Victorian Certificate of Education

SUPERVISOR TO ATTACH PROCESSING LABEL HERE

2021

Letter
STUDENT NUMBER

OUTDOOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Written examination
Friday 5 November 2021
Reading time: 11.45 am to 12.00 noon (15 minutes)
Writing time: 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm (2 hours)

QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

Structure of book
Number of Number of questions Number of
questions to be answered marks
11 11 90

• Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers,
sharpeners and rulers.
• Students are NOT permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or
correction fluid/tape.
• No calculator is allowed in this examination.
Materials supplied
• Question and answer book of 24 pages
• Additional space is available at the end of the book if you need extra space to complete an answer.
Instructions
• Write your student number in the space provided above on this page.
• All written responses must be in English.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic
devices into the examination room.
© VICTORIAN CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY 2021
2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 2

Instructions
Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

Question 1 (9 marks)
Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

a. Using a specific example relevant to the outdoor environment that you have named, describe how
nation-building had an impact on this outdoor environment. 3 marks

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b. Using a specific example, describe how nation-building influenced the relationships that people had
with the outdoor environment that you have named. 3 marks

Question 1 – continued
 3 2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM

c. Explain how increased environmental awareness during the nation-building period had an impact on
the policies of Australian political parties prior to 1990. 3 marks
do not write in this area

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 4

Question 2 (11 marks)

For thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived, Indigenous Australians had been living on
and manipulating the land and the environment.
…
When the First Fleet arrived, in January 1788, the new [non-Indigenous] settlers found themselves in a
land with a very different climate from the one they had left.
Source: State Library of New South Wales, ‘Australian agricultural and rural life: Life on the land’,
<www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/australian-agricultural-and-rural-life/life-land>

Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

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a. Identify and describe a specific interaction that the first non-Indigenous settlers had with the outdoor
environment that you have named. 3 marks

b. Explain how the first non-Indigenous settlers’ experiences influenced their relationship with the
outdoor environment that you have named. 3 marks

Question 2 – continued
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c. Compare the first non-Indigenous settlers’ relationship with the outdoor environment that you have
named with that of Indigenous Australians during the same time period. 5 marks
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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 6

Question 3 (6 marks)
Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

a. Identify one conservation interaction and one tourism interaction with the outdoor environment that
you have named. 2 marks

Conservation interaction

Tourism interaction

b. Describe how the two interactions identified in part a. influence societal relationships with the outdoor

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environment that you have named. 4 marks

Conservation interaction

Tourism interaction
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Question 4 (5 marks)
a. Describe how sustainable development is demonstrated in an outdoor environment that you have
visited and/or studied this year. 2 marks

b. With reference to your response in part a., explain how sustainable development could be further
do not write in this area

implemented in this outdoor environment. 3 marks

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 8

Question 5 (7 marks)
The government is considering turning a local mine into a number of lakes for both human use and as an
ecological habitat. An Environment Effects Statement (EES) shows that the mine has significant groundwater
contamination, high levels of soil erosion and a few species of introduced and native flora and fauna. The use
of heavy vehicles and machinery at the site also releases a large amount of carbon emissions into the air.
a. Select a theme from the State of the Environment report.

With reference to the information above and your selected theme, evaluate the health of the
environment at the site of the mine. 4 marks

do not write in this area

b. Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

With reference to two observable characteristics, describe the health of the outdoor environment that
you have named. 3 marks

Observable characteristic 1

Observable characteristic 2
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Question 6 (6 marks)

Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to ‘critical’ level due to climate change
The conservation status for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has declined from ‘significant concern’ to ‘critical’ due
to increasing impacts associated with climate change, a new report has found.
The damage to the reef is a result of ocean warming, acidification and extreme weather, which has resulted in
coral bleaching, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) 2020 World Heritage
Outlook report, which tracks whether the conservation of the world’s 252 natural World Heritage sites is
sufficient to protect them in the long term.
…
The decline of the coral has also resulted in decreasing populations of certain marine species, researchers found.
The reef, the most extensive in the world, houses more than 1500 species of fish.
do not write in this area

Source: Julia Jacobo, ‘Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to “critical” level due to climate change’,
ABC News (USA), 7 December 2020, <https://abcnews.go.com>

With reference to the extract above, analyse the importance of a healthy Great Barrier Reef both for the physical and
emotional wellbeing of individuals and for the future of society.

