One of the greatest things about the FedUni campus at Mt Helen is it’s beautiful and sometimes surreal bushland landscape. There are gum trees and birch trees and oak trees scattered all around the sprawling bushland setting and I just love it. It beautifully mirrors what I see as the university’s approach to higher education… it’s elegant in its unpretentiousness, down to earth and there for all of us to enjoy.
My photo (below) was featured on the @FedUniAustralia Instagram account this week and we were asked where on campus it was shot. It’s such a big area it never occurred to me that not everyone knew about it so I’ve accepted the #Challenge and put together a post for you all.
See I’m a bit of an explorer at heart and like to go for a wander. Here are some of my favourite spaces around campus to study socially, seriously or just to chillax with friends during the day. So grab your Mt Helen campus map and lets go on a short tour:
- (pictured) There is a little grove of trees between building F & G. It is a designated assembly point during evacuations and has multiple garden areas to sit in or around to read and even take your lunch. Prior to the smoke-free campus initiative, which began this year, it was a designated smoking area. It’s now however one of the most beautiful spots for me, especially during Autumn. Enjoy your sunny days here peeps.
- Just up the stairs from the first space, outside building F, is another quiet space with some great autumn trees to sit under. Just mind that the grass is not wet or dewy when you lounge about. This is just outside the 24hour computer labs that students and staff can access with their swipe cards at all hours of the day and night.
- The CLIPP lounge above the cafeteria in building U is a great space and has computers as well as tub chairs to chill in and whiteboards for brainstorming. This is a great space to be in when you want to work on group assignments or to do assignment mapping. It’s also a great way to interact with the rad Student Futures team and other students.
- There is a space between T North and T South that is like a little amphitheatre and has grassed steps… this is not a ‘secret’ place per-se but it is a place that I often see empty but is great for reading or hanging out for lunch on a sunny day.
- For some serious study … or some serious snoozing a great place to chill out is the basement of the library with computers, printers, couches, resources readily available on the upper levels and when those many words make your brain all hurties you can curl up on a beanbag and have a nap. This is usually a super quiet place to study so if you want to be a bit noisy head upstairs to the first level and grab a PC with your mates.
- Ruby’s café has the service window and a selection of things in the display cases, however as some people know you can go inside to order from the menu and sit on the couches or hidden away at the back of the restaurant at a table with your books. With Wedges for $8 and big enough to share amongst 3 as a snack you’ll be set for those in-between-class catch-ups.
I’ll share some more spaces with you throughout semester and will be adding some posts about #unilyf from the perspective of a new student, a mature aged student and a procrastinating student.
Tell me in the comments below, what are your favourite places from your campus?
– Catherine
Hi Catherine and thanks for this post. I agree there are some terrific spaces available for everyone to use for study or to just relax in between classes.
I am probably very biased (given that I have a role in the library) but I think that all of the campus libraries – Mt Helen, SMB, Gippsland and Horsham – provide some terrific spaces for students, from the quieter one you mentioned in the basement of the library at Mt Helen (and there is a great Quiet Zone on the top level also) to the commons space in the library at Gippsland (booths and tables for groups and individuals, whiteboards on the walls for groups wanting to plan their work) to the smaller spaces at Horsham. For Ballarat based students, during the week the SMB campus library is a great space to work in, it is generally quiet and has some great lounges and furniture as well as computers available.
All of the libraries provide the bonus of library staff! And at Mt Helen and at Gippsland, the libraries are also hosting the ASK desks and students who are available to provide help and advice through the first weeks of the semester. (At Gippsland there is also a drop in service for students needing help from a Learning Skills Adviser based in the library.)
On a sunny day there are great outdoor spaces as Catherine has mentioned (and at Mt Helen I also love the area between F and G buildings), but with the cooler weather and time for assignments to be submitted on the way, the libraries are the hub for students looking for space to work. During these times they can be very crowded, so my suggestion is to familiarise yourself with our opening hours, think about the kind of space you are looking for, and plan your time in the library around peak times.
And if you have any suggestions for how we can improve our spaces we would love to hear from you, just click on the feedback link available on the library website.