Horizons Summer 2024 (#106)

HORIZONS

TRAIN YOUR VOICE

Ever wondered how you can use your voice more effectively when teaching outdoors? Dr Lesley Hendy and Dr Neil Schofield have the answers.

HOW TO IDENTIFY PLANTS

Stephanie Bale walks as through some basic identification techniques that you can use outdoors this

COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE

Peter White discusses the concept of collective knowledge and how it might help keep people safe during outdoor activities.

SEASONAL FORAGING

Lizzy Maskey is back with more wonderful seasonal foraging - look out for her healing balm recipe and a super quick summer meal!

Join us at a free

Lookoutforin-person IOL Membergatherings

HORIZONS

WRITE AN ARTICLE

Content for publication is always welcome and should be emailed to the Editor. The Editor will attempt to return all unsolicited material but cannot accept responsibility for it. Please read the contributor guidelines before submitting content. COPYRIGHT of the magazine as a publication is vested in the Editor. Copyright of articles remains with the individual authors who will receive a copy of their article. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without the express permission of the Editor, who is normally happy to grant requests for educational purposes. Opinions shared in articles are not necessarily shared by the Editor, Editorial panel or IOL.

ADVERTISE

Contact Fiona Exon at IOL for information: fiona@ outdoor-learning.org. Advertisers retain copyright for their adverts. Adverts shared in this magazine do not represent endorsement by the Editor, Editorial panel or IOL.

JOIN OUR EDITORIAL PANEL

Having a specialist panel means we have a wealth of experience in different types of Outdoor Learning at our finger tips. This helps ensure the stories we publish are upto-date, well structured and useful to our readers.

If you’re interested in joining our specialist panel, go to our website: outdoor-learning.org and select Horizons Magazine under the Voice tab.

ISSUE CREDITS

DESIGN AND EDITING PROOFREADING Catherine Dunn Dr Jack Reed

PANEL

Thank you to the Horizons panel for their continued support and contributions.

Geoff Cooper

Suzie Dick

Di Collins

Sam Moore

Ian Healey

Colin Wood

Liam Scott

Jack Reed

Stuart Meese

Morgan Luddington Eluned Roberts

IMAGES

Images throughout this magazine have been sourced from Unsplash, Shutterstock and contributors unless otherwise specified. Photographers retain copyright.

ARCHIVE

Find past articles in the Horizons archive: outdoor-learningresearch.org/Horizons-Archive

INSTITUTE FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING

The Institute for Outdoor Learning is the professional body for organisations and individuals who use the outdoors to make a positive difference to others. Our Members have a shared vision of Outdoor Learning as a highly valued form of development, education and employment in UK society. Learn about IOL and how to become a member: outdoor-learning.org ©2024 Catherine Dunn ISSN 2634-8799

EDITORIAL

Catherine Dunn - Editor

Catherine is an award winning filmmaker and creative. Her work primarily looks at mental health, adventure and the climate crisis. She holds an Outdoor Education MSc.

Summer has arrived (sort of)! Lots has happened since the Spring issue of Horizons, not least a brand new incoming UK Government. Sunshine has filtered through in short bursts and rain has fallen intensely across the country as we see further evidence of the more extreme weather conditions that climate change will continue to bring. I recently saw the film ‘Wilding’ at my local arts venue - based on the book by Isabella Tree, it explores the pioneering rewilding work being undertaken on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex. I found it to be of great inspiration and perhaps a glimpse at what the future landscape of working outdoors could look like.

We’ve got another wonderful issue for you, packed with some great identification tips (p.20) and foraging recipes (p.36) to keep you busy this summer. There are some great features offering hands-on perspectives of outdoor learning implementation (p.12 and p.23). Ever wondered how you can get the most out of your voice when teaching outdoors? Neil and Lesley have the answers on page 16. Finally, Calum Wright has some wonderful tips and tricks for early years foundation stage education on page 30. As always, I hope you enjoy this issue of Horizons!

CONTENTS

SCANNING THE HORIZON

Find out what’s new across the Institute for Outdoor Learning.

PAGE 4-7

EVENT REPORT

Anita Kerwin-Nye gives us the lowdown on the recent Women’s Leadership in Protected Landscapes virtual event.

PAGE 15

SPOTLIGHT

This issue, we’re putting a spotlight on RPIOL and apprenticeships.

PAGE 8-9

TRAIN YOUR VOICE

Find out how to use your voice most effectively in the outdoors - and how to preserve it!

PAGE 16-19

OUTDOOR LEARNING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Sarah Earl discusses the success of her school’s outdoor education programme and how it has impacted their broader curriculum.

PAGE 23-25

UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

Dan Whittaker explores the concept of virtues as a valuable outdoor learning tool.

PAGE 12-14

HOW TO IDENTIFY PLANTS

Stephanie Bale walks as through some basic identification techniques that you can use outdoors this summer.

PAGE 20-22 SERIES

BEHIND THE SCENES: BUSHCRAFT

Discover the latest news and fun activities in the world of bushcraft.

PAGE 26

MAKING A SPLASH

Interested in coasteering? Are you a coasteering practitioner? Find out more about the National Coasteering Charter.

PAGE 27-29

EARLY YEARS OUTDOORS

Calum Wright explores the importance of outdoor learning for children and offers creative strategies for engagement.

PAGE 30-33

COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE

Peter White discusses collective knowledge as a means of keeping people safe during outdoor activities.

PAGE 34-35

SUMMER FORAGING

Lizzy Maskey continues her seasonal foraging series - this time, she’s got a healing balm and another delicious recipe!

PAGE 36-39

IN PROFILE

This issue, we spoke to Luschka van Onselen about her life and career in the outdoors.

PAGE 40-41

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Photo Courtesy of Hangloose Adventure Ltd

SCANNING THE HORIZON

NEWS FROM AROUND THE INSTITUTE FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING

A Few Words from Jo

By Jo Barnett, IOL CEO

This summer is feeling full of ‘newness’. The IOL has three new Community Groups, many new individual members and a new ‘Early Career Professional’ package…and we have a new UK Government - all within the time it has taken to release this issue of Horizons! A big welcome to our new Community Groups: Alternative Provision; Outdoor Learning & Youth Work; and the Association for Outdoor Therapy. These are groups of people who share similar interests in a particular branch of the outdoor learning tree. They have come together to exchange knowledge and skills, support each other and innovate. All IOL Community Groups are free for members to join and are found through your ‘Member Homepage’ on the website.

