Our Own Backyard

I am a secondary teacher at Hawkesdale College and teach both ICT  (years 3 to 12)  and Accounting. First I would like to share my own immediate backyard before we delve further afield.

I am fortunate to live on a farm - so my personal backyard is huge, consisting of a large garden, paddocks for grazing sheep and cattle, a small acreage of cut flowers and a pen of chooks, peafowl and ducks. Our farm is close to Hawkesdale, which is so small it may not be on your roadmap. Our farm is in the rich plains of  Western Victoria noted for its reliable rainfall and fertile pastures - until this year when we were declared a drought area for the first time in white man’s history.

However, winter has brought us welcome rains. Dams are now full, the drains overflowing with water and water is lying around in a manner not seen for 10 years or so.

The students of Hawkesdale P12 College would like to share their immediate and extended backyard with the global community. Hawkesdale is in Western Victoria, Australia - small town of 100 or so residents set in a rural community,with active volunteer groups. The students who attend Hawkesdale College come from the surrounding farmlands, Penshurst, Macarthur, Koroit, Port Fairy and even Warrnambool.

Although Hawkesdale is a small town it is on a great tourist route, linking the Grampians or Gerriwerd with the Great Ocean Road. We feel that some of the smaller towns enroute have a lot to offer tourists and we hope that you will come and visit some of these areas either physically or virtually. Eventually, we would like to upload some podcasts which will describe in depth, what our area has to offer. Please join us on a journey through our backyard.