This booklet is divided into two main sections:

An overview of the course - this includes each key knowledge dot point and some notes that may be useful in your review of the dot point.
Important note- this is not supposed to be a comprehensive guide to the study, but just some useful starting ideas.

A guide to the exam and some hints for maximising your exam results.
You can access a lot of useful information about the study at the VCAA website http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/outdoor/outdoorindex.html
This site includes:

The complete Outdoor and Environmental Studies study design

Links to past exam papers

Links to the assessment reports for past exams W these include suggested answers to exam questions, general tips related to the exams, and statistics about answers

The following key skills should be considered when studying for the OES exam.
Unit 3
Outcome 1
• describe the characteristics of the Australian environment before humans
• describe and analyse the changing relationships with Australian outdoor environments expressed by specific
Indigenous communities
• describe and analyse the changing relationships with Australian outdoor environments influenced by historical events and associated key social and cultural issues
• evaluate the role of a specific environmental movement in changing relationships with outdoor environments
• evaluate changing relationships in relation to a particular outdoor environment visited
• plan for and reflect upon a range of practical sustainable outdoor experiences and analyse relevant information collected during these experiences
Outcome 2
• compare and contrast different contemporary societal relationships with outdoor environments
• analyse and evaluate factors influencing contemporary societal relationships with outdoor environments
• analyse contemporary social and political discourses about environmental issues
• plan for and reflect upon a range of practical sustainable outdoor experiences and analyse relevant information collected during these experiences
Unit 4
Outcome 1
• identify definitions of sustainability and analyse the concept of sustainable development
• describe a range of different indicators that can be used to identify healthy outdoor environments
• evaluate the contemporary state of Australian outdoor environments
• collect and interpret data on the contemporary state of a particular outdoor environment
• analyse the importance of healthy outdoor environments for individuals and society
• identify and predict the potential impact of significant threats on society and outdoor environments.
• plan for and reflect upon a range of practical sustainable outdoor experiences and analyse relevant information collected during these experiences
Outcome 2
• explain the actions undertaken by individuals and groups with respect to conflicts over the use of outdoor environments
• analyse methods used by individuals and groups to influence decisions about the use of outdoor environments
• evaluate decision-making processes relating to conflicting interests over the use of outdoor environments
• analyse specific management strategies and policies for maintaining outdoor environments
• describe specific legislation and agreements related to managing and sustaining outdoor environments
• analyse specific actions undertaken to sustain healthy outdoor environments.
• plan for and reflect upon a range of practical sustainable outdoor experiences and analyse relevant information collected during these experiences

Before European colonization
Perceptions
The creators of the land are their ancestors and they live in the features of the land
Practices and Interactions
Nomadism / semi-nomadism
Impacts
Generally very low – middens, rock art, scarred trees, stone carving and grinding sites are often all that remain the land
– there’s no sense of having arrived from somewhere else zones / Sanctuary areas extinction of some of the megafauna possible impacts on some marsupials changed forest environments
Overall Relationship:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
After European colonisation
Perceptions
Remained the same as before
European colonisation
Practices and Interactions Impacts

Overall Relationship:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Things to do/know for the exam:

Know about indigenous relationships relevant to places you’ve visited or are familiar with

Perceptions, Interactions, Impacts and the overall relationship
• Know how the relationships have changed over time and how that affected places you’ve visited or are familiar with
o
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The first non-Indigenous settlers’ experiences (Early settlers)
Britain decided to use its new outpost as a penal colony; the First Fleet of 11 ships carried about 1500 people—half of them convict’s. The fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1788, and it is on this day every year that Australia Day is celebrated.
In all, about 160 000 men and women were brought to Australia as convicts from 1788 until penal transportation ended in 1868. The convicts were joined by free immigrants from the early 1790s.
Scarcity of labour, the vastness of the land and new wealth based on farming, mining and trade made
Australia a land of opportunity. Yet during this period, Indigenous Australians suffered enormously. Death, illness, displacement and dispossession disrupted traditional lifestyles and practices.
Perceptions Practices and Interactions Impacts distant and different place – seasons, weather, local inhabitants, light bringing most things with you – settlers struggled to live off the land as the Aboriginal people did
– due to numbers
– but began an approach to treating the land that would create larger effects as the population grew opportunity – to start fresh, make a fortune, build a family, get away from struggle in other places
– Terra
Nullius. (Discuss some of the controversy over this term.) cities – mostly near the coast.
Why? treasure and adventure heavy undergrowth and construction
Animals for farming, hunting and companionship; plants for farming and homesickness
Overall Relationship:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Increasing population (Goldrush) / Industrialisation (late 1800s and early 1900s)
Gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851. Prospectors from America, Europe, and Asia arrived in the gold fields in large numbers. Between 1851 and 1860, the population of Victoria grew from 77 000 to about 540 000.
The land was devastated by gold mining practices. Areas we cleared, earth excavated, roads built. Many of the miners lived in temporary shelters on the fields or in crowded conditions in the towns.
Land was clears for housing, grazing, cropping and mining without any restrictions.
Almost as quickly as it started, the gold rush ended. Many diggers went home or turned to farming. The rapid economic expansion which followed the gold rushes produced a period of prosperity which lasted forty years, culminating in the great Land Boom of the 1880s. Export of wool and meat were of exceptional value to the economy. Dairy and beef cattle industry thrived following the introduction of refrigeration to transport systems and more land was utilized for grazing.
A Nation is born
The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 through the federation of six states under a single constitution. From 1900 to 1914 great progress was made in developing Australia’s agricultural and manufacturing capacities.
Perceptions Practices and Interactions Impacts opportunity to make a fortune amongst many – particularly in the cities and towns but at a larger scale – mining, forestry, farming, grazing development of regional towns and centres impacts – rising salinity levels, erosion and runoff industrialisation – pollution, unrestrained use of resources growing with the rise of nationalism – this helped with early formation of preservation societies infrastructure – roads and railways ated ongoing introduction of exotic species industries – farming, mining, forestry
Overall Relationship:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Nation Building Projects (20th century post world war 2) eg. Snowy Mountains Scheme, Great Ocean Road construction, irrigation channels,
Post-war prosperity
After the war Australia entered a boom period. Millions of refugees and migrants arrived in Australia, many of them young people happy to embrace their new lives with energy and vigour. The number of Australians employed in the manufacturing industry had grown steadily since the beginning of the century. Many women who had taken over factory work while men were away at war were able to continue working in peacetime.
The economy developed strongly in the 1950s with major nation-building projects such as the Snowy
Mountains Scheme, a hydro-electric power scheme located in Australia’s southern alps.