TURN OVER
2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 10

Question 7 (7 marks)
Select two of the following significant threats by ticking () the boxes beside them:
land degradation
introduced species
climate change
urbanisation
other significant threat (please specify)

a. Predict the potential impact of the selected threats on society. 4 marks

Threat 1

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Threat 2

b. Explain which of the selected threats may have a greater long-term impact on an outdoor environment
that you have visited and/or studied this year. 3 marks
 11 2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM
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CONTINUES OVER PAGE

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 12

Question 8 (9 marks)
Select one of the following environmental debates by ticking () the box beside it.
climate change
‘We all smell the smoke, we all feel the heat. This environmental catastrophe is global.’
Source: Alexis Wright, ‘We all smell the smoke, we all feel the heat.
This environmental catastrophe is global’, The Guardian, 18 May 2019

water management
‘WATER is central to life on earth. The sustainable management of water resources is therefore vital
and it is a challenge facing many across the world. For Australia, as one of the driest continents,
efficient and sustainable water use is a critically important issue.’
Source: Dr Andrew Johnson, foreword, in CSIRO,
The science of providing water solutions for Australia, February 2010

do not write in this area

renewable energy
‘Renewable energy sources accounted for 6% of Australian energy consumption in 2018–19.
Renewable electricity generation has more than doubled over the last 10 years, but combustion of
biomass such as firewood and bagasse (the remnant sugar cane pulp left after crushing) remains nearly
half (45%) of all renewable energy consumption in Australia.’
Source: Australian Government – Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources,
‘Renewables’, <www.energy.gov.au>

a. With reference to the stimulus for the selected environmental debate, explain the current social and
political debate that is occurring about the best use of Australia’s natural resources. 5 marks

Question 8 – continued
 13 2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM

b. Explain how one side of this debate may influence societal relationships with outdoor environments. 4 marks
do not write in this area

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 14

Question 9 (10 marks)

Select one of the following environmental conflicts by ticking () the box beside it:
marine national parks and sanctuaries
grazing in the Alpine National Park
desalination plant at Wonthaggi
proposed Great Forest National Park
extraction of coal seam gas

a. Explain the selected environmental conflict. In your response, identify the main opposing groups. 5 marks

do not write in this area

b. Explain how one of the main opposing groups identified in part a. has implemented a specific method
to influence decision-makers. 3 marks

Question 9 – continued
 15 2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM

c. Describe the process that was used to resolve the selected environmental conflict or that could be used
if this environmental conflict has not yet been resolved. 2 marks
do not write in this area

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 16

Question 10 (8 marks)
Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

a. Analyse the effectiveness of a management strategy used by public land managers to maintain the
outdoor environment that you have named. Provide specific examples. 4 marks

do not write in this area

b. Select one of the following actions by ticking () the box beside it.
green building design
integrated farming
Landcare
urban planning

Analyse how your selected action could help sustain the health of the outdoor environment that you
have named. 4 marks
 17 2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM

Question 11 (12 marks)

Name an outdoor environment that you have visited and/or studied this year.

With reference to the outdoor environment that you have named, evaluate the influence of the following factors on
societal relationships:
• the effects of different technologies
• commercialisation of outdoor environments and outdoor experiences
• depictions of outdoor environments and outdoor experiences in one of the following:
– the media
– music
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– art
– writing
– advertising
Provide specific examples for each factor in your response.

Question 11 – continued
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Question 11 – continued
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Question 11 – continued
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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 20

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END OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

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Extra space for responses

Clearly number all responses in this space.

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 22

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2021 OUT&ENV STUDIES EXAM 24

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An answer book is available from the supervisor if you need extra space to complete an answer. Please ensure
you write your student number in the space provided on the front cover of the answer book. At the end of the
examination, place the answer book inside the front cover of this question and answer book.