The Gold Residential Project offers Gold Award Participants unique experiences that truly broaden horizons and challenges their outlook. At the heart of the Gold Residential Project is the undertaking of purposeful experience with people who are not their usual companions, working towards a common goal! Adding to this, the young people should also be outside of their usual place of residence, often in an unfamiliar environment.
Come and join other Gold participants from across Australia! On this open-enrolment program, you will support two community service projects in South East Queensland while living at our base in the Glass House Mountains. This program educates students about our natural wildlife; provides the opportunity to help injured wildlife affected by bushfires; and to work with the local primary school to provide holiday clinics to low-income families in the Glass House Mountains. This trip is an amazing opportunity to give back to your Australian community and encompass what DOE is all about.
This morning you’ll make your own way to Brisbane Airport. Must arrive before 10am! Your Rustic Pathways program leaders will be waiting to welcome you into Brisbane when you arrive. You will then transfer to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, which is just 20 minutes from our Base in the mountains. We’ll meet with the education and volunteer coordinator to learn how Australia Zoo is supporting wildlife conservation. There’ll be the opportunity to see the croc show before visiting their Wildlife Hospital, the most advanced wildlife hospital in Australia! This will give you some context and background information in preparation for the next two days of service at a grassroots wildlife rehabilitation centre. Next, you will make your way to our beautiful Glasshouse Mountains Base, which is nestled in the ‘bush’ and rainforest about an hour north of Brisbane and 40 minutes from the coast. Your staff will help you settle into the Queensland way of life. Tonight, we’ll eat at the base house and get to know each other around the campfire. Overnight: Rustic Pathways Base, Glass House Mountains
These two days will be spent supporting a wildlife carer who has devoted her life to rehabilitating injured wildlife. Our host has developed her 40-acre property to be a sanctuary for rescued kangaroos, echidnas, emus, lizards and birds. Your project will depend on her needs at the time; cleaning enclosures, building new enclosures, bottle-feeding the animals, or any other tasks around the property. Lots of hands-on work to support an under-resourced facility that makes a significant contribution to the local community. Night 2 Overnight: Camping, Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Night 3 Overnight: Rustic Pathways Base, Glass House Mountains
Over the last 5 years, Rustic Pathways has been providing free school holiday programs to low-income families in the Glass House Mountains. These two days are about combining leadership with service. Each morning you’ll be at the program site by 8:00am to get ready for the local kids to arrive at 9:00am. Parents will drop their kids off in the morning and the activity session will run from 9:00am - 3:00pm. You will work in leadership teams of 3 and be allocated a group of 10 primary school students to lead. The structure of the program depends on the skills and talents of your group. Previous programs have involved team games, sports, carnival games, dance, arts, crafts, cooking and talent shows. There will be a LOT of excitement and the local kids bring tons of energy to this program! Expect to work hard and put in 100%. This is real service. These two days will be exhausting and you’ll need to bring a lot of energy to keep up with the kids, but the rewards you receive will be priceless and the families will be very grateful for the service you provide. In the late afternoon, take a short hike up to the top of a mountain for magnificent 360 degree views of farmland, hills and coastline. Watch the sunset behind the hills and hear stories of the area’s Aboriginal history. Overnight: Rustic Pathways Base, Glass House Mountains
This morning you’ll awake to stunning views across the tree-tops to the peaks of the Glass House Mountains. After breakfast, you will have the opportunity to engage with a member from the local Gubbi Gubbi Aboriginal community. This will be your chance to learn about the traditional owners of this land and hear stories of the area. You will also be able to learn about some bush tucker and traditional medicine. Then, will be full of fond farewells as you say goodbye to new friends and prepare for your journey home., we’ll hop in the vans and start making our way back to Brisbane Airport for you to catch your flight home. We hope you’ve loved your time in Queensland!