwalking, camping and abseiling from nearby cliffs, rafting the Mitta Mitta river and work alongside leaders to operate a pioneer style farm. During winter school groups cross country ski and explore the alpine environment of the Bogong High Plains. The atmosphere at Mittagundi is simple, honest and happy. There are no watches, no timetables and no money. Instead there is an opportunity for young people to live and work together in an environment where people matter more than anything else. Mittagundi is run by a professional and passionate team of volunteers and a whole community of support.

To book on to a program or be involved with Mittagundi please visit our website www.mittagundi.org.au

or contact us on (03) 5159 7238