What is EiA?
The EiA Trek History and Timeline
About the Team
The EiA Mission

What is EiA?

Education in Action (EiA) is an ambitious project designed to give children an insight to the greater world around them. It is focused on encouraging interaction, team work and stimulating children’s thinking about the world outside the classroom, home, or whatever environment they find themselves limited by. This is achieved through the creative use of global communications technology and the internet, giving children and adults an authentic, first-hand experience of life in the Australian outback.

Children have the opportunity to link directly to a live, outback field expedition - man powered, pulling supplies in a custom built cart. Communication is achieved through 3 mediums: face to face presentations, teleconferencing and the website (eia.net.au), which serves as a hub for students, parents and teachers to source information, stay informed and interact with each other through the online forums.

The EiA Trek History and Timeline

View the full, interactive Google Map of past and future walks here

2003: Oz-Trek "Across Australia Alone on Foot"
In 2003, David Mckern set out on the journey of a lifetime - to walk across Australia. He travelled from Sydney to Perth, over 4000kms, with only the company of his dog, Rupert. Visit oz-trek.com for more information.

2005: EiA1 "Norseman to Hyden"
From the fire of Oz-Trek, a new concept was born, 'Education in Action'. After passing through 26 schools during his Oz-Trek journey, Dave wanted to get the school children involved on a higher level. After liasing with Mark Wilson (who had previously worked with Dave on the Oz-Trek website), the two of them created an online resource for children to follow Dave's trek and map his progress. Communication was largely through satellite phone.

2006: New EiA Website
As EiA continued to evolve, so came the birth of the current website. No longer just an offshoot of Oz-Trek, EiA now had a fully fledged identity, which continues to grow and develop today. The website was divided into 2 main sections: the main page, documenting past info and photos, and also Rupert's very own website, targeted at children so they could follow Rupert's Adventures!

2006: EiA2 "Rupert's Return"
As the focus of the treks shifted to the children's involvement, a new star began to emerge - Dave's dog Rupert. After naming the expedition appropriately, EiA2 then took progress with 5 schools participating in both metro and regional WA. Communication with the field team was though satellite phone and this time, children were able to interact with each other in the online forum. The progress of the trek was updated daily on the website and the experience was further enriched by a number of relevant lesson plans that were kindly contributed.

2008: EiA3 "Schools Across Australia"
Using the resources gained during Oz-Trek, Dave and Mark set out on their most ambitious project to date - linking schools across Australia. This time, the focus is on teleconferencing, with the students involved being able to link directly to the field team. The goal is for 16 schools to participate (at the highest participation level), with many others being able to get involved through the website and online forums.

2010: EiA4 "Schools Around the World"
The fourth scheduled trek will be an undertaking of a scale never seen before. A global project, extending the current EiA2 framework . Through the use of realtime video-conferencing, a selection of schools around the world will be directly linked to the EiA4 expedition and will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive information. A new series of lesson plans are in development to best make use of this technology, cater for a worldwide audience and give children the opportunity to learn whilst experiencing a real-world Australian bush expedition first-hand.

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About the Team

About Dave Name: Dave Mckern Age: 45 Children: 3 sons Residence: Koongamia, WA Trekking History: USA (Hawaiian Islands), Canada, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria. Dave is a seasoned outdoor adventurer. His extensive trekking experience has included crossing Australia alone on foot with his dog, Rupert. Dave has successfully operated his own business in Perth for the past 16 years. Dave's 3 sons have inspired him to develop EiA as a unique educational initiative and continue to grow it to enrich the lives of other children as well as his own.

About Mark Name: Mark Wilson Age: 26 Residence: Bayswater, WA Trekking History: USA, UK, Siberia, Japan, New Zealand. Mark is well-versed in both business and management, having worked with IT for the past 6 years and operating his own business in the industry. Mark has recently completed studies at Curtin University in both Commerce (International Management) and Asian Studies (Japanese Language Major). Mark hopes to make good use of these skills as EiA expands to cater for a worldwide market.

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The EiA Mission

To give children an insight into the bigger world, encourage interaction and stimulate thinking about the world outside the classroom and how they are part of it.
To link communities and create new ones, locally, nationally and globally.
To teach from practical, real-world experience and offer children a hands-on learning opportunity.
To bring an authentic Australian bush experience to children and adults, using current, global communications technology, while at the same time promoting and encouraging:

Motivation. Resilience. Purpose. Self Worth.

EiA has been forged from a determination and will to live life to its fullest. Love and hope have been a constant influence in remaining faithful to the cause. Creativity has been the fire to give it life. Self-knowledge and worth, as well as a strong sense of self-responsibility are the foundations of Education in Action.

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