Background: This article concerns learning with high school students and the effect of snorkeling and coral reef monitoring at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The effectiveness of classroom learning, student-reef relationships and reef trips were investigated. Purpose: This paper presents selected student accounts of reef educational experiences and identifies reported relations of proximity as a focus for analysis. The concept of proximity is important to environmental education when one declared aim is a "rediscovery" of our connections to the world around us. Setting: The marine education research took place in offshore sites of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia from August 2002 to November 2003. Study Sample: The student participants in this study were enrolled in either a Year 11 or Year 12 at one of four Queensland high schools, two Catholic high schools and two state high schools. Intervention: Students interview responses were collected in situ when visits to the reef are added to students' classroom curriculum. Research Design: Qualitative; Interview. Control or Comparison Condition: This paper presents selected student accounts of reef educational experiences and addresses how we experience learning and if it is affected by the places and spaces in which we learn. Data Collection and Analysis: The data were collected with limited student interviews collected after an outdoor coral reef monitoring exercise. Transcripts of student responses were sorted into thematic categories and analyzed. Findings: Results indicate that, as a result of their reef experiences, students talk different reef relations into being--positioning reefs as being nearer, less far away, and, therefore, in more need of attention and care. Interview data provide evidence to support the argument that outdoor and underwater learning experiences are a necessary part of education for marine sustainability. The pedagogical intention of the Queensland Studies Authority Marine Studies syllabus, which mandates for fieldwork, is confirmed by qualitative student accounts of their learning experiences. Conclusion: This study represents an original contribution to marine education research in presenting senior high-school student accounts of their learning experiences in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. These qualitative data do confirm the pedagogical intent of the Queensland Studies Authority Marine Studies syllabus that mandates field experiences as a necessary part of curriculum. This research provides evidence that experiential learning in coral reefs is considered of value by the students themselves and senior Marine Studies field work should continue to be supported by schools and education systems in Queensland. Citation: Stepath, C. M. & Whitehouse, H. (2006). Encouraging proximal relations: Queensland high school students go to the reef. In proceedings of NZAEE (New Zealand Association for Environmental Education) Conference, Turning Point. January 22-25, 2006, at University of Auckland. Auckland: New Zealand Association for Environmental Education. (Contains 1 table.)