School Groups
Forest Edge gives students the opportunity to experience the beauty of nature with a sense of adventure. Whether that involves toasting marshmallows under the stars, walking one of the nature trails, or the challenge of the high ropes and other activities - we’ve got it covered.
The unique environment, only an hour and a half from Melbourne, also gives students the chance to learn about a variety of ecologies (forest/river) first-hand, and to experience life away from the distractions of the city.
For Teachers, Forest Edge takes the stress out of planning a camp, with many activities (both educational and fun) and sample programs from which to choose. And it’s often the teachers as much as the students, who go home from camp, appreciative of the time away from it all and wanting to come back.
For schools doing snow trips in the winter/spring months, combining that aspect of the curriculum into the annual camp, rather than as a separate day trip, can be both more economical and a lot less stress. Forest Edge is the perfect place to combine both.
Our school camp packages are compliant with VELS, and we have developed extensive material to assist teachers in achieving the best educational outcomes from their stay. Complete information including detailed VELS outcome material for each activity is available/downloadable from our VELS website at vels.com.au.
For group organisers, please check our School Group Organiser Resources
Frequestly Asked Questions by Orgainising Teachers
Q. What is the layout of the accommodation?
A. The Latrobe Lodges are in a ‘U’ shape, surrounding a courtyard. There are 27 rooms. Rooms 1 - 26 each have two bunks (with one lower-bunk a double in each room) and can sleep a maximum of five people. They share an ensuite between two rooms. Room 27 has five bunks (sleeps a maximum of ten people) with its own ensuite.
The McKerlie Creek Cabins consist of 7 separate cabins, each sleeping 10 people. Each cabin can be split into two rooms of 4 and 6. With Cabin 7 having 8 beds due to disabled access, the capacity of this site is 68 people.
For more information and a map of the site, please visit the ‘site layout’ section of the website.
Q. What is required of Dining Room duty groups?
A. Dining Room Duty Groups are not required to do any cooking, or wash the dishes. This is all done by Forest Edge staff. Each meal, the duty groups simply set the tables and then vacuum at the end of the meal.
Q. What activities are there on-site?
A. For a complete answer to this question, please visit the ‘Activities’ section of this website. We have a variety of activities aimed specifically at school groups, and in general have far more activities than can fit into a programmed camp. This gives group organisers a lot of flexibility in putting together their camps.
Q. How safe is the campsite?
A. The beauty of the Forest Edge campsite is the ease with which large areas can be supervised. Teachers can sit on the large decking area and supervise the Latrobe Lodges courtyard, or be supervising the trampoline and be easily accessible to students playing cricket on the oval. As always, supervision is essential, and the thing that makes a safe camp is good supervision.
Out of bounds areas are clearly sign-posted, and the campsite is designed in such a way so that boundaries for ‘free time’ can easily be made. Grounds are kept in a clean and neat state, and all activities are serviced and inspected regularly in acccordance with our accreditation.
We are committed to providing a safe environment for all guests, and always welcome any comments to help us improve the safety of the campsite.
Q. What is the catering like?
A. We aim to provide a balanced menu of healthy and nutritious food that students and teachers alike will enjoy. We also hope to give a sense of something special with our menu, whether that is a cooked breakfast one morning, or a special dessert. Meals are cooked in our commercial grade kitchen and served in our fantastic new Dining Room.
Click here for a Sample Menu (PDF File)
Q. What conference facilities/breakout rooms do you have available?
A. We know that especially on large school camps, it is beneficial to be able to break into smaller groups. The Latrobe Lodges site has two meeting/conference rooms that seat up to 90 students. In addition to this, there is the large Gym and also the Dining Room. The McKerlie Creek Cabins site has the large Pavilion as well.
Q. Do you provide trasport options?
A. As most school groups have their own preferred bus lines, we do not include transport as part of the camp. However, we can provide you with contact details for buslines that operate in the area.
Q. What are the playing fields like?
A. The large oval and adjacent playing fields provide a large level playing area for all types of games and activities.
Q. Do you have any sample programs?
A. Yes! You can find a sample of a school camp program here.
If you would like more information on adding the Forest Edge experience to your curriculum, please contact us.
