For the learner or adventurer, the outdoors offers a wonderful and at times difficult experiential learning environment.  As students are encouraged to reflect on their experience, links can be made.

“If I don’t put tape on my heels I may get blisters”

“Quieter members had some helpful suggestions”.

“It was worth the effort to get to the top of this hill”.

"I needed to explain what I was thinking”.

"Careful preparation is required for bush walking”.

to name a few examples of learning.

 For those less accustomed to the outdoors, it may appear a foreign world less comfortable and accessible, with at times rugged terrain and hostile weather.  The sheer magnitude of a mountain, the stillness and beauty of a valley and the intricacy of alpine plants are all examples of a developing appreciation of this environment.  Sharing these experiences can provide a richness of relationship and a reliance on others.  Tensions in a group will provide a challenge for members to 'pull together' in order to achieve a common goal.  Terrain conditions place particular demands on a group and require developing skills for safe and enjoyable exploration; providing a context for challenge and learning.

 

 

 I encourage students to explore and discover what the environment has to offer while developing their abilities and giving them confidence to find their own way with some assistance.  Patience is required and an introduction to gentler slopes first to avoid ‘deep end’ experiences.  A group may be ready to explore a stream bed but may not have sufficient cooperation and focus to abseil down a waterfall.  As a group attains a greater level of trust there is the reward of more adventure.