‘Big culture shock’: Mittagundi changing lives for the better

Instead of relying on these luxuries most people take for granted, you have to chop wood to create your heat, use manual labour to build the items you need and are allowed the space and freedom to open up to the people around you.

This is Mittagundi.

Set on a 400ha farm out in Glen Valley, a couple of hours south along the windy Omeo Highway from Mitta, the outdoor education centre is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Mittagundi runs 10-day programs in spring and autumn for those aged between 14 and 17, from all backgrounds.

Director Phil O’Donnell said by the end, they have all been put in a position where there were scared or uncomfortable from “a bloody big culture shock” - a feeling many young people are protected from in the modern world.

“Learning how to deal with that stuff is critically important.” he said.

“There’s nothing you don’t have to fight for here: you have to chop it, you have to pick it, you have to carry it.”

The scary moments are there from the very beginning, when young people are forced to hand over their mobile phones, food, books and anything else which could distract them from the experience.

“You see the blood drain out of their faces and they all go straight for their pockets to send messages,” Mr O’Donnell said.

“There’s probably not a program like this.

“We allow young people to have time, we don’t fill every second of the day with stuff. I’ve literally programmed goof-off time.”

The the program does not take many teenagers from the same school, so they are free from the baggage and exceptions usually on them back at home.

“There is an expectation on those kids which is quite crippling and containing at times and that’s where this conversation around campfires becomes much more liberating and free … they can be themselves,” Mr O’Donnell said.

“What we find is if you give the kids an opportunity to sit and think, they might be having a bit of a yarn around the fire, they have conversations they wouldn’t normally have.”

Mittagundi was inspired by Geelong Grammar School's Timbertop Campus, which combines academic and outdoor education.

Teacher Ian Stapleton wanted to expand this opportunity to more than just private school students, so in the 1970s he bought some old buses and ran programs in the school holidays, until Mittagundi was officially born in 1978.

It is not just for troubled children, but anyone who has not had the opportunity to learn lessons of living in the outdoors, off the grid.

“Everything you see around you has been built by young people, for young people,” Mr O’Donnell said.

Walking through the Mittagundi farm, it is clear you are in a special and picturesque place in the world.

In winter, the snow-capped Mount Bogong is just one of the towering mountains and hills which provide a stunning view in a mostly secluded area - until the motorbike riders start hooning past in summer.

Part of the introduction is for young people to hike for two days to get there, then they find a farm with animals including cattle and horses, a working blacksmith shed, a vegetable garden, industrial kitchen with wood-fired ovens and log cabins.

They are not the highest quality structures, getting quite cold in winter, but Mr O’Donnell said that is precisely the point.

“The theory around building around here was not about building it right, it was about building it with a future purpose,” he said.

“Things aren’t done the best because we know that it’s going to fall over and it’s going to provide a job for someone down the track.”

As an ex-army officer, Mr O’Donnell says he doesn't not like the “fluffy stuff”, but can still see the value in getting young people to open up.

He is one of eight volunteer staff working on the farm, who all bring different expertise to the program.

If you believe the stories, Annie the ghost also remains at Mittagundi  after she died in a mining accident back in the 1920s.

The spring and autumn programs include abseiling, white-water rafting and days working on the farm.

Winter is when the bigger school groups come through Mittagundi; this week it was Cathedral College in Wangaratta.

Their program is slightly different, as they have the extra comforts of being there with friends from the real world, but that does not make it totally easy on them.

Even a couple of days at the snow has to be earned. 

Staff drive them up Bogong High Plains Road as far as Trapyard Gap, then it is time for them to get on the cross-country skis and do the rest themselves.

After a day’s travel and a night in a hut, they are rewarded with a fun snow day.

Now with 40 years of history, Mittagundi is now at the stage where the children of ex students and volunteers.

“The more the outside world changes, the more this place become relevant,” Mr O’Donnell said. 

“I’ve been a 16-year-old myself; I just like that we can give them a little bit of refuse from that pressure for a bit and hopefully develop a bit of a love for trees and dirt and the bush.

“This is such a cool spot.”