For new and existing members, we now have a webinar to help you make the most of your IOL membership. We like to think of the IOL as a two-way relationship. Firstly, we want to make sure you personally get maximum benefit from your membership and secondly, we want to support you in making your full contribution to outdoor learning. These are free and listed in the IOL Events - I may well see you there!

The IOL Employers Group continues to review and develop ways to recognise, accredit and support the outdoor learning sector workforce. This includes those starting out on a career and those re-evaluating their working direction. Check out the Spotlight for an exciting package for early career professionals that is launching soon.

With the new UK Government comes a new set of 650 MPs and the work of forming relationships begins afresh. As a starting point the digital map of outdoor learning providers by parliamentary constituency needs updating. This is proving a tremendous resource, with over 10,000 hits since its launch last November. There is no requirement for providers to be an IOL member and listing is free, all you have to do is to email institute@outdoor-learning.org. So, if that was just the last Horizons’ quarter – I wonder what the next will bring! p

The Association for Outdoor Therapy

By Kaye Richards

Over many years the development of outdoor therapeutic practices has been evolving into a defined professional approach called ‘outdoor therapy’. As part of this, a diverse range of practices have developed that offer targeted services and interventions for population groups with greater complexity of psychological, emotional, social and health needs. In recent years, this has led to recognition in mainstream psychological therapies with the NHS acknowledging that outdoor and nature-based interventions hold value. It is now accepted that these approaches can support and serve individuals for health, mental health and wellbeing benefits across many dimensions. As part of this evolving landscape, the requirement to establish a formal association that brings together related and diverse outdoor therapy practices and perspectives has emerged. This is not just to support those working and developing initiatives in this complex arena, but also to steer ethical and professional agendas as this growth continues.

As such, a group of outdoor, psychological, therapeutic, and health professionals have come together to form the Association for Outdoor Therapy (AOT) with the vision that: ‘outdoor therapy is recognised as an accessible and credible approach that benefits individuals, society, and our planet’

The mission is: ‘to develop and support safe, ethical, and sustainable approaches to outdoor therapy by building a thriving community of practice, promoting knowledge and understanding, and building capability in the field’.

In officially launching the association on 9th July (2024), AOT was delighted that a diverse range of interested parties joined to find out more about its strategic activities and ways in which they could actively get involved in shaping the field of outdoor therapy. There was a positive response from attendees on the need for such an association in order to provide a home and support advancements in outdoor therapy (however defined, e.g., nature therapy, adventure therapy, ecotherapy etc). Anyone with an interest in this area of practice will find a welcoming space at AOT to share, reflect and discuss. The association moves forward at this stage of its development with the support of IOL as its initial host organisation, so you can opt in to join AOT if you are already an IOL member or specifically join as an AOT member (outside of full IOL membership).

More details of AOT’s strategic objectives, upcoming events, committee members, and ongoing developments can be found at: outdoor-learning.org/community/sector-specialist-groups/ association-for-outdoor-therapy.html. AOT is looking forward to working with its new and evolving membership in this exciting development p

New AdvenureSmart e-learning module

Over the last year, in Horizons, we have been sharing how AdventureSmart is a free training and development resource for you to use in your work and with your clients and young people. AdventureSmart is a UK and Ireland-wide strategy for safe participation in outdoor recreation, informed by behavioural science and provides a narrative to guide conversations about safety. Its messages are developed by experts from leading safety and sporting organisations. AdventureSmart aims to ensure that everyone in the UK has access to engaging, accurate and appropriate ‘good practice’ safety messaging delivered via a collaborative network of regional and national partners.

The changing demographic of participants, increased footfall to honey-pot sites and pin drop locations thanks to social media content all necessitate the need to reach new audiences, especially those whose knowledge and experience of outdoor recreation activities and the landscapes in which they occur is limited. Retail, tourism and trade businesses play a vital role in communicating safety information to the people who need it. Retailers need to talk about safety; they want to make their customer’s day better. By sharing the AdventureSmart messages, retail staff have the potential to reduce incidents, thereby potentially saving the lives of both the people who are rescued and the rescuers. AdventureSmart is recognised by the Outdoor Industries Association as a source of credible, clear and accessible information for anyone heading for the outdoors. When designing the ‘Introduction to Outdoor Retail’ Award, AdventureSmart was chosen as the way to talk about safety in the outdoors.

UK’s FIRST sun safety course for sports and outdoor industry professionals

The Melanoma Fund has launched the UK’s first sun protection course. Designed to elevate standards in sun safety education and skin cancer prevention, it targets those at the highest risk. Sunguarding: Sun and Heat Protection for Sports and Outdoor Recreation is a freely accessible course, designed for those who work with people outdoors, from aspiring to existing professionals. Available in an online format for existing professionals or a PowerPoint presentation format for university lecturers, the course is accredited by the Institute for Outdoor Learning and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity and gives accreditation upon completion. Providing three continual professional development points, it is already shared by leading sports and outdoor organisations, including the PGA, AfPE, UK Coaching, the LTA, Mountain Training England and many others.

Scan the QR code or use the link below to check it out: tinyurl.com/adventuresmartonline

The AdventureSmart team worked with Skern Skills & Training to develop a bespoke e-learning module which formed part of the IOL Accredited ‘Intro to Outdoor Retail’ course and certificate. The next step is to have an IOL-accredited e-learning course available on the website, again with a certificate of completion.

AdventureSmart Co-Project Lead, Paul Donovan, said “when approached and asked to collaborate with IOL and Skern Training on this e-Learning module it was very much a ‘nobrainer’! It is an exciting new development that has great potential to help get important safety information out to people via trusted professionals” p

Article by Paul Donovan and Emma Edwards-Jones

“In light of the rising incidence of skin cancer in the UK, and the growing frequency of extreme heat during summer months, it is imperative for the sports and outdoor recreation sector to proactively ‘sunguard’ outdoor activities. This becomes even more pressing considering the heightened expectations from UK Sport to national governing bodies to demonstrate a robust commitment to health and safety protocols. With existing endorsements from these organisations, our materials are well positioned to provide an effective solution” Michelle Baker, CEO – Melanoma Fund.

