Since our earliest days, Wilderness girls have participated in generous service to the community. The Misses Brown left an exemplary and robust legacy for giving, and with a spirit of humility which continues today.

As part of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, our Year 11 students have established the ‘Fun in the Wilderness Foster Care Program’ for children in foster care. The program not only offers foster parents some respite and camaraderie, but importantly, provides each child the opportunity to participate in positive and engaging after school activities supported by Wilderness students.

I am extremely proud of our girls and their willingness to step outside of their comfort zone and learn more about the challenges and opportunities for other children across the state.

This week, to support the development of a COVID-19 Testing Facility at Junbesi, in the Everest region of Nepal, our International Committee organised lunch on Wednesday to raise money for oxygen cylinders.

For our international students on the committee who travelled to Australia in 2020, it has been 18 months since they last saw their loved ones. Yet these girls continue to put others before themselves and strive to have a positive impact on their global community.

Our girls' commitment to service has recently extended to include parents, grandparents and old scholars, who joined our environment committee’s Custodians of Crawford campaign. Following the call to help save the Spyridium fontis-woodii from extinction, over 160 community members have already signed up to nurture seedlings in the coming months. With their support, the ‘home grown plants’ will be eventually transported to Crawford and replanted in the wild.

I want to thank you all for your support of our girls in their desire to positively shape their world. By supporting their ideas and altruistic acts, we promote a sense of community and continue to develop in each girl the values and dispositions that make her a kind and influential global citizen of the future.