Perceptions Practices and Interactions Impacts here – as we get closer to our own period the perceptions get more and more like our own …
Federation – large scale developments resource by some to use for profit introduced crops including cotton and rice to protect by some which to build a nation dustbowl through some parts of southern Australia major problem
Parks continues
– including bushwalking and skiing decreases with excessive use of water and change in flows continues to grow, especially around cities projects include building of Great
Ocean Road (WW1) and Snowy
Hydro Scheme (WW2) agriculture continue to grow
– with ski resorts, growth in beach communities, construction of international airports and protected areas increase eaten biodiversity and agriculture – go through some examples of these and some of the responses to them (cane toads, crown of thorns starfish, rabbits, etc.)s most of population residing in major centres
Overall Relationship:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Things to do/know for the exam:
 Know about a variety of non-indigenous relationships relevant to places you’ve visited or are familiar with

Perceptions, Interactions, Impacts and the overall relationship
• Know how the relationships have changed over time and how that affected places you’ve visited or are familiar with
EXAMPLE.
First non-
Indigenous
Settlers
Perceptions Interactions
Taming the land Land clearing for farming
Impacts
Negative – reduction in biodiversity
Overall Relationship
Weak – poor understanding of the land
Increasing
Population
Endless resource Mining Negative – widespread erosion
Damaging – no concern for the environment
Industrialisation
Nation Building
Wealth creation use of large scale irrigation techniques
Desire to create a prosperous society
Building great ocean road
Negative – increase in soil salinity
Positive – opened the area to new visitors
Disconnected – land owners not necessarily living on the land
Strong – helping people build new connections with outdoor environments

Foundation Aims Achievements
Some changing relationships with outdoor environments as a result of environmental movements:

Greater awareness of need to protect, and the importance of, natural environments
 Rise of tourism and adventure tourism to remote areas
 Mainstreaming of environmental issues in society and in politics
The influence of environmental movements on contemporary recreational relationships can be seen in typical minimal impact strategies that are encouraged when engaging in outdoor pursuits:
• Plan ahead and prepare
• Travel and camp on durable surfaces
• Dispose of waste properly
• Leave what you find
• Minimise campfire impacts
• Respect wildlife
• Be considerate of your hosts and other visitors
Things to do/know for the exam:

Know about the foundation, aims and achievements of a particular environmental movement

Be able to explain how this movement has influenced and affected people’s relationships with outdoor environments (consider contemporary relationships such as recreational, commercial, conservation, and primary
industry)
Note: The wilderness society can be looked at again in unit 4 when discussing conflicts of interest (Franklin River)

Examples of types of interactions
Conservation relationships o Park rangers o Revegetation o Erosion control o Weed and pest control o Habitat restoration o Track development and maintenance o Clean-up programs o Wildlife sanctuaries o o o o o o Ecotourism
Active recreation relationships o relationships o Strolling o Sight seeing o Bird watching o Artists and photographers work
Primary Industry relationships o Mining o Agriculture o Forestry o Fishing o Energy generation o Dams
Commercial relationships o Tourist resorts o Recreational company/ operators o Educational company/ operators
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Be able to describe how the different factors influence contemporary relationships.
• Be able to describe the different types of relationships you have had with outdoor environments
(eg. Recreation – rock climbing)
• Be able to describe the different types of relationships that occur in the outdoor environments you have visited
(eg. Recreation – camping, bushwalking, Conservation – park rangers)
• How have the different factors influenced your relationship with specific outdoor environments?

o
The paradox is that each new layer of invention and innovation simultaneously enhances and separates us from
the outdoor experience. (Bartle 2000)
A mediator usually acts as a link between two different things, so in the case of technology mediating human relationships with nature

Human being - mediator - nature
Technology acts as a link or intermediary between humans and nature when we:
 wear clothes
 use equipment (technological artifacts)
 modify (technology as a process)
Examples of technological change over time:
In surfing, technological change over time includes:
In camping, technological change over time includes:
In rock climbing, technological change over time includes: construction of boards, from various woods, to foam and fibreglass, to plastic of tents, tent poles and pegs gear, including fuel stoves climbing shoes and footwear curvature of boards placement of fins attachment on boards and sleeping mats pment of packs and walking poles materials of shoes and footwear harnesses
– like carabiners, belay plates, and camping devices e of helmets and other safety equipment breaks offsite supplements from compasses to
GPS units and other devices to extend climbs analysis and surf break prediction wax and deck grips waterproof and water resistant fabrics climbing environments indoors
Something to think about: How does the use of protective gear change our relationship with outdoor environments?
 Why do we wear/use helmets, ropes and other gear?
 There’s the risk of activities of course but there’s also the perception of risk in the community

How many people wear helmets while driving a car? Why don t we?

The effects of different technologies can be linkd to Unit 1 AOS 2 KK3: The factors that affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences, including socioeconomic status, cultural background, age, gender and physical ability
The development of mass transportation systems, construction of roads, refining of fossil fuels, and increases in standards of living have all served to make it easier for people to get around. As our towns and cities have grown, separating us from the natural world, so our ability to access remote and distant places has increased. Schools have taken advantage of this to enable students to make off-campus visits to other facilities and other places, including remote natural environments.
In recent times, this change in access to the outdoors has specialised, with the development of things like ski lifts and jet skis to target specific environments and specific activities.
One issue that arises with the increasing ease of access to environments is the notion of the right of people to do so. Does such a right exist? Should all people be able to go to any place, at any time?
Climbing Ayers Rock/Uluru has long been a challenge sought out by visitors to Central Australia. The indigenous
Anangu people have for some time asked tourists to avoid climbing the rock out of respect for the spiritual significance of the area. Should we be able to climb a rock like this if we want to? Or should the requests of the indigenous people be respected?
If the rock were on private land I suspect the response to such questions would be quite different. Should we be able to climb such a rock? Not unless you have the permission of the land owner would probably be a common response. So does the nature of land ownership change how we view such situations?
During a bushwalk on Hinchinbrook Island Warren McDonald became trapped by a large rock and after being rescued had both legs amputated. He went on to become an accomplished climber and mountaineer.
Prior to his accident he worked throughout the Tasmanian wilderness and campaigned to protect the region from development. When he was able bodied he’d assumed that there were some remote areas that some people - whether old or young or disabled - just were not going to be able to visit. Disabled people would have to live with seeing such places vicariously through others in images and stories. After having become disabled himself, he realised that it could be argued that he had as much right as anyone else to visit remote places.
Should we cut roads into remote environments, and build facilities for all people - young, old, able bodied and disabled - in order that they be able to experience those places? Or do we have to accept that some places just can’t be accessed by some people? And who is it who decides which places should be easily or more easily) accessible and which places should be left hard to get to?
Virtual interactions with nature?

