OES end of year exam

define nature

define nature

The living things, the ecosystem and the process that form them and the places in which we find all of these

Nature vs nurture

Concept regarding our genetic makeup vs the environment

The laws of nature

Laws of science and maths that relate to. the way the world works

Natural

Something that come from nature

Artificial

Things that are created by humans

Un-natural

Refers to an object or process that humans have affected in some way

Urban areas

Areas of permanent infrastructure designed to support higher population densities such as cities and towns

Built areas

Areas that have been created or modified by people and includes buildings, parks and transport systems

Wilderness

An environment that is big, remote and untouched by humans

Big

Needs to be big enough to be self-sufficient

Remote

Some distance from large urban populations, not easy transportation access

Untouched

Undamaged or unmodified by humans

World heritage protected areas

Places deemed so significant to humans and for environmental protection that they’re given status beyond the state or country

National park

Areas of nationwide significance because of their outstanding natural environments, features, scenic landscapes and diverse land types. They protect natural and cultural features and usually offer visitor facilities and have limited areas for intensive recreation or development.

Marine parks

Protect marine and coastal environments, safeguarding marine habitats for important plants and animals and conversing natural, cultural and aesthetic values.

State parks

Managed for the same purposes as a national park. Generally smaller than national parks and make up an area of land containing natural environments and features and scenic landscapes

Intrinsic motivations

Are motivations that we get within ourselves

Extrinsic motivations

Motivations we get from outside ourselves which are external to us

Competence/mastery

Being competent in the activity and building strength through participating in the experience

Stimulus avoidance

A type of negative reinforcement, where something we do something because it helps us to avoid something else and to help avoid feeling bad and being sick of indoors

Socialisation

All about social benefits

Cognitive reward

All about mental rewards

Appreciation

A recognition of value and significance in an outdoor environment

Awe

A feeling of wonder or admiration for an outdoor environment

Contemplation

A feeling that engenders long and thoughtful observation, or a deep connection

Inspiration

A feeling about the outdoor environment that leads a person to want to do something or create something

Exhilaration

A feeling of excitement or happiness, particularly resulting from an outdoor environment

Connection

A feeling that we are apart of place or connected to that place; it can come with some spiritual feelings or feelings of the wondrous nature of an environment

Curiosity

A feeling of wanting to know more and. wanting t understand an outdoor environment in more detail or other ways

Positive responses to an outdoor environment

• Appreciation

• Awe

• Contemplation

• Inspiration

• Exhilaration

• Connection

• Curiosity

Negative responses to an outdoor environment

• Fear

• Revulsion

Fear

An unpleasant feeling resulting from a belief. that something about an outdoor environment

Revulsion

A sense of disgust and loathing of something negative that a person sees in an environment

Factors that influence personal responses

• Age

• Background

• Education

• Experience

• Culture

• Religion

• Socioeconomic status (SES)

• Media

Outdoor environment as a resource

A resource is something from the environment that supplies, supports or aids humans in some way and is often a source of income.

Examples of who uses an environment as a resource

• landowners

• farmers

• tourism

Outdoor environment as recreation and adventure

Recreation is an activity that. is done for enjoyment, amusement or pleasure and is considered to be fun by the participant. Adventure is an activity that is exciting, risky or daring experience that is in some way dangerous in nature.

Examples of who uses an environment for recreation and adventure

• rock climbers

• hikers

• students attending a camp

Outdoor environment as a spiritual connection

Connecting to something on a deeper level and feeling close to or having faith to something. You don’t need to be doing an activity you can just be in the environment

Examples of who uses an environment as an spiritual connection

• Indigenous Australians.

• That sense of perspective and awe

Outdoor environment as a study site

A study site is a place where investigation, analysis and other activities occur in the pursuit of knowledge. It may be used for observation, exploration, testing, monitoring, recording and reporting in order to better understand the environment how and. why it has changed over time and human interrelationships with it

Examples of who uses an environment as a study site

• scientists

• students

• volunteers

• land mangers

Experiential knowledge

Obtaining knowledge and understanding through actively engaging in an environment, often a personal experience.

Environmental and natural history

understandings of an environment in this way provides an ability of retrospect being able to reflect on what has changed but why it might have and making predictions about the future

Environmental and natural history is based on…

• land formations

• climate and weather events

• changes to the landscape and animals that inhabit it

• knowledge of land history through time

Ecological

Grounded in biology and concerned with interrelationships between living organisms and their physical surroundings. Plays an important role in keeping an ecosystem functioning adequately

Social

Human interactions with the outdoors is the foundation of the social perspective. Understanding of. the environment and which activities or behaviours have been successful and which haven’t. This leads to a better understanding of specific environments

Economic perspectives

Directly linked to profit and associated. with what the environment offers - resources and income opportunities

Environmental risks

Risks that originate from the outdoor environments themselves

• weather

• terrain

• dangers of flora and fauna

• remoteness of an area

Risks associated with people

Risks connected to people involved such as leaders, participants and others

• skill

• knowledge

• experience

• health and fitness

• age

• fears

• emotions that particpants bring to an experience

risks associated with equipment

Risks with specialised equipment that is used while on outdoor trips, or equipment used to get to a place