"The Institute for Outdoor Learning exists to develop good practice in outdoor learning. Ensuring appropriate levels of safety management is an important element of good practice, so we whole heartedly support and are delighted to accredit The Melanoma Fund’s Sunguarding course. We recommend all outdoor learning practitioners draw guidance from the course to ensure everyone can benefit from outdoor learning activities whilst being protected from the negative effects of direct sunlight" Jo Barnett, CEO - Institute for Outdoor Learning p

For further information, visit: melanoma-fund.co.uk or email michelle@melanoma-fund.co.uk. For more information on the course, visit: melanoma-fund.co.uk/ sun-and-heat-protection-course

DELIVERING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN THE OUTDOORS: UPDATE

The Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL) now has seventeen fully trained deliverers of its suite of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) modules entitled ‘Delivering Experiential Learning in the Outdoors’ (DEL). Congratulations to Deb Cook, Sheryl Confue, Richard Detton, Will Dowling, Zofia Drapella, Graham French, Matt Harrington-Keeton, Dave Harvey, Sophie Holdstock, Matt Laird, Ben Lidstone Scott, Anne Lumsden, Lee McAvoy, Dr Susie Peart, Melanie Reynolds, and Dawn Thomas. A directory of trainers (including Lun Roberts, who ran the Train the Trainer course in January) is in the process of being set up on the IOL website and contact details will soon be available there. Some of these trainers are planning to deliver to their own staff, but others are available to deliver the modules – Facilitation, Fostering a Connection and Reflective Practice for Outdoor Learning Practitioners - (separately or as a whole course) to staff training at other organisations and as open courses for individuals. You do not have to be a member of IOL to attend these courses, although trainers do have to be members so they can take part in the IOL quality assurance process.

We are also pleased to announce that Dr Susie Peart has been appointed Development Manager for DEL. She will begin her duties in October by team teaching the next Train the Trainer course with Lun Roberts. This course begins at 4pm on October 11th at Plas Y Brenin and finishes after lunch on October 15th. Some places have already been booked. If you are interested in becoming a trainer, please contact richard@outdoor-learning. for more information and see the application form or book online (outdoor-learning.org/news-events/ems-eventcalendar/iol-delivering-experiential-learning-train-thetrainer-11-14-oct.html). The course cost is £365, which includes one evening meal, four lunches and all teas, coffees and snacks. The course is non-residential.

The DEL modules have been designed to be experiential, experimental and person-focused and are aimed at helping participants maximise the power of the learning experiences they provide for their clients. The modules have been found useful by all sorts of outdoor learning providers including teachers, technical skills instructors, management trainers, personal development providers and people running environmental courses p

Photos by Zofia Drapella and Lun Roberts. Photographers retain copyright.

LOWLAND Leadership

Support your delegates to build leadership skills to use in the great outdoors and transfer to other areas of life.

Our Lowland Leadership programmes are perfect for outdoor learning centres, colleges and schools looking to help their delegates develop essential leadership skills.

Using our programmes, centres also upskill their staff and volunteers, providing them with formal training and recognition for the work they do.

Choose from the following programmes:

Level 2 Qualification in Assisting Lowland Expedition Leadership

Level 3 Qualification in Lowland Walk Leadership

Level 3 Qualification in Lowland Expedition Leadership

To find out more about our Lowland Leadership programmes, scan this QR code or email devteam@leadershipskillsfoundation.org

SPOTLIGHT

This issue, the spotlight is on...becoming a Registered Practitioner of the Institute of Outdoor Learning through the Outdoor Activity Instructor Apprenticeship route

By Jim Whittaker

Over the past few months, a group of IOL trustees has been working on an exciting project to bring together the sector’s apprenticeship standards and the established outdoor learning professional practitioner route. The clarity and quality of the professional pathways into and through outdoor learning is a key focus for the Institute for Outdoor Learning. This article provides an update on the first very significant step in that work.

History

The Registered Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning (RPIOL) accreditation was the natural next step after the establishment and success of the Accredited Practitioner (APIOL) route developed nearly twenty years ago. By 2008 it was possible to be recognised as an early career professional who could prepare and lead safe and engaging outdoor learning sessions to achieve intended outcomes.

The Outdoor Activity Instructor (OAI) apprenticeship standard was approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) in September 2018. It recognises when an individual can prepare and run a safe and enjoyable activity session that meets intended outcomes. A key part of the development of the OAI standard by the trailblazer group was to align the standard with RPIOL. Work was done to initially map this to RPIOL by Roger Hopper and Neal Anderson and, thanks to this, IfATE recognised RPIOL as the professional pathway alongside OAI from the beginning.

Why?

Up until now, there has been no formal system to automatically award RPIOL upon successful completion of an apprenticeship. This is the case in most other sectors and with most other professional recognition systems. The OAI standard provides a robust and reflective training progression for those new to outdoor activity instruction. Those who complete it have demonstrated the required knowledge, skills, and behaviours to plan, deliver, and review safe sessions of enjoyable outdoor learning, and have met all the requirements for RPIOL without further evidence.

Where the OAI standard defines the journey to competence, the associated End Point Assessment (EPA) provides a summative assessment that looks very much like the assessment for RPIOL.

For more information on the RPIOL award criteria: outdoorlearning.org/standards/iol-awards-and-accreditation/rpiol.html

For more information on the OAI standard: instituteforapprenticeships. org/apprenticeship-standards/ outdoor-activity-instructor-v1-1

So, why introduce apprentices to the IOL during their training and then award them RPIOL upon completion? Let’s explore the benefits...

Support for early career professionals

Support for those in their early years in the sector comes from every angle and is abundant. National Governing Body award courses, local and regional outdoor networks, employer influence, peer support, online forums and webinars, you name it. We work in a world which enables others to be the best version of themselves. But what can the Institute for Outdoor Learning do better to formalise and strengthen support so that it’s very clear, structured, accessible and valued from outside the sector?

Challenging diversity issues

We have a diversity issue to address. Our workforce does not reflect the communities it serves and the problem is more chronic the higher up the leadership and management scale you go. It’s not uncommon to find a gathering of senior members of our sector with fewer than 5% being female and with no ethnic diversity at all. In contrast, an inspection of the 300 or so strong apprenticeship population in the sector shows over 50% female and 15% from diverse backgrounds. If we can capture the interest of more of these early career professionals, early on in their development, we can hopefully create a more diverse foundation from which to instigate positive change in our workforce. The benefits are clear not only in the quality and diversity of the workforce, but also in the improvement of our membership demographic and talent pipeline.

Employer benefits

Recruitment and retention are high on any employer’s list of challenges. Any tool that helps to identify and nurture talent is an attractive one. Many employers choose the RPIOL/ APIOL progression as a useful framework for training and development, and for that to be kick-started at the earliest point possible can be of benefit. The outside involvement of the RPIOL mentor and the network that early career professionals can access through this system are powerful positive influences.

