Brendon Munge picked up his phone after exploring NSW’s Wee Jasper Caves for a few hours to find a bunch of missed calls from a former colleague.
If you believe in fate or destiny, this moment is a good marker of a defining moment in Brendon’s life. He was about to apply to become an associate lecturer outdoor education – a job that would soon blossom into a fulfilling career.
But there had been a lot of lead up to this point – a lifetime of lead up.
A path not followed is a path unexplored
Growing up, Brendon, or “Munge”, as most people, including his students, call him, always believed he would be a physical education teacher.
He liked the idea of working closely with students. People around him thought he was going to be a PE teacher. He was personable, naturally athletic and loved being outside. He seemed logically suited to the role.
But when he enrolled to study the degree, he felt like something was missing.
“I had a couple of cracks at uni,” Munge reflects.
“I didn't get it right the first few times. But that’s what finding your own path is like – it’s about trying different things till you find out what fits for you.”
For Munge, that came when he discovered a degree in outdoor education at La Trobe University. From the moment he saw it, he was sold. He enrolled in the degree and never looked back.
A life outside
In retrospect, it’s obvious Munge was meant to work in outdoor education – it’s basically been the basis of his entire life.
Growing up on a mixed-use farm in rural NSW, Munge spent most of his childhood outdoors, where his dad taught him and his four siblings about the environment.
“He was really tuned into what was happening around us,” Munge says about his dad. “He would point out to us what the birds were doing, or what plants were flowering.
“It could be little changes or changes on a bigger scale – the changing of the seasons.”
The north – where freedom meets adventure
That love of the outdoors embedded itself in the fabric of Munge’s being.
A kickstart to his adventures was when Munge undertook a year as an exchange student between years 10 and 11. A key aspect was searching for new and different outdoor landscapes and environments.
He found them in Finland.
“Pretty much my entire time living there was spent outside,” Munge says.
“I remember cross-country skiing right up north above the Arctic Circle – there was a real feeling that we were right on the edge of the planet. It was a truly amazing experience.
“Another time I went kayaking with one of the host mothers in a traditional boat she’d built herself from wood and fabric.
“We just paddled around and would find a remote island to camp on – just because it looked nice.
“It just gave me such a sense of freedom and adventure.”
A souvenir from overseas
Munge brought that thirst for adventure and discovery back to Australia when he returned, finishing high school, having a few attempts at uni and then opting to head off on a rollicking adventure around Australia for eight months with a mate in an old Landcruiser.
Living life outdoors for eight months, camping, finding adventures, engaging with the environment, and essentially keeping it simple, confirmed for Munge that a life outdoors connected to the environment was a key aspect to his future life.
On his return he eventually completed his degree in outdoor education before using the eight months of experience around Australia to head off again and work in numerous places across the country, taking students on expeditions, learning about different environments and building his knowledge and skills in outdoor education.
It was during this time that Munge got that phone call from a long-time friend and former colleague at La Trobe University, encouraging him to apply for a role in the new outdoor and environmental studies degree at UniSC.
The opportunity meant coming in at the ground floor and helping to build the program from the ground up. A new adventure, a new challenge and numerous opportunities lay ahead.
“My passion is creating opportunities for students – especially if they were a bit like me, where they were unsure where they were going, or came from families whose parents didn’t go to uni,” Munge says.
Adventure through study
It’s this passion that has made Munge an incredibly popular academic among his students – who not only seem to develop a type of obsessive quality for the degree but a genuine reverence for their lecturer.
Part of this rapport Munge believes is developed through the many outdoor activities and adventures integrated into the degree to compliment the theory and teaching components.
This includes camping and bushwalking trips to world-heritage sites such as K’gari or the Cooloola Recreation Area that form part of the three side-by-side designated UNESCO biospheres where UniSC campuses are located.
On these trips, students not only learn about the outdoor environment, landscapes and cultural and historical studies, including through partnerships with local Aboriginal groups such as the Butchulla people, they also develop a camaraderie that can only be born through shared experiences.
“When you're alongside the students, carrying a backpack, grappling with the same situations as them, there's an authentic connection that develops there, which probably doesn't happen so easily in a lecture theatre,” Munge says.
“Couple that with when we're standing on a mountain top, or spending a moment witnessing a beautiful sunrise or sunset from a deserted beach, you have this moment together where everyone goes – ‘wow, this is pretty cool’”.
That impact on the students is obvious too – if not from chatting with them, then from the cards, messages and mementos given to Munge from different cohorts after taking them on one of these learning excursions.
“Recently I took a group of students to Singapore,” Munge says.
“For some of them, they've never been overseas – to be able to share that experience with them, teaching them how to be an outdoor educator and instilling a deeper appreciation for the outdoor environment, that is invaluable.”
The future of outdoor education
Outdoor education in some respects is still an emerging field, which gives it plenty of scope to continue growing and evolving.
Areas Munge thinks it will or could provide most benefit are integrating it into disability services within the NDIS environment.
“I see it playing a large role in the facilitation of health and benefits for people in that area,” Munge says. “I think it's an area that can do a lot more.
“It has a really important role when it comes to understanding the environment too, which is crucial in terms of understanding climate change and the role it plays in our society.”
But for now, Munge is focussed on giving his students the best learning experiences possible – it’s clear that is his north star.
“Sometimes I pinch myself that I get to follow my passion, which is creating opportunities for students that maybe a bit like me – they didn't know where they were going in some respects,” Munge says.
“When I get to see them cross the stage at Graduation, I sit up there with my colleagues with the biggest smile on my face.
“These students have just changed their world – we get to play part in that.
“That's pretty special.”
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