Indoor climbing gyms

Artificial surfing reefs
 
Indoor skiing centres
 Indoor wave pools  Artificial diving areas
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe how technology has affected your experiences in outdoor environments

o
Commercialisation is the process of bringing a product into the market - that is, selling a product. In the case of Outdoor and Environmental Studies the product is the outdoors or an outdoor experience.
How does this selling of experiences shape or change our relationships with natural places? Here are some examples of possible effects on relationships with nature:

People get to see places they wouldn’t have otherwise - this may lead to a greater appreciation of the natural world (although they might also develop a greater appreciation by visiting their local park a lot!)
 A two-tier or even three-tier system of interactions may develop W those that can afford to go to extreme/remote/high-end places, while those who can’t go somewhere else and do something else and others maybe can’t visit any of these sorts of places at all

The environment is seen as a commodity that can be bought and sold W even in the cases of people who are doing the right thing like using local resources and disposing of waste and so on, they do this because there’s a market for it

People don t have to work very hard W physically and mentally W to achieve things that in the past might have taken significant effort. This changes the nature of the experience, perhaps making it less meaningful.
Outdoor gear provides an example of the commercialisation of the outdoor experience. In many places outdoor gear has become the new hip clothing to be seen in and it is marketed in this way. In much the same way that 4wd cars are now marketed to people who may never take them off-road, outdoor gear is marketed to people who may never use them in their originally intended outdoor settings - particularly shoes and clothing.

Examples of brand name outdoor gear – Macpac OR, North Face, Eider, Mont, Black Diamond, Patagonia, Paddy
Palin, Mountain Designs, Katmandu, and so on.

Be able to describe some examples of commercialisation of outdoor environments and/or outdoor experiences

Be able to describe how commercialisation of the outdoors changes or has changed contemporary relationships with outdoor environments

o
Ways of portraying views

The following are associated with notions of worth-ship where environments are objectified and conceived as being of instrumental value:
– As a resource for meeting human needs. This informs much human activity in and with environments W and springs from both human survival needs (what we need to live), and from human desires for improvement and advancement (what we want to make money, develop power, or whatever)
– As an adversary - something to beat as a challenge for recreation or as threat to safety and life.
– As a gymnasium - a place to participate in physical activity. This essentially makes nature a venue for human activity, and the provider of physical and psychological challenges in human recreational activities.

The following are associated with notions of worship where environments are objectified and conceived as being of intrinsic value:
– As a cathedral - a place of beauty and peace to appreciate and connect with nature. This portrays nature from a religious viewpoint, although it might be more accurate to see this as a spiritual view of nature. It springs from a combination of: the growing indigenous rights and awareness movements around the world; the growing counter culture and alternative social movements (with their roots in the 1960s); and the growing search, especially amongst young people, for spiritual and psychological meaning in their lives.
– As a museum -a place of history to understand past and future human - nature relationships. This views nature as something separate from humans, but not in a pure resource or gym-venue form. Instead nature is to be studied, researched and preserved -much as the objects in a museum are.

Another possible way of portraying nature is through notions of kinship where the environments are subjectively identified with self. This image is consistent with deep ecology and indigenous perspectives.
Things to do/know for the exam:
Be able to describe different portrayals of outdoor environments

How do we see these different portrayals?

How could they affect contemporary relationships with outdoor environments?

o
Case study of risk - Tim Holding lost on Feathertop in August 2009. Issues/implications included: different people these
A generic case study of an incident
1.
An incident occurs
2.
Media reports incident - perhaps sensationalising, over-emphasising or de-emphasising particular aspects
3.
Public responds through newspaper editorials, web postings and radio talkback
4.
Incident is investigated. If a death is involved the investigation will usually be by the Coroner. The coroner interview people involved and experts, presents a report, and makes some recommendations. Recommendations may include technology and safety issues, rules and regulations, certification and accreditation, infrastructure issues.
5.
Government enacts new or modified legislation to incorporate the coroner s findings and recommendations.
Societal responses to risk include: incidents investigations, court action and legislation
– fences, roads, signs equipment participants
Examples of the impacts of some of these responses to natural environments ...

Increased safety might encourage more people to participate and increase negative pressure on environments, or increase positive appreciation of environments.

Legal responses and restrictions may reduce the number of participants and benefit environments that are left alone

Idolisation of adventurers may encourage unprepared people to enter environments and lead to negative effects
(like erosion, clearing, damage to native vegetation, pollution, etc.)

Fear arising from negative portrayals of environments may lead to negative views and a reduction in care for such places
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe different social responses to risk AND how they influence various contemporary relationships with outdoor environments

Evaluate the effectiveness AND some of the impacts of these responses

Environmental sustainability: The creation of conditions where humans and nature can exist in productive harmony and the social, economic and environmental requirements of present and future generations can be maintained.
Sustainable development is about finding ways of using the environment’s resources that meets our needs, but still allows them to flourish and continue to be used in the future.

What do we judge the health of an environment against? We probably need some sort of measure or comparison to be able to say whether a particular place is healthy or not.

Themes commonly found in State of the Environment reports (with some possible indicators):
Built Environments o Population levels
Inland waters o Water consumption o Urbanisation
Atmosphere o Air quality o Rainfall levels
Biodiversity o
Coasts o Pollution o Levels of coastal development o Water quality o Salinity measures o Excess nutrients o Levels of soil erosion
Land o Native vegetation cover o Soil salinity and acidity o Soil loss
Natural and cultural heritage
Marine Environments o Levels of farming and fishing

–


INDICATORS: Possible ways of determining the health of a visited environment.

Key phases to consider when discussing what an indicator tests: The Quality of, Quantity of, Level of

Water quality - would you / did you drink the water untreated?