Individual benefits

Introduction to your sector’s professional body is a very important first step in a career – whether that’s a short-term career or a lifelong one. The acceleration of training and development that comes with a well-informed, balanced and properly resourced induction and development programme is both rewarding and motivating. Having clear sight of progression opportunities and a well-structured roadmap is important in making decisions about career direction. We recognise and celebrate the contribution that a short-term career in the outdoors can have for an individual who then moves into another sector; the better we can make those early years, the better that career will be.

At this point they are now automatically qualified for RPIOL without further evidence. Individuals may now access a further year of heavily discounted membership as an early career professional. Some practical notes:

• Apprentices will be introduced to the IOL and the RPIOL system by their training provider early in the apprenticeship and can join IOL soon thereafter to access networks and resources.

• Employers will be encouraged to support with membership – currently discounted to £3 per month.

• The RPIOL awarding centre may be the training provider, employer or employer provider.

• In the case of a training provider not being an RPIOL centre, the provider/employer may engage with another RPIOL centre to enable accreditation.

• Those that complete the full OAI training phase, but are unable to achieve Functional Skills (and therefore cannot undertake End Point Assessment), can still attain RPIOL through a gateway agreement between themselves, their employer and the training provider. This is in order to not disadvantage those with special educational needs or disabilities.

For training providers that offer the OAI standard to be able to offer RPIOL accreditation, they must:

How does it work?

Throughout their OAI apprenticeship, individuals gather evidence in many, if not all, of the following ways: e-portfolio evidence; written questions; assignments; project work; webinar attendance; hot topic completion; SWOT analysis; learning journal; observation records; professional discussions; tutor testimony; employer testimony; practical course attendance; NGB qualification; gateway meeting; End Point Assessment.

The full assessment plan can be found here: instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/ outdoor-activity-instructor-v1-1.

On completion of the training phase, the gateway meeting between training provider, employer and apprentice agrees progression to End Point Assessment (EPA). If the apprentice passes EPA, they achieve the apprenticeship.

• be an organisational member of the Institute for Outdoor Learning;

• be listed on the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register;

• be registered as an RPIOL awarding centre (nb: there is no charge for this process);

• and have a designated member of staff to coordinate the RPIOL process (that holds either the Accredited Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning or Professional in Outdoor Learning Accreditation).

Development

Getting the foundation right is the key. We will monitor the development of the RPIOL community and seek feedback to improve the offer the IOL can make. Listening to the needs and priorities of early career professionals will help us shape this stage and work on the alignment of the Level 5 Outdoor learning Specialist standard with a refreshed APIOL p

If you have any comments, questions or feedback do please get in touch via institute@outdoor-learning.org with the subject line OAI-RPIOL. For more information: outdoor-learning.org/ workforce/apprenticeships.html

Photos by Wiltshire Outdoor Learning Team and Field Studies Council. Photographers retain copyright.

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IOL Manifesto

July 2024

The Institute for Outdoor Learning is the professional body for organisations and individuals who use the outdoors to make a positive difference to others.

Outdoor learning is a term that covers ways of engaging with the outdoors for developmental purposes.

Central to outdoor learning is the role of the practitioner, We support and develop the people and organisations that deliver outdoor learning.

The current challenges for children and young people in the UK today

Outdoor Learning professionals are building on the distinguished heritage of outdoor learning in the UK and are ready to respond to the challengers facing young people today.

Mental wellbeing - Childhood obesity - School Attendance & Attainment - Youth Crime - Youth Unemployment

We can help

1. We ask every political party to commit to the inclusion of outdoor learning as a core part of the national curriculums of all home nations

2. We ask every political party recognises that outdoor learning is integral to youth work practice of all home nations

We can deliver

3. We ask every political party to recognise and value the outdoor learning workforce as a national asset

Pledge your support

We’re asking MPs to show their commitment to using outdoor learning in formal education and youth work to engaging with the MP Support Group (outdoor-learning.org) and its important role in progressing our manifesto.

Full Manifesto here https://www.outdoor-learning.org/voice/government-engagement/mp-support-group.html

Global Outdoor Learning Day takes place on the 21st of November every year and celebrates the powerful impact of the outdoors on education and personal development.

Organised by the Institute for Outdoor Learning, Global Outdoor Learning Day brings together educators, organisations, and individuals globally to acknowledge and promote the benefits of outdoor learning. It promotes the belief that learning in natural environments contributes significantly to physical wellbeing, mental health, and a deeper understanding of the world around us.

Global Outdoor Learning Day is an opportunity to showcase diverse outdoor learning activities, share best practices, and inspire a love for the natural world in learners of all ages.

Global Outdoor Learning Day

#Globaloutdoorlearningday 21.11.24

Author profile

Dan Whittaker LPIOL, FRGS, IML, NPQSL, Dip. Psych, Outdoor Therapist, SLE (School Leader in Education OL - I coach other schools in the best use of their grounds for outdoor learning). Dan worked for 20 years as a Deputy in a local authority Outdoor Education Centre, moving to Elmwood School 10 years ago. A keen mountain biker, coastal paddler and occasional climber, he continues to challenge himself with learning new skills and having ‘unexpected adventures’.

Elmwood School is a Special School focusing on pupils with social, emotional and mental health concerns such as Autism, Aspergers, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). 72% of our pupil population are entitled to free school meals. A key component of our offer, developed over the last ten years, is the ‘Out and About’ programme which all pupils access over the five years they are with us.

Since the programme began, we have developed over one hundred activities ranging from mountain biking, bushcraft, canoeing, archery, and climbing, to less traditional activities including scything, riflery, tomahawk throwing, dowsing, willow weaving, cyanotype, natural wool dyeing, and other rural crafts. The programme was initially experientially focused, but about eight years ago I read Colin Mortlock’s book, ‘Spirit of Adventure’ (1), in which he outlines over twenty virtues (such as kindness, determination, resilience, selfdiscipline, concentration, patience, etc.) and their importance in living a harmonious life. The virtues resonated with me and I decided to see if they would form the ongoing main theme for the Out and About programme.

Learning from history

The Out and About programme deliberately changes each week to keep it fresh and challenging, as well as ensuring appeal across our varied community. After each activity, the

AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

plenary of each session focuses on which of Mortlock’s virtues the pupils feel they have practiced during that lesson. This gives a purpose to the activities which become ‘vehicles’ for learning and a broader theme to the whole programme. This concept is borrowed from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who termed the process of ‘learning the virtues practically’ as ‘phronesis’ in 394 BC. For Aristotle, the intention of this process was to create virtuous leaders to guide civilisation. He hypothesised that the only way we truly learn patience, for instance, is when our patience is tested. This example often plays out during our Out and About programme during the learning of a ‘craft’ activity, be that willow weaving, leathercraft or carving.

