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Exploring Science Outdoors Encourages a Love of Learning Like Nothing Else.

Jan 27, 2019
3 min

Exploring Science Outdoors Encourages a Love of Learning Like Nothing Else.

Scientific literacy is vital nowadays. In our age of "fake news" and "alternative facts", the ability to discern between credible scientific evidence and sensationalist news stories with little foundation, is more important now than ever before. "Learning, which is relevant to children's lives, authentic and observable in real-world settings has the potential to be truly transformative." Scientific Literacy is Vital to Solving 21st Century Challenges We need children who are

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Children Are Never Safe in Outdoor Education. Here's Why.

Jan 25, 2019
4 min

Children Are Never Safe in Outdoor Education. Here's Why.

I frequently hear outdoor education practitioners, parents and children using the words safe and safety in the context of outdoor learning. Many parents will ask the question: "If my child participates in your outdoor program, will they be kept safe?" And the short answer is "Not exactly." So today's blog post is about risk management in outdoor and experiential education (OEE) for children, and changing perceptions of the concept of safety while taking part in outdoor and ad

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Fear of Liability Must Not Stop Us Getting Children Outdoors!

Dec 10, 2018
5 min

Fear of Liability Must Not Stop Us Getting Children Outdoors!

In recent years, I've actively sought global opportunities to work in outdoor and experiential education roles for youth in various countries including in the UK, Germany, US, Canada & Thailand. Thankfully, this has given me a unique perspective in terms of the risk management culture in outdoor education within these diverse countries, with a focus on international school settings and residential outdoor education centers. In my view, risk tolerance is an urgent issue in edu

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Smart Kids Don't Do Outdoor Education! Here's Why.

Nov 16, 2018
3 min

Smart Kids Don't Do Outdoor Education! Here's Why.

When I was in state secondary school, we had the option at age 14 to take a BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) course in Outdoor Education. The only problem was this course was lumped within the same course cluster as the main humanities subjects including GCSE Geography, History and Business Studies. This meant I could only choose two subjects from this set, which I found hugely limited my course options. In addition, there was also an underlying message from t

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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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A Quick Guide to Nature Photography for Children

Sep 23, 2018
3 min

A Quick Guide to Nature Photography for Children

Taking photographs of interesting things in nature is a wonderfully mindful activity. It brings us into the moment as we use all of our senses to find interesting living things to snap. Plus it's an awesome reason to get children active outdoors, explore and to be creative! As educators, we tend to ban the use to electronic devices, such as smart phones, in outdoor learning. And rightly so most of the time! But there are times when we can use devices, like cameras and smart p

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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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