Levels of soil erosion - we might be able to observe this

Excess nutrients - may be obvious if we can see algae forming on surface water

Native vegetation cover - we can observe this and also easily check maps from different time periods

Air quality - a simple observation (including for smells) might indicate how clean the air is

Rainfall levels - we can judge from weather records
 Population levels - we can monitor through ABS statistics
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe the state of a particular environment (or environments) you have visited or are familiar
with (How do you know the state of this place? – be able to break it down using the different themes.)

 Know a little bit about the general state of Australian environments
o What’s good and what’s bad? (Is it sustainable?)

What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of living things found in a natural environment. Biodiversity includes:

Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the variety of genes within a species. Each species is made up of individuals that have their own particular genetic composition. This means a species may have different populations, each having different genetic compositions. To conserve genetic diversity, different populations of a species must be conserved.
Genetic diversity is difficult for us to measure. In humans, we can see genetic diversity when we see the physical differences between individuals, but for plants and animals this is hard to determine simply by looking. A simple way of assessing the genetic diversity of a species is to look at how isolated individuals of a species are from other individuals - genetic diversity will tend to be higher in populations that are large and less isolated.
 Species diversity
Species diversity is the variety of species within a habitat or a region. Some habitats, such as rainforests and coral reefs, have many species. Others, such as salt flats or a polluted stream, have fewer. In Australia, more than 80% of plant and animal species are endemic, which means that they only occur naturally in Australia.
We can measure species diversity by literally counting species - both the numbers of different species in an environment, and the numbers of individuals of each species. For Outdoor and Environmental Studies, we can observe the variety of plants, and look at key animal indicators - birds, animal tracks, scats, possible habitats, and so on.


Ecosystem diversity
Ecosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems and ecological processes found in a given place. An ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together. An ecosystem can cover a large area, such as a whole forest, or a small area, such as a pond.
Ecosystem diversity is also difficult to easily measure - it often depends on large areas. Typically, large wilderness areas will be higher in ecosystem diversity.
Why is biodiversity important?
Biodiversity provides ecosystem services. These include:


Provisioning services - eg. food, timber, medicinal plants, etc.
Regulating services - eg. filtering of air and water, storage of carbon, removal of pollutants, protection from disasters, control of local climate systems, etc.

Cultural services - eg. spiritual and aesthetic values

Supporting services - eg. Formation of soils
Threats to biodiversity include:
 Habitat loss and destruction

Alterations in ecosystem composition

Invasive alien species

Over exploitation

Pollution and contamination

Global climate change

Maintaining Biodiversity
The maintenance of biodiversity is essential to ensure the sustainability of human societies. Paul Ehrlich argues that there are four reasons for maintaining biodiversity:

Moral - Compassion demands the preservation of all species where other species (non-human) have a right to exist.

Aesthetic - Species reduction reduces the richness of a human experience. The experience could be because of the species beauty, symbolic value or intrinsic interest.

Economic (or utilitarian) - Plants, animals and micro-organisms are essential sources of food, medicines and renewable resources. Many species in the future may be found to have new values, particularly in regard to biological resources.

Ecological - Other species provide the life support systems of our planet, maintain the atmosphere, influence the climate, generate and recycle essential nutrients within the topsoil, dispose wastes, control pests and diseases, pollinate crops and provide a genetic store from which we may benefit in the future.
Things to do/know for the exam:

Know a little bit about each of the aspects of biodiversity - genetic, species, and ecosystem - and how you could link these too places you’ve visited or are familiar with

Be able to explain understanding of the importance of biodiversity to outdoor environments
Aesthetic values: Natural environments are important places for inspiration and stimulating creativity.
Recreation and adventure values: Natural environments are important places for people to relax, exercise and to pursue physical and mental challenges away from the pressures of the human settlements. They are also places for solitude and non-destructive adventures (such as whitewater rafting, canoeing or trekking).
Educational values: Natural environments are places where learning happens. People want and need to learn about nature to understand the world and how it works from scientific historical geographic and cultural perspectives. This can happen through schools and other educational groups visiting an area, but learning can also occur through people visiting an area either directly (for example as tourists) or indirectly (for example through watching documentaries). The popularity of nature programs on television and of (eco) tourism in world heritage areas and national parks indicates the high educational value of natural environments.
Maintaining the stability of the environment (including biodiversity): It is important to preserve natural environments to ensure that interrelationships between species (such as food webs) and biodiversity are is important for animals, including humans.
Social values: Indigenous people around the world rely on the natural environment for their spiritual, mental and physical well-being. preserved. It is also important to maintain natural environments because they are essential components in the water cycle and the carbon cycle. For example, forested slopes are important in water catchment areas, and vegetation cover generally prevents soil erosion. Plants also consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen which

Economic values: Natural environments have economic values as resources which provide for human needs.
They are exploited for their timber, plants and animals, rocks and minerals, and for their pharmaceutical and other medicinal potentialities (e.g. eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil and kelp). They are also the source for clean water for urban areas (i.e. as water catchments), for electricity generation (hydro or tidal), and for tourism (including ecotourism).
Possible future food sources: Natural environments are the original source of all human foods. As some foods become scarce the environment is further explored for alternatives (e.g. deep sea fishing has developed as other fish supplies have become exhausted).
Scientific research values: We still do not know everything about every species. Indeed new species, and interrelationships between species are being discovered all the time The gene pool of natural environments is an important resource in addressing diseases (both plant and animal). We need natural environments for comparison with similar but disturbed environments to monitor the extent of the impact of the disturbances
(e.g. pollution in streams, soil erosion, species migration or extinction, salinity). Scientific research in natural environments can also have economic value through the discovery of new food sources or pharmaceuticals in natural environments.
Intrinsic values: Natural environments have a right to exist without having to be seen as a resource for humans.
Many people are happy to know that wilderness areas and other natural environments exist without ever visiting them because they recognise their importance for the plants and animals that are part of those natural environments.
Also, see power point on student share for more details on the importance of healthy outdoor environments;
For Recreation and Adventure
For Inspiration and Creativity
For Education and Learning
For Scientific Studies and Values
For Prevention of Greenhouse Gases and Pollution
For Economic Value (Eco-Tourism)
For use as a resource
For providing a location for therapy
Things to do/know for the exam:
• Be able to explain why healthy environments are important for individual physical AND emotional wellbeing