As for ‘courage’ (often our pupils prefer to remain within their comfort zones), I took the concept of the ‘hero’s journey’ and simplified it. In modern media and storytelling, a hero’s journey often follows a protagonist as they encounter challenges and overcome obstacles in order to reach their goals.

Dan Whittaker explores virtues as

UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

In the context of our Out and About programme, the pupils commence their personal adventures from the ‘ordinary world’ of their classroom and are ‘called to adventure’ in Out and About. Here, they face ‘challenges’, but the ‘rewards’ are that they can take those practiced virtues back to class and their lives – thus, completing their hero’s journey. For those pupils who truly overcome a fear during Out and About, there is the honour of a Conquering Dragons certificate presented in assembly along with their name placed on the roll of honour board.

A virtuous journey

After successfully introducing and delivering the theme of virtues to the Out and About programme with pupils for a year, we found our colleagues were seeing the carry-over of the virtues practiced in our area being drawn upon by the pupils in their class-based subjects. We also tentatively looked to create a map for the journey that pupils might make through the virtues. This has its challenges, as all of the virtues will have been facilitated/experienced by the end of Year 7. However, in discussion with colleagues it was felt that some virtues (such as altruism and tolerance) might take longer to percolate within an individual, thus it appears later into the journey. On the other hand, building virtues such as trust, resilience and courage were seen as essential building blocks in the pupil’s early journey at Elmwood and so appear at the very beginning of the journey. Virtues such as patience and gratitude appear throughout the midpoint of the journey.

When pupils leave Elmwood in Year 11 they are awarded a certificate detailing two core virtues that their staff feel represent their personal qualities. They are also given an engraved tinder box with an elder-handled ferro rod and striker with a little tinder and the message ‘ignite your future’ on the lid.

Programme validation

As the Out and About’s programme curriculum become more established, we were faced with the challenge of finding a way of ‘quality assuring’ it. In common with many outdoor education programmes, we knew instinctively that it worked, but how were we to prove that to Ofsted? The need to demonstrate its academic credentials was increasingly important. To illustrate this, our pupils are greeted each morning with the challenge to ‘Choose your Adventure’ at the school entrance.

We decided that we would look to externally validate the programme in readiness for Ofsted. It was perceived that any visit would result in two opinions from an inspection: either they would scrutinise the claims made in detail, but it would not fit their criteria so find it weak (which the Head Teacher knew it was not); or they would feel unqualified to inspect and so disregard it. The Head Teacher did not want the latter, knowing the amount of work and investment that goes into the programme and also how much value the pupils gain from it.

a valuable outdoor learning tool

Left, centre bottom and right photographs provided by Dan Whittaker. Author retains copyright.

As for the former potential outcome, this raises the eternal challenge for outdoor learning - ‘where is the proof that it works?’. Our aim was to generate the evidence to ensure our claims for Out and About were robust.

We quickly agreed that there was no external quality mark that would easily fit what we offer at Elmwood, so we worked with an external consultant, Dave Harvey, who took on the role of ‘critical friend’ and challenged us to provide the evidence, both academically and objectively, that Ofsted might expect.

As a result of that process, we created a ‘theory of change’ that explained what we were doing and why. The theory of change applied to the whole curriculum and, in Ofsted language, described our curriculum intent.

Theory of change

Put simply, a theory of change is the thinking and approach that sits behind the change that a programme is trying to make. It can be visualised as a three-tiered pyramid, with the base level containing our outdoor activities. These activities have value in themselves, for example: woodland walks can promote lifelong exercise and mental and physical health benefits. Primarily, such activities are the vehicles through which we teach pupils to practice various virtues or through which pupils see others practicing them. Occasionally, they have the maturity to suggest a virtue they should have worked harder at, for example, focus, tolerance, or resilience. The middle section of the pyramid illustrates the intermediate outcomes of those activities. These draw on concepts such as mastery, challenge and decision-making, authenticity, agency, autonomy, selfdetermination, uncertainty, and creative problem solving. These intermediate goals are categorised into four key performance indicators for Elmwood School, it’s pupils and staff:

Attendance - Pupils and staff report that Out and About is a key factor in attending school.

Engagement - Pupils and staff report that the virtues help pupils perform in other subjects. For example, through determination and concentration. This is best demonstrated when a pupil might be struggling in class and their teaching assistant reminds them of the times in the Out and About programme when they have overcome challenges and shown resilience and determination.

Attainment - Pupils and staff report that the virtues help them achieve more, showing focus, cooperation and concentration.

Behaviour - Pupils and staff report that virtues such as self-discipline, self-reliance, and tolerance help them with their behavior across the school. For example, behavior is generally very good in Out and About lessons. If they can be safe in Out and About then they can be safe elsewhere in the school.

The top tier of the theory of change pyramid represents our ultimate goal of the programme, which is for pupils to lead fulfilling lives. We didn’t want this to be tied to qualifications, careers or further academia, so summarised our outcomes as such: the Out and About programme enables pupils to re-imagine their potential, become productive citizens with life effectiveness. This will be achieved through connecting with nature as one path to flourishing in life, creating individuals who are living well.

Outcomes and conclusions

The success of the validation process was shown in a recent Ofsted inspection (2), with inspectors reporting on the “high quality outdoor learning” that the programme offers, while using other phrases integral to Out & About such as “reimagining your potential”, “personal development”, “keeping safe”, as well as the virtues of character, tolerance, respect and awareness.

This was after a mere twenty-minute conversation, albeit an information packed and intense twenty minutes!

In conclusion, the Out and About curriculum, through its focus on virtues, has enabled hundreds of pupils to take part in a huge range of experiences that have had a significant impact on their attitude to schooling. It goes some way towards enabling pupils to ‘re-imagine their potential’ and to become productive citizens with ‘life effectiveness’ who are ‘living well’ (3) - and it is achieved through ‘connecting with nature as one path to flourishing in life’ (4).

