A special day - from a child's perspective
When I woke up I wondered what we would be doing at Bush Farm School because it was going to be a special day. We had reporters coming and it was the first time we had been to Orton Bradley in Winter. I think Bush Farm school is really unique and there are not many other things like it. The reporters wanted to know what we did on the farm.
I knew that even though there was snow and rain we would still go because we do Bush Farm school in any weather. I think the reporters were surprised that we would go out on a cold and rainy day. We wore all our warm gear, waterproof clothes and a lot of layers.
We met Katie and then went to the woolshed where we normally set up our base. The ground was very muddy. A short while after we got there, the reporters showed up. Their names were Cosmo and Nathan. Cosmo was the reporter, and Nathan was the cameraman. We stayed at the woolshed and had some food, and then some free time. After that, we started a long walk up the hill. Cosmo asked me some questions. We talked about what I think about Bush Farm School and if I wanted to work on a farm one day. I’ve never been interviewed before. I didn’t find it scary and it was quite interesting.
We came across a giant puddle. Stella moved some leaves and sticks so that the water flowed into a creek and the kids without gumboots could get through. A short while after, we got to a field with lots of sheep. Stella showed us a converted vehicle that had a big tub on top to hold some sheep food to feed the sheep. We all watched as Stella drove the vehicle through the field, the sheep following closely behind, all trying to get a piece of the food. Afterwards, we got some food pellets and dropped them in separate places for the sheep to eat. We tried holding some pellets in our hands, but the sheep were too scared of us to come. You could see the snow on the hills even late in the day. It still hadn’t melted. When the wind came, the sheep’s wool moved around and some of the trees swayed.
Me and Dylan went on a separate path to the others to herd some sheep around to near where the group was. We had some trouble since there were only two of us and over a hundred of them, but we eventually got the sheep to where we needed them to go. My favourite part of the day was running down the hill at the end because it was slippery and it was fun to try and keep your balance. We got back and had our closing circle before walking back to the cars and going home.
Having reporters there was interesting, and it was a great extra session. I think that Cosmo and Nathan will think it’s a cool programme. I hope they had a good day and liked Bush Farm School.
Written by one of Bush Farm School students, 10-year-old. August 2020.