Be able to explain why healthy environments are important for future societies
: The term ‘degradation’ is used to describe changes that are additional to those occurring naturally and carries with it the notion of change that is undesirable and brought about by humans.
Land degradation then refers to changes in land (chemical and biophysical) that reduce both its quantity and quality.
Effects of land degradation:

• In degraded land, where ecosystems have been changed, the altered ecosystems continue to function but have a reduced capacity to supply the goods and services we are seeking, for example, food, habitat for threatened species and landscape attractiveness (eco-tourism).
• Land degradation in Australia has also resulted in extensively degraded waterways and estuaries, the need to treat most of our drinking water and the continuing decline in Australia’s biodiversity.
• Land degradation is an issue because productive land is one of several resources where a reducing supply threatens human’s capacity to feed a growing world population.
• In Australia, about two thirds of agricultural land is degraded. The major types of land degradation are soil erosion, soil Salinity, soil acidity and soil contamination.
Sustainable Landscapes:
• The need to slow and repair land degradation is now built into Australian legislation, secondary and tertiary education, rural production systems and community programs.
– These are guided by an appreciation of landscape vulnerability to change as we now understand that some land is less tolerant to agricultural practices because of slope, soil characteristics and rainfall.
• The important characteristic of land is its resilience – a capacity to absorb change and return to a pre-altered state following change.
• These understandings are complemented by a greater appreciation of managing land to achieve multiple objectives that include productivity gains without impairing rural environments, treating soils as a nonrenewable resource, minimising off-site impacts and using land in ways that do not reduce options for future generations.
: Urbanisation is the manipulation of natural environments to accommodate human society. This can be seen on a variety of levels, from minimal impact in National Parks, to high impact in cities.
Effects of Urbanisation:
• Ever-expanding populations have brought with them a range of problems for both the physical and built environments.
• The natural environment suffers as more space is required for the construction of houses and the development of industry.
• Urbanisation causes ecosystems to be disrupted and habitats destroyed, leading to a reduction in the biodiversity.
• The problems of pollution and sewage disposal are also made worse by increases in population size in cities.
• Larger cities demand more energy and place more strain on our already scarce natural resources, such as water and energy.
• Urbanisation correlates with larger populations, which need to be supported by more sophisticated infrastructure, which in turn demands more electricity. This is a problem in Australia as we are currently dependent upon using non-renewable fossil fuels, namely coal, oil and natural gas, for almost all of our energy
needs.
Sustainable Urbanisation:
Sustainable urbanisation is not about shutting society off from natural environments, but finding ways to minimise the impacts that are being caused.
• Urban renewal is the process of redeveloping urban areas that have fallen into decline. By investing in this process there is a reduction in urban sprawl and less new environments are taken over.
• Development of water saving initiatives and strategies to minimise the strain on natural water systems.
• Investment in green energy will reduce pressure on natural resources and environments currently being used to harvest and produce energy.
• Minimal impact practices whilst in natural environments.
Climate change refers to the variation in the climate occurring through natural processes and human activity.

Climate change is currently a threat to ecosystems around the world because global warming (increased temperatures) caused by humans activity does not allow for biotic components to adapt, leading to lower biodiversity and devastated environments.
Effects of climate change:
• Increased sea level due to the increased temperature melting ice caps.
• Habitat destruction and decreased biodiversity in ecosystems that cannot adapt to the temperature increases fast enough.
• Potential breakdown of global food web leading to reduction of variety foods for humans.
• Inconsistent and extreme weather systems become more frequent causing damage to natural ecosystems, urban environments, eco-tourism, agriculture, etc.
Damage to environments: Climate Change - Global warming case study.
Likely and possible impacts on society might include:
 More extreme weather events - drought, flood, cyclone, storm

Increased evaporation leading to higher rainfall and erosion



Desertification
Retreat of glaciers and effect on water supplies
Sea level rise leading to inundation and forced
 Ocean acidification
 Loss of sea ice
 Increased fire risk

Increased risk of disease

Effects on biodiversity and ecosystems

Effects on infrastructure - homes, roads

Economic impacts of all of the above migration
Sustainability and Climate Change:
There are a number of initiatives currently being developed to reduce human impact on climate change.
• The Carbon Tax is a government initiative to encourage people and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and consider cleaner energy options.
• Car-pooling is aimed at reducing the amount of exhaust pollution by maximising the space in each car and reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
• Investment in green energy will lead to cleaner energy options and reduce the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect.
• Minimal impact strategies which will reduce our carbon footprint. Eg. Using fewer natural resources (eg. Reuse, recycle), wasting less food, increased efficiency of modern technology requiring less power.
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe impacts of damage to environments, including extrapolating to possible future impacts

Conflicts of interest are about how we use and interact with environments. They are often (but not always) about conservation versus development. They may have many viewpoints (or sides) as opposed to just two.
Franklin River Campaign - basics
Interest groups: Decision makers:
Who was involved
Tasmanian Hydro- Electricity Commission (HEC)
Supported by State Government
Tasmanian Wilderness Society (TWS)
Supported by the Australian
Conservation Foundation (ACF)
Politicians
State Government
Federal Government
World Heritage Committee (consultative group)
High Court (court system)
What happened
There was a dispute over the use of the Franklin River environment. One interest group, the HEC wanted to construct a dam on the Gordon River which would flood the Franklin River, destroying the natural environment but bringing financial prosperity to the state. The other interest group, the TWS, with members coming off a similar and losing battle to save Lake Pedder, wanted to preserve the natural environment and argued there was too much environmental value to build a dam and flood the area.
For months the TWS (supported by theACF) used a variety of different methods to influence
What was the outcome decision makers to stop construction of the dam. After a number of decision making processes occurred a final decision was made which would end the conflict. On July 1 st 1983 the High Court of Australia ruled that the Commonwealth Government (who thanks to political lobbying by the
TWS was against the dam) had the power to stop the dam.
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe AT LEAST ONE conflict over the use of an environment o What happened? o Who was involved? o What was the outcome?