What of the future? Well, after reading an article in an IOL newsletter I was struck by the phrase ‘to consider nature connectedness as a virtue’. This will become a new virtue in the Out and About lexicon. It will be delivered through activities we already offer such as earthwalks, dowsing and gardening. We have also introduced ‘joy’. The past ten years has been an unexpected journey and one that I had no concept of what depths of analysis and research it would lead to, with the outcome of a robust curriculum with a unique depth and breadth p

References

1. Mortlock, C. (2009). The spirit of adventure. Kendal: Outdoor Integrity Publishing. 2. Ofsted report for Elmwood 2022: https://www.elmwood.walsall.sch.uk/_files/ ugd/4eddf1_3b85726673c34e9da7b7a6f02e3f7263.pdf

3. Beames, S., & Brown, M. (2016). Adventurous learning: A pedagogy for a changing world. Routledge.

4. Capaldi, C. A., Passmore, H. A., Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. M., & Dopko, R. L. (2015). Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(4).

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN PROTECTED LANDSCAPES

Anita Kerwin-Nye (IOL member and Charity Leader) reports back from the latest event from the Women’s Leadership in Protected Landscapes Network

The Women’s Leadership in Protected Landscapes Network is an informal community of practice. It was set up in response to the reality that there are significantly less women – particularly women from the global majority and working-class women – in leadership positions in our protected landscapes and indeed the wider outdoor sector. It unashamedly aims to provide women – and other under-represented groups - with role models, inspiration, advice and connections to support their leadership journey. This is of course equally useful to men and other leaders - membership of the community is open for all.

The network also builds on the Glover Review of Landscapes, and subsequent work, that has explored the need for alternative/new skills in the protected landscapes sector. The network explores whether some of this new thinking may come from the way that women work and operate.

Our July event

July saw the second virtual event with a timely post-election focus on how to inform policy. Speakers included sector CEOs, policy leads from Natural England and Heritage Lottery Fund, campaigners, membership bodies and young staff new to the sector.

Over 100 delegates heard speakers share their career journeys and campaigning advice with some clear common themes. One particular theme was that many people talked about a ‘lucky break’ which allowed them to access the outdoor sector, such as someone they knew or an event they attended. It became clear that, while this approach might work for some, we need to create deliberate opportunities for entry and progression that move beyond luck. It was great to hear from two young people, in Joshua and Hayley, who were participants on the ‘New to Nature’ programme and are now working at the New Forest National Park Authority. This was a scheme which over 2000 young people applied for, with 100 taking part – the scheme included paid roles, personal development and the creation of networks which all contributed to participants moving into full-time roles. You can find out more about the New to Nature programme here.

Another theme which we explored was the importance of networks – personal and professional, formal and informal. These was particularly important for those who may be underrepresented in the sector, both in terms of providing visible role models and in sharing stories and experiences that help those earlier in their career. Social media was identified as a key tool for making wider connections and the role of membership bodies was explored by Jayne Butler, the inspirational Director of National Parks England.

We also heard about routes to campaigning and influence from established campaigners including Kate Ashbrook, General Secretary of Open Spaces, and new campaigners including Ruth Garrett. Approaches to campaigning might have changed with the increased potential that social media provides, but the overall message was the same; know your cause, be bold and make a splash. Ruth’s work was made possible by the Campaign for National Parks New Perspective Bursary which may provide a model for wider work on making the case for outdoor learning. For more information, head to this website.

Finally, underpinning the entire event was the need to invest in personal development and reflection. This is a theme at the centre of the Institute for Outdoor Learning’s mission. Not just in the technical skills required for our roles, but in how we grow as leaders and influencers.

What’s next?

The network is evolving with over 500 signed up for information. The next event will be in early Autumn with a face-to-face connection planned for 2025. To hear more, connect to Anita Kerwin-Nye on LinkedIn and look out for more information across the IOL.

Written by Anita Kerwin-Nye.

TRAIN YOUR VOICE

Ever wondered how to use your voice effectively while instructing in the outdoors?

Author profile

Dr Hendy (EdD MA ADSD LGSM) has worked in education for forty years in both primary and secondary schools and in teaching training. She is a former Senior Lecturer in drama and education in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Since leaving teaching education in 2000, she had specialised in voice training and runs courses for teachers for the local authority and for schools in East and West Sussex. She has a small private practice that includes teachers, managers, sales representatives and newsreaders for local radio.

Author profile

Dr Neil Schofield is Assistant Activities Manager at Lendrick Muir. Over the last 25 years he has worked in a wide range of outdoor education environments. He has a particular interest in training and development, and currently oversees the Trainee Instructor programme at Lendrick Muir. His love of theatre and storytelling has influenced his approach to instructing over the years.

In the Summer of 2022, Lendrick Muir Outdoor Activity Centre approached The5Voices company, who specialise in voice training for trainee teachers, to run a voice training course for their instructors. The5Voices training consists of a series of workshops (over four to six sessions of one and a half hours each) during which participants are introduced to how our anatomy worksbalance and alignment, breathing and breath support, breath to sound, resonance, articulation, use of centred neutral and voice care. The course ran over four weeks in January 2023. It included individual consultations with a voice coach as well as four seminars covering theory and practical exercises. Our main aim was to investigate whether the research on vocal tone colour and subsequent training being provided to teachers was of benefit to the outdoor industry. Informal conversations with some of our staff had indicated that help with voice projection in difficult conditions would be of benefit. The course provided valuable insight into these areas as well as providing practical exercises to maintain vocal health and practice tone control.

As anyone who has worked in the outdoor activity industry will be aware, there are many physical and vocal difficulties that can occur when working outdoors, especially in bad weather or over demanding terrain. While we recognise the physical injuries and strains we can get from activities and take appropriate precautions, we often don’t recognise the same for our voices and it is only when we find something has gone wrong that we ask for help. For aches and pains in muscles and bones we seek advice from a physiotherapist; when our voice ceases to work properly, we look for help from a speech and language therapist.

What we were trying to do at Lendrick Muir was to address some of the health issues that can occur through misuse of our voices before any damage becomes acute. We also wanted to bring into the training The5Voices unique researchbased findings on how vocal tone affects the ability of a learner to absorb new information. Have you ever considered that the tone colour of the voice we use to speak to another person has a definite effect on their comprehension and learning outcomes?

“ The medium for your message is your voice. It is the tool we use most to present the information students need to improve their skills

”

Importance of tone colour

The tone colour is the sound the voice makes and creates a difference in the response of the listener. The use of an incorrect tone colour can make the listener feel challenged, disrespected or disregarded.  By contrast, when using a correct tone colour your listener will feel included, regarded and respected. There are five major tone types that the voice can make. The first is the centred-neutral tone from which we can produce a warm tone colour, giving us the ability to use the second and third tones which are an encouraging voice and a comforting/reassuring tone. The fourth and fifth tones are firm and extra firm, which are formed by using force or volume - shouting comes into this category. These fourth and fifth tones should be used sparingly as these two voices are the ones that can cause anxiety in the listener.

