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Educate Not Advocate: The Key to Sustainability?

Oct 26, 2018
3 min

Educate Not Advocate: The Key to Sustainability?

According to Dictionary.com, the verb "to advocate" means "to speak or write in favor of, support or urge by argument; to recommend publicly." In other words, an advocate is a person who speaks or writes in support of a cause. But importantly, there's a big distinction between advocacy and education, and this is something I feel the need to address in this blog post. The Age of Alternative Facts In our digital age of Twitter feeds, "fake news" and information overload, it's n

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Are Leaders Born Or Created?

Oct 12, 2018
4 min

Are Leaders Born Or Created?

Outdoor and experiential education can provide excellent opportunities for youth team building and leadership development. Whether it's a simple 20-minute team activity on the sports field, a day-long collaborative biology study in nature or a week-long STEAM project focused on robotics, there are literally millions of ways to incorporate leadership training into the learning process in a natural, enjoyable and valuable way. But Are Leaders Created? While some people learn fa

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Are Kids These Days Really 'Wrapped in Cotton Wool?'

Oct 1, 2018
5 min

Are Kids These Days Really 'Wrapped in Cotton Wool?'

We hear it all the time: "Kids these days just aren't the same anymore. They just stay indoors, playing non-stop computer games rather than going outside, and climbing trees, like I used to do back in my day!" - Anonymous Grandfather But is this really true? Are the next generation of children growing up 'wrapped in cotton wool?' Are kids nowadays missing out on vital early childhood lessons that can only be learned through active play outside? And are the next generation sti

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Worrying Trends in Health & Wellbeing Among Children

Sep 3, 2018
4 min

Worrying Trends in Health & Wellbeing Among Children

Health and wellbeing among children in many developed nations is showing some very concerning trends. In this blog post, I explore why this is and what evidence-based solutions are emerging in the research with a special lens on outdoor education. The Facts & Figures 1 in 3 10-11 year olds are obese or overweight in England according to recent research (NCMP England, 2012-13). 1 in 10 school pupils (5-16 years) suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder in England and h

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Shining Outside the Classroom

Jul 19, 2018
4 min

Shining Outside the Classroom

In an average classroom of students, some are likely to possess a talent for mathematics. Others might find art a natural fit and enjoy letting their creativity flow through the tip of a paint brush. Likewise, some may find their calling in the sciences and relish being immersed in a web of test tubes and Bunsen Burners. Fitting the Mold But what about those kids who don't fit the mold? Those square pegs who simply don't fit into the round holes of the education system. For m

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Designing an Outdoor Classroom: 5 Simple Things to Consider

Jul 9, 2018
3 min

Designing an Outdoor Classroom: 5 Simple Things to Consider

As adults, we all love to hear the joyful sound of children laughing, and the sight of children smiling and interacting with their friends. As educators, our duty is to offer inspiring places to learn, which successfully support the learning process both inside and outside the classroom. However, many of the outdoor spaces in our schools and local communities weren't built with this in mind, and so they fall short as places for learning to take place. How Do We Maximize Outdo

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