Know about interest groups involved in this conflict including AT LEAST ONE environmental interest group
(Franklin River Conflict – Tasmanian Wilderness Society [link prior knowledge from U3O1KK4])

There are many and varied methods which can be used effectively to influence decision making processes about outdoor environments. The effectiveness often depends on the decision making process being applied to the particular conflict.
Methods are used to raise community awareness and support, and to apply direct pressure to decision makers.
Strategy
Protesting
Letter writing
Petitions
Advertising
Lobbying of Decision-makers
Use of Prominent People
Effectiveness
Can be effective as it can show the level of support a group has for their position within a conflict, and if a high level of support is shown this places pressure on decision-makers. Protesting is also effective means to gain media attention and to make others in the community aware of the issue. Can also get people in community off-side if protest causes disruption.
Is effective if a large volume of letters is received, but if only a small number of letters are written these can be easily ignored by decision-makers.
Have some role in making members in the community aware of the conflict/issue, but generally it is easy to get someone to sign a petition and so these carry limited weight with decision-makers, unless the number of signatures is extremely large.
This is an effective means of communicating to others in the community about the issue, but because of the cost, is often only available to large community-based interest groups, or commercial-based interest groups. Probably has little direct effect on decision-makers. But may get more people involved which could then pressure decision-makers.
This is an effective strategy as it allows the interest group to directly put its case and all its arguments to those who are to make decisions, and to avoid confusion in regard their position on the issue.
This can be effective as it gains attention to one side of the issue, and also provides credibility to this position in the conflict.
Letters to newspapers This has limited impact on decision-makers but again acts as a way of informing more in the community about the issue.
****See OES text book for information on advantages and disadvantages of methods. Pages 239-240****
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe different methods used in environmental campaigns - including those used by both sides of a conflict

Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of some of these methods
o Which ones work better than others? Why?

Processes for making decisions might include:
Process
Forming a consultative group
Creation of Laws
Use of the Court System
Referenda / Elections
Effectiveness
A consultative group can be formed with representatives from all interest groups and also individuals with specialised knowledge of the issue.
This can be effective as it provides the opportunity for all views to be heard, accurate information to be gathered, and it promotes the possibility for compromise between groups, creating a “win, win” situation. This process may also take significant periods of time, may be expensive, and may result in no agreement being found.
Laws may be created to allow something to take place or to prevent something from occurring. The advantage of this process is that it provides a quick and clear decision, but often results in one interest group gaining what they want and the others still being opposed to the decision made. A win/lose situation
This process is used when laws exist related to the conflict and need some clarification or interpretation.
Again at the end of this process a clear decision is made, but the process can be long and very costly, and also produces a win/lose situation. Even after a decision is made by the court a government could also change the law in order to overturn that decision, continuing to create uncertainty.
This process is generally used for larger scale decision making – or more usually, conflicts can become part of a larger process. For example, a political party may use a conflict as a part of their political campaign, to help gain the votes of a particular group of voters.
Clear decisions can be made, but the decision making process is often at the mercy of the political process and compromises and back downs can occur. This process would not generally be suitable for small, local conflicts.

Community Consultation with the Victorian Environment Assessment Council - http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/
An example
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe some decision making processes appropriate to the conflicts you have studied.

Be able to evaluate the likely effectiveness of these processes

What do park rangers do?

Build and maintain good working relationships with farmers and landholders, tourism providers and local communities

Maintain and modify tracks and signs

Carry out surveys of heavily visited sites and damaged areas

Provide guided walks and events, give talks and educational activities for schools and the public

Respond to requests for information and advice from students, visitors, the media and tourism industry

Assist emergency services with local knowledge and expertise

Provide training for volunteers and new staff

Respond to out of hours calls to assist the public
Management plans - http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1process.cfm?publication=7
Land management approaches can include some of the following:

Creating and maintaining conservation reserves, such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries

Developing wildlife corridors between pockets of remnant vegetation

Translocation or reintroduction of species into areas where they used to occur

Ecotourism

Contemporary indigenous land management
Some general management practices may include:
 regulate behaviour and restrict access, duration, equipment
 modify the setting of area

 concentrate use, disperse use modify management practice and presence: install signage, raise staff profile, increase protected areas, stop land clearing and grazing in marginal and sensitive lands, control introduced species, control impact of genetically modified organisms, manage fire regimes, manage industrial pollution, monitor climate change.
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy-2010-30/index.html
• Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030 is a guiding framework for conserving our nation's biodiversity over the coming decades.
• The vision of this Strategy is that Australia's biodiversity is healthy and resilient to threats, and valued both in its own right and for its essential contribution to our existence.
Proposed decision making rules to assist in biodiversity conservation from Australia s Biodiversity
Conservation Strategy 2010 - 2030):
Triage: Attention is directed to problem cases where investment is most likely to be successful. These may not necessarily be the cases that are most threatened. It does not imply that the species or ecological communities which do not receive investment or the same level of investment are less important, just that they have been judged to be less responsive to intervention.

Threatened species and ecological communities: A legislatively enshrined system directs resources to the most threatened species and ecological communities those that are most likely to disappear in the absence of immediate help.
Biodiversity hotspots: Recognition and priority management is directed to areas that are rich in biodiversity and may include a concentration of endemic species this may overlap with Rdistinctive species
Distinctive specie:s We look after species that are in evolutionary terms most distinctive, that is with the greatest genetic differences from other species
Human-centric species: Species humans have an affinity for or can make some use of.
Representation: Healthy examples of all Australian environments and the biota they support are maintained through a comprehensive, adequate and representative National Reserve System. Not all identified occurrences of important biodiversity can be placed in reserves, and substantial occurrences of highly valued biodiversity occur on private land. Governments are creating incentives to make it attractive to land managers to deliberately manage for biodiversity and maintain these values through mechanisms such as stewardship and covenant schemes.
Site irreplaceability (a measure of uniqueness): An approach that focuses only on species diversity may mean that the species, ecological communities, habitats or ecosystems that occur only in areas that do not support high biodiversity may not be adequately conserved, so a consideration of irreplaceability may be required (e.g. the arid zone of Australia has low diversity but high importance). Also required is consideration of how vulnerable these sites are, or may become, to determine whether immediate action is required.
High-quality sites: Selecting and maintaining healthy, intact and resilient systems, and managing threats so that they stay within limits that systems can tolerate, can be a cost-effective way to maintain biodiversity.
Ecosystem services approaches: Such approaches would seek to integrate the ecological, social and economic dimensions of natural resource management, as well as to conserve biodiversity. They would identify and classify the ways people value biodiversity and the benefits people derive from biodiversity; describe and communicate those benefits in ways people can understand; and deal with crucial aspects of managing biodiversity so that it continues to deliver its ecosystem services.
International importance: Recognition and prioritised management is directed to internationally important areas or species such as Ramsar wetlands, World Heritage national parks, international biodiversity hotspots and migratory species.