• Clothing

• Buoyancy aids

• Surfboards

• Tents

• Climbing ropes

• Kayaks

• Motor Vehicles

Life threatening risks

Dangers on outdoor experiences may include

• Drowning

• Lightening strikes

• Poisonous bites

• Impacts with solid things

• Exposure (hyperthermia & hypothermia)

• Burns from bushfires and stoves

To celebrate nature and the outdoors

• Film and TV will often do this about a place or an animal

• A film about an outdoor activity

To sell a place or an experience

Usually found in marketing or advertising trying to literally sell a place, tourism or an experience

To inform

When portraying the outdoors is about informing people about something

To understand and develop our knowledge

Related to informing but more about our understanding and developing knowledge. Portraying environments in order to educate us

To challenge

About challenging the way we perceive, think or see. things. Usually in TV, films and artworks

To scare

Media creates fear to create interest, feeling and in some cases to influence

How does the media influence us?

By motivating, changing behaviour, informing. and influencing

How does the media motivate us?

By inspiring people to care about something or to visit a particular place or activity

How does the media change our behaviour?

Moderating the way someone acts in a. particular place

How does the media inform us?

Educating people about an issue related to a place or activity

How does the media influence us?

People to but and use latest equipment and technology

What are codes of conduct?

are a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, group or organisation

who creates the codes of conduct?

Are developed by different stakeholders such as governments, commercial and community based groups working together

eg.

• parks victoria

• local indigenous groups

• environmental. protection authority (EPA)

What is in a code of conduct?

Often associated with with minimal impact strategies are used for prevention and education

• Ideal group sizes

• Seasonal restrictions

• Vehicle restrictions

• Best practices for the conduct of the activity

• Practices that should be avoided

Why follow the codes of conducts?

They are a code of ethics and its everyones responsibility to follow guidelines provided to them.

Factors that affect access to the outdoors

• Socioeconomic status (SES)

• Cultural background

• Age

• Gender

• Physical ability

Socioeconomic status (SES)

An individuals or families economic and social position in relation to others based upon income, education and occupation

• Low SES

• Middle SES

• High SES

Cultural background

Pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that stem from the social content of your life experience, such as ethnicity, race, SES, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation and geographical area

Age

Is possible the most influential factor that can affect access. to the outdoors. This is mainly due to fitness and physical ability

Gender

The state of being male and female but also used with reference to the social and cultural differences rather than biological differences

Physical ability

The quality of being able to preform some type of physical action. This can refer to someones level or mobility

Technological development

These are advancements and modifications made to clothing and equipment in order to enhance or improve our participation in some way

The good, the bad and the ugly?

There is a debate on what these advancements in technology have meant to outdoor pursuits

What are these techonolgy?

When we refer. to technologies we. refer to advancements that. have been made across outdoor recreational experiences Usually in regard to equipment or clothing

What is a risk?

Is defined as the potential to lose something of value so the motivation for risking must be to gain something of value

Loss

Losing something we. value fro taking a risk might come in the form of:

• Physical (Injuries)

• Psychological (embarrassment or failure)

• Financial (damage to expensive equipment)

Gain

Gaining something from taking a risk might come. in the form of:

• Physical (Developing fitness)

• Psychological (Rise in self-esteem)

• Finiancial (A monetary reward)

Absolute risk

The uppermost limit of a risk in a particular situation or activity assuming safety hasn’t been considered. ‘Worst-case scenario’ type of risk

Perceived risk

Is the subjective assessment that a person makes about the risk they are about to face. Can be. much higher or lower than the real risk

Actual/real risk

The risk that actually exists for a situation or activity where safety has been considered and controls put in place. Its an absolute risk adjusted with safety controls

Factors of risk

• Risks related to people

• Risks related to equipment

• Risks related to the environment

Define biodiversity

The number and variety of organisms found within a specified area

Geology

The influence of geology can be seen in an area by the. type of rock found there, the soil characteristics and drainage

Climate

Annual rainfall, extremes in temperature and average daylight hours. are examples of climatic factors that can affect a landscape

Position

Is the geographic location

Aspect

Generally refers to the horizontal direction to which a mountain slope faces

Recreational understandings

Depend on what experience they have had with a recreation activity and depends on what knowledge is required

Interrelationships

Any change in one. component of an ecosystem will result in changes to other elements of the system

Abiotic

non-living factors

Biotic

living factors

The biosphere

The earths shell approx. 20km thick that surrounds the Earth and stretches from the ocean to the highest mountains

Lithosphere

The soil and crust of the earth (mantle, core and. molten rock)

Hydrosphere

All water on Earth, including vapour in the atmosphere, rivers, oceans, ice caps, etc.

Atmosphere

A gaseous envelope of air surrounding the Earth

Food chain

is the series of links that shows the consumption and transfer of nutrients energy through feeding

Food web

is a series of interlocking and interdependent food chains

Trophic levels

• Producers

• Primary consumers

• Secondary consumers

• Tertiary consumers

• Decomposers

Producers

They make their own food and. use the suns energy through the process of photosynthesis