By varying the tone colour of our voice, we can convey emotion and expectation for our students. For example, a firm, brisk voice (often thought to keep young people under control) can in fact cause anxiety in the listener. With the correct use of tone, we can change the mood and put our students at ease.

Research shows that there is a connection between how we speak to another person and the effect it has on comprehension and performance (1). The sound a voice makes influences the human brain. The writer Maya Angelou observed, “I have learned that people will forget what you have said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Using your voice with too much power and firmness, as described earlier, can upset concentration and increase the levels of cortisol (1, 2) in the brain and body.

The response

The main chemicals involved in the response to vocal tones are the hormones cortisol and oxytocin. Too much shouting and an extra firm tone produces a fear response and is the body’s way of facing any perceived threat. The fear response includes four main reactions:

1. Fight, where the listener can get aggressive towards the speaker (a common response in classrooms).

2. Flight, where your body urges you to run from danger.

3. Freeze, is the body’s inability to act against a threat.

4. Fawn, where your body’s stress response to try to please someone to avoid conflict.

There are good social reasons for being defensive against a perceived threat and those reasons are stronger than reasons to attend to a gentler tone. Cortisol release is linked to the fear response of fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body, including the metabolism and immune response. It also has a very important role in helping the body counter stress. The human body needs cortisol to function as it is an essential hormone that effects almost every organ and tissue in the body. It plays many important roles in helping control the body’s use of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and metabolism. Too much cortisol, however, and the system begins to shut down areas of the brain that deal with memory, attention and thought, emotional regulation and the ability to curb inappropriate behaviour. Too much cortisol is released when the voice sounds too harsh or powerful and this leads to a reduction in concentration, difficulties with memory, lack of confidence in and distrust of the speaker (3).

By releasing cortisol in others, cortisol is also released within the speaker (usually through frustration as the students are misbehaving or not concentrating). Over time, instructors themselves may feel extreme tiredness, lack of concentration, feelings of fear and depression and other physical symptoms. On the other hand, oxytocin is a hormone that acts as another chemical messenger in the brain, controlling aspects of human behaviour such as confidence and relationships (2). It primes the listener to be more receptive to what is being said, be more trusting of the speaker, and more likely to be responsive to the information being conveyed which encourages better learning. We respond to how we are spoken to and act accordingly (4). Neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers which deliver hormones into the different areas of the brain, react to the situations in which we find ourselves. We cannot help it; our brain chemistry reacts to the sounds we hear. It is a primordial response programmed into our brain since the beginning of human existence. The release of cortisol gives us the capacity to run away from danger.  The modern brain perceives the ‘shouty’, or very firm voice, as danger and therefore goes into fear mode.

Research from neuroscience

This is not just an impression or intuition - there is solid science behind these conjectures. Neuroscientists have proved the relationship between a heard sound and the release of biochemicals in the brain (1, 2, 4, 5). There’s evidence from social and cognitive neuroscience that the brain actually picks up on these cues rapidly, within a few milliseconds (1).

The importance of understanding the 5 voice tones

The voice we are aiming for when speaking in group contexts, and from which other voices are formed, is called centredneutral. This note (sometimes referred to as a centre note) is where the voice of the speaker is at its strongest. To be effective the speaker must use their centred-neutral as a base from which all other tones emanate.

The Lendrick Muir programme was designed to help instructors understand the importance of: alignment and balance (voice difficulties can occur when outside and looking up at students on a high rope course or climbing wall, for example); breath support and how breath is used to produce good sound; finding the centre note for their voice (centred-neutral); how resonators in the throat and head work; and articulation, so words and sentences can be heard. Working outside or in large halls can prove problematic for outdoor instructors, so we also addressed how instructors should use projection. A common feature when using your voice in outside environments is damage to the vocal folds, so we taught projection techniques that would lessen this possibility.

The Lendrick Muir programme

Voice is often overlooked as a skill that can be learned and practised to make a positive contribution to the communication needed to promote trust and encouragement. The5Voices specialists developed a bespoke programme that would address as many of these issues as they could in the four sessions that had been allotted. To fulfil the needs of the skeletal and muscular aspects of the job, we were joined by our colleague Katie Knapton, a physiotherapist specialising in breathing and the diaphragm in her work. Our second co-partner was Clarissa Hardaker, a voice teacher and speech and language therapist, and Doctor Lesley Hendy, also a voice teacher who is the co-author of The5Voices and has been working in the field of voice for the last thirty years.

The cohort for the course was quite small with ten outdoor instructors, which meant we were able to make initial assessments before the voice course began. Each instructor was allotted a 10-minute slot with both Katie and Clarissa to evaluate and discuss what each wanted from the course and if there were any outstanding problems that would need to be addressed as the course progressed. The programme was carried out over four weeks in January – one and a half hours each week which gave time to cover all aspects of voice and voice care.

We began with physio and how to manage balance, mobility, and motor function - especially in outdoor settings. In the second week the programme moved onto breathing and the importance of the diaphragm. The diaphragm, located below the lungs, is the major muscle of respiration and is so important in the development of good vocal tone. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmically and continually, and, most of the time, involuntarily. Upon inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and flattens as the chest cavity enlarges. Time must be spent in teaching instructors how to engage the diaphragm. As much of the work for the voice is dealing with the outdoor environment, a trained diaphragm is essential for good voice projection.

In the final two weeks, we introduced The5Voices techniques - how to find centred-neutral and other tones. Also, the use of resonance, pitch and articulation in the production of effective vocal tone. Volume, control and support were also covered. Throughout the course, the participants were given guidance on voice care and how to warm up the voice before use.

Course outcomes

A year on from the course, we asked staff what impact the course had. For some, it confirmed their existing practice, while for others it had impacted how they used their voice and led to changed practice. Some staff continued using the voice warm-ups before going out on session and found this helped with projection. From observations on activity sessions during the year, the benefits of the course were noticeable when techniques were being applied. In particular, it has been useful when reviewing our trainee instructor’s sessions. For trainees, group management can sometimes be difficult and often when they review the session they can’t pinpoint why. With this new understanding of the effect of our vocal tone on listeners, it can often be identified as a cause of difficulties. When conscious of this and practicing voice control, they often found that participants could listen and focus on instructions.

Voices are an important tool for outdoor instructors and looking after them is important. Good vocal health, warming up and using good technique for projection will help protect them from damage and future problems. In addition to good vocal health, the understanding gained on how the pitch and tone of your voice can affect the listener has had an impact on how some of our instructors use their voices. Although often done intuitively and developed through experience, a better understanding of the effect of tone on participants’ brain chemistry and their subsequent engagement in outdoor learning could be valuable within the industry.

The number of instructors on the course was a small sample, but did have a range of experience from new trainees through to staff with over 25 years of experience of outdoor learning. It would be interesting to hear more about the experiences of the wider outdoor community relating both to the prevalence of vocal health issues and to their experiences and awareness of how voice tone affects their sessions. More awareness and early career training could lead to better lifetime outcomes for individual instructors as they seek to protect their voices and gain an understanding of how our clients react to subconscious changes in voice tone p

Similar courses can be arranged for other groups, tailored to their specific requirements. For more information, contact us on: www.the5voices.com.

References

1. Paulmann, S, Weinstein, W, Vansteenkiste, M. (2019) ‘Listen to your mother: Motivating tones of voice predict adolescents’ reactions to mothers’ . Developmental Psychology 2019.

2. Glaser J. E & Glaser R. D ‘The Neurochemistry of Positive Conversations’ Harvard Business Review, Feb. 2014. (Effect of Cortisol and Oxytoxin on the ability to function).

3. Dinse, Hubert R., Kattenstroth J.C., Lenz M., Tegenthoff M., Wolf O.T. (2017) ‘The stress hormone cortisol blocks perceptual learning in humans’, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 77, March 2017, Pages 63-67.

4. Blair, C.(2021) ‘Treating a Toxin to Learning ’in Scientific American, Special Collector’s Edition,  ‘The Science of Stress’ Volume 20, No.2 2021(Stress and the release of cortisol and noradrenaline on brain function in small children).

5. Arnsten A.F.T;  Goldman-Rakic P. S., (1998).

“

The course made me think more about my voice and to remember to think about vocal health. I think it also helped in supporting others as the younger staff gain confidence in speaking in front of large groups.

Rachel - course participant

“

I felt the course was good, I learned a lot about how to take care of your vocals, it changed the way I spoke to groups - I noticed I wasn’t using my voice as much.

Ros - course participant

”

“ ”

As a quieter person, I was often nervous about being heard over background noise. The course helped me to better appreciate the link between structure and function when I am speaking and made me more aware of the things I can do to project my voice without feeling the need to shout to be heard. It has helped me to think about/ learn how to project my voice more effectively and safely.

Hannah - course participant

HOW TO IDENTIFY TREES AND

In this brand new series, Stephanie Bale offers some top walks us through some examples

Stephanie Bale is the founder of the Ethical Living Group CIC, which teaches a range of outdoor skills, and is a board member for the Sustainable Life Voluntary Organisation and Friends of Rea Valley Stirchley in her local community. She has been teaching woodland management, basketry and outdoor cooking for at least 8 years and more recently game preparation for 3 years. She has over 10 years of foraging and plant ID experience and today works freelance with a variety of conservation organisations. Her voluntary work includes managing the local woodland and rivers, recording local biodiversity and invasive plant removal.

Humble beginnings

I first got into plant identification roughly twelve years ago. Not that long in the grand scheme of things you may think, but it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks! Back then, I knew little to nothing about the natural world around me, having grown up in particularly urban climes. The most advice I got from my well-meaning mother was “don’t touch any red berries or white flowers, they are poisonous” - I took that to heart for a long time! My father was a greenhouse manager for a prominent seed company, but as my parents split when I was young I didn’t get too much exposure to his working practices and the knowledge there was to gain. I do, however, still remember the few short visits with my father where he had to work. We would get to drive the tractor about to check on potatoes or raid the greenhouses for a bag of fresh tomatoes to eat on the spot. I have yet to eat a tomato as tasty as those my father grew there in my childhood. In the end, it was neither of my parents that encouraged a love for nature, but my husband, Alan, who had dabbled in plant identification from his own family lineage of gardeners. To say my world was forever changed is probably a woeful understatement. Suddenly, I was in awe of everything around me, eager to get out and learn more and we did so together. We continue to encourage each other in our likeminded pursuits of foraging, conservation and bushcraft as well as inviting others to discover the natural world around them.

Learning to identify trees and plants

Learning to identify trees and plants is a deeply foundational wild skill that puts us in touch with our habitat and increases

our knowledge and competence in the physical world. Like fire-making or shelter building, identification (ID) is a skill we learn because our brains work better and are more at ease when we are able to walk out into the wild and know what we are doing. However, it can be an intimidating experience getting out there for the first time, especially on your own. Everything you might find in a supermarket or at the garden centre is largely considered safe, and knowing what you are buying is simply a matter of reading the label. I always recommend that new learners use multiple resources to confirm an ID and never go straight to handling or consuming a new find. It takes practice, time and patience – but don’t worry, you’ll soon be identifying plants and trees in your local area with confidence!

Identification tools – a tricky terrain to navigate

Books are an obvious and great place to start, but not many go into the depths of plant identification. Not every book is created equal, so bear in mind the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) generated books and books about non-UK plants. Facebook groups can also be tricky, with many full of erroneous identifications from people who aren’t experts in the field. TikTok has a few more reliable foragers (myself included), but again you need to filter out foragers from America and other countries who have very different ecosystems to ours. With the recent and ongoing rise of AI, data services such as Google should not immediately be trusted as the internet is full of unfiltered and unverified images and information. Therefore, it’s always best to cross reference your findings with additional and reliable sources, such as books and teachers.

Throughout this series I’m going to guide you through the beginnings of some plant and tree identification skills so that you can build up your memory-bank, knowledge and ability to recognise plant families. You will then be able to start investigating for yourself where you should be looking and how your plant differs from others in the same family.

Author profile

IDENTIFY AND PLANTS

top tips for getting into tree and plant identification and examples to try at home

Botanical Name: Mahonia Aquifolium/Media/Japonica

Edible Parts: flowers and berries

Common Name/s: Oregon Grape

Location: urban new builds, carparks, gardens

Lookalike/s: Holly Plant Family: Barberry

Mahonia is an evergreen shrub native to North America, but was introduced to the UK in the 19th Century. It’s not invasive and is a very popular plant for new-builds and municipal gardens so it’s very common in cities. During the summer, you have a chance to see it both in flower and fruiting - depending on where it is growing and what variety of Mahonia it is. The leaves are going to be your