Trust for Nature is a not-for-profit organisation that works to protect native plants and wildlife in cooperation with private landowners.
▫ Victoria’s native plants and wildlife provide us with not only important services, such as clean water and resources, but they are important in and of themselves. However, as two-thirds of
Victoria is privately owned, many of these species and their habitats are not currently getting the
necessary protection.
• The Trust was established under the Victorian Conservation Trust Act 1972 to enable people to contribute permanently to nature conservation by donating land or money.
▫ They have since evolved into one of Victoria’s primary land conservation organisations, with several tools to help people protect biodiversity on private land.
• In 1978, Trust for Nature developed conservation covenants as a way to protect native plants and wildlife on private land, and have now protected more than 47,000 hectares through over 1,115 perpetual conservation covenants. The Trust has also purchased and preserved more than 55 properties across
Victoria through its Revolving Fund, as well as currently owning and managing 46 properties that cover over 36,000 hectares of Victoria.
▫ Information about current conservation projects can be found in their Bulletin which can be accessed via their website http://www.trustfornature.org.au/
Things to do/know for the exam:

Be able to describe and evaluate management strategies and practices that you’ve seen used in environments you’ve visited
o What are they?
o How are they used?
o Are they effective or not?
• Be able to describe and evaluate at least one of the following management strategies:
– Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2030 (Australia)
– Trust for Nature (Victoria)

–
Who are responsible for the implementation of the Environmental Acts?
Examples Include:
• The Government (State and Federal)
• Minister for Sustainability, Environment,
Water, Population and Community (Federal)
• Department of Sustainability and the
Environment (DSE)(Victorian)
• Parks Victoria
• Park Rangers
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s central piece of environmental legislation.
PURPOSE:
The EPBC Act provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places—defined in the EPBC Act as matters of national environmental significance.
The eight matters of national environmental significance to which the EPBC Act applies are:
• world heritage sites
• national heritage places
• wetlands of international importance
• nationally threatened species and ecological communities
• migratory species
• Commonwealth marine areas
• the Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park
• nuclear actions.
PURPOSE:
The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 provides for the listing of Victoria’s threatened plant and animal species, ecological communities and potentially threatening processes.
Under the Act, an Action Statement must be prepared by the Department of Sustainability and Environment for each item following its listing.
Action Statements are like brief management plans.
▫ They provide some background information about the species, including its description, distribution, habitat, life history, and the reasons for its decline and the threats which affect it.
▫ They also state what has been done to conserve the species and what will be done.
Action Statements are designed to apply for three to five years, after which time they will be reviewed and updated.
The flora and fauna conservation and management objectives, as outlined under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee
Act 1988, are: a) to guarantee that all of Victoria's flora and fauna can survive, flourish and retain their potential for evolutionary development in the wild b) to conserve Victoria's communities of flora and fauna c) to manage potentially threatening processes d) to ensure that any use of flora or fauna by humans is sustainable e) to ensure that the genetic diversity of flora and fauna is maintained

f) to provide programs: i.
of community education in the conservation of flora and fauna ii.
to encourage co-operative management of flora and fauna through, amongst other things, the entering into of land management co-operative agreements under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 iii.
of assisting and giving incentives to people, including landholders, to enable flora and fauna to be conserved g) to encourage the conserving of flora and fauna through co-operative community endeavours.
Things to do/know for the exam:

Know about AT LEAST ONE policy that is or could be applied to a place you’ve visited or are familiar with, including:
o What it’s for o How it works o o
Who uses/manages it
Does it protect and sustain the environment
o Where it is applied o Are there any problems with its use

–
What is it?
Green Building design refers to how dwellings or commercial buildings are designed to be more environmentally responsible.
Why is it considered a sustainable strategy?
Green building sustains healthy outdoor environments by minimising disturbances, the use of resources and ongoing demands.
There are five main principles to environmental Green Building.
1) A sustainable site for the building.
2) Minimising energy consumption
3) Minimising resource consumption
4) Maintaining and minimising water conservation and quality.
5) Developing a healthy indoor environment.
What is it?
Contemporary urban planning focuses on building and renewing communities with a greater awareness of the finite nature of the earth’s resources.
Why is it considered a sustainable strategy?
‘Sustainable’ urban planning is fundamentally planning for the benefit of the environment that we all inhabit, so that human developments co-exist with nature rather than exploit it.
There are three essential components to sustainable practices in environmental planning.
1) reducing the consumption of natural resources, including water and carbon-based fuels, to manageable levels.
2) adapting existing structures for reuse by means and for ends that are environmentally friendly.
3) the salvaging and recycling of materials from structures that cannot be reused.
Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is the spreading of a city or its suburbs.
– It often involves the construction of residential and commercial buildings in rural areas or otherwise undeveloped land at the outskirts of a city.
– Most residents of typical urban sprawl neighbourhoods live in single-family homes and commute by car to their jobs in the city.
– Concerns over urban sprawl and its consequences have been raised and largely focus on negative consequences for residents and the local environment.

What is it?
Renewable energy is clean energy and generally non-polluting.
(Many forms do not emit any greenhouse gases or toxic waste in the process of producing electricity.)
Why is it considered a sustainable strategy?
Renewable energy is sustainable as it is obtained from sources that are inexhaustible (unlike fossil fuels).
(Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydro, all of which occur naturally on our planet.)
Solar energy is the cleanest and greenest source of renewable energy generated electricity available to help power your home, business or community building.
Home Solar solutions:
 Grid connect solar power systems
 Grid connect systems tie in with your existing home electricity supply
 Solar hot water
 By installing a flat plate or evacuated tube hot water system you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions
 Solar hydronics/thermal
 Hydronics refers to the use of water as a heat transfer medium in heating and cooling systems
Wind power involves converting wind energy into electricity by using wind turbines.
 Wind makes the rotor on the turbine spin; as the rotor spins, the movement of the blades spinning gives power to a generator which makes energy.
 Wind power is a clean energy source that can be relied on for the long-term future.
 A wind turbine creates reliable, cost-effective, pollution free energy.
 It is affordable, clean and sustainable.
Geothermal energy is emission-free energy that is extracted from the Earth’s natural, stored heat.
 It is one of the few energy sources that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has the potential to solve Australia’s future energy concerns.
 Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.
Water Power
 Hydroelectricity is energy generated when falling water from reservoirs or flowing water is channelled through water turbines.
 The pressure of the flowing water on the turbine blades causes the shaft to rotate and the rotating shaft drives an electrical generator which converts the motion of the shaft into electrical energy.
 Tidal Energy: Ocean tides can be used to produce hydroelectricity but the height of the ‘dammed’ water is generally less than 10 metres.
 Wave power is the energy that is created when electricity generators are placed on the surface of the ocean.
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel.
 In the first sense, biomass is plant matter used to generate electricity with steam turbines & gasifiers or produce heat, usually by direct combustion.
 Examples include forest residues (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood
chips and even municipal solid waste.
 In the second sense, biomass includes plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibres or other industrial chemicals, including biofuels.

Things to do/know for the exam:
 Be able to describe a range of strategies that are used or could be used - aim to know a few that could be applied by individuals and a few that could be applied by larger groups/communities
• Be able to evaluate the actions you have studied in class
*how are they good for the health of outdoor environments
*how are they good for urban environments

1. Set up a study timeline. Ask yourself some questions: what exams have you got, when are they, what other events are on at this time (work, parties, sport, etc.). Allow reasonable study time for all your exams – and try to avoid studying for any exam by cramming at the last minute.
2. Start studying …
Some general study tips and techniques
Use wasted time – if you use the short blocks of time (5, 10, 15 minutes) when you’d normally do nothing much anyway, it saves other bigger blocks of time for other things
Avoid studying with music as a background,
Have plenty of good food and drink (including water)
Take lots of short breaks between sessions
Vary study times (don’t try and do it in one big block)
Start with small, achievable goals – don’t plan every study session for every day for the next few weeks, instead plan some sessions for today or tomorrow and then build up from there
Study sessions of shorter time blocks are better than long cram sessions – set a timer for 30 minutes and study until the timer goes off, then take a break for 10 minutes and do something completely unrelated to the study
(and something fun or interesting), then start another session of 30 minutes with your timer going (spend the first few minutes going over what you did in the last session, then move on to new stuff), then take another break, and so on …
Some study processes that might be of use
Summarise the course (write stuff down – this helps with memory recall)
Be an active reader with notes and handouts – underline or highlight key sections, write stuff in the margins, etc. (You can also do this in the exam.)
Use visualisation techniques to imagine yourself successfully sitting the exam – this is really useful in building confidence before the exam
Use mental imagery to help with memory recall – link a concept you’re trying to remember to an image in your mind (we remember images much easier than words)
Use mnemonic memory techniques if they help
Test yourself – use past exams or write your own short tests
Study with others – get them to test you, then test them; teach someone else (another OES students or not) about a key area you’ve just studied
Preparing for the OES exam
All of units 3 and 4 can be assessed.
Organise key summaries for each dot point of the study.
Use past exam papers for practice – they give you a sense of the types of questions and also the way questions are asked. The 2006 paper was the first of the revised study, but earlier papers contain many similar and useful questions.

Sitting the exam
Some general approaches to preparing to answer questions
Make use of reading time to read through questions, read through stimulus material and start planning out your answers
Allocate time for each question – use the marking scheme to help you with this (allow time for checking longer answers)
Plan your longer answers
Identify and highlight keywords
Underline key instructions (such as numbers of responses)
Some general notes to consider during the exam
Start with easier questions first (list, describe) then do harder questions (explain, analyse, evaluate)
Make use of information in the stimulus material and in other parts of the paper
You can answer in point form
Write legibly, use a pen, and respond to every question
Use extra spaces in the exam book if you need to (make sure to note the question you are answering or continuing to answer)
Answer the question asked, not some similar question you’ve prepared for
When finished, read over your response, checking for missing words and sentences that make sense
Don’t repeat the question in your answer, and don’t waffle
With longer answers you can use sub-headings
Don’t waste time demonstrating irrelevant knowledge
Read the question carefully a number of times and make sure to read it again after you have finished your answer
Ask for an extra blank script book if you need it, although you may be writing too much
Don’t leave the exam early – use all the time you’ve got
Some thoughts specific to the OES exam
Use examples from field trips if asked or if appropriate
When giving more than one response or example, try to make them diverse and different
Try not to be over-simplistic about issues
Be creative in your responses if you can, especially with the extended questions – you want to separate your response from the many others that an assessor will read; make it stand out

Exam keywords
The following are some of the keywords used in VCE exams with a common description of the usage of these keywords.
Analyse
Identify the components in an argument and clarify the relationship between them. Describe and relate implications of the arguments being proposed.
Assess
Make a judgement of/about the value, quality, outcomes of an argument or opinion
Compare and contrast
Look at or read two or more different arguments, opinions or documents and clearly explain the main points of each and how they are different and/or similar to each other.
Define
State meaning and identify essential qualities of terms, words or expressions.
Describe
Provide the characteristics and features of a given opinion or argument.
Discuss
Identify the major issues from one or more arguments or opinions and show the strengths and weaknesses of these.
Evaluate
Make a judgment, based on criteria, about an issue.
Determine the value of an argument and/or carefully look at different arguments/opinions and discuss the value of each.
Explain
Relate cause and effect. Make the relationships between issues, opinions, events and/or results of one or more situations evident and provide reasons for the causes and effects.
Identify
Recognise and name an event, feature, or part from a list or argument or extended narrative.
Recommend
Provide reasons in favour of a proposal.
Answering exam questions
Much of the Outdoor and Environmental Studies is about getting you to put yourself into the shoes of another person and think like they think – a farmer, conservationist, indigenous person, early settler, logger, politician, land manager, adventurer, tourist operator, ranger, and so on.
A good way to think about how to answer your exam questions is to put yourself into the shoes of the Exam
Assessor. The Exam Assessor is the person who writes answers to the exam and then marks your exam, and the way they do this can help you to think about how best to answer the questions.
The Exam Assessor isn’t trying to get full marks for a question when they write answers – they’re trying to figure out a marking scheme. For a question that’s worth 6 marks for example, the Exam Assessor needs to know what sort of answer would be worth 6, but also what would be worth 3, or 1, or 5, or 0, or 4, or 2.
So, try to:
Break down the answers you write based on the marking scheme and the keywords.
Aim to be able to figure out what is required for each mark in every question.
For example, try to break down a 4 mark question into 1, 1, 1, 1. It’s easier to answer a 1 mark question than one worth multiple marks. (A more detailed example is on the next page.)