Banyule/Nillumbik Week 2 2017

Week 2 of the program started off back in Eltham with a great bike ride along Diamond Creek & the Yarra River. We all jumped on the mountain bikes to head down the trail and explore some of the great scenery the area has to offer, including some of the off-road tracks around Westerfolds Park. Everyone had a good go at these and put in a lot of effort. We were lucky to have a past student on board for the ride, who could share his experiences with the current group of students. Thanks for joining us Darcy, it was great to get your insight!

After the ride we headed over to Jets Studio in Bundoora for a music workshop. Jets has a really wide range of facilities and equipment available and we love to utilise it and show the students what programs are on offer through the local youth services. We worked with Josh to put together a beat which was recorded in preparation for our second session at Jets. This is towards the end of the program and will give the students an opportunity to write a rap about their experiences.

Thursday was the first of two Reach workshops. The Reach foundation’s vision is that every young person aged between 10-18 has the support and self-belief they need to fulfil their potential and dare to dream. All Reach workshops are 100% youth led designed and delivered by our crew . Students can relate and connect to the crew because they all speak honestly and openly about their own journey and challenges. A lot of the crew were participants in workshops, just like our students.

Friday we were lucky with the weather and had a warm day and lots of sunshine down at South Melbourne beach. The first part of the day was spent learning and practicing CPR, an important skill to have. After running through this for the morning, we all jumped in the water to practice water rescues. Students learned to use the life saving club rescue boards to assist someone having difficulty in the water. It was great preparation for our upcoming surf camp and a lovely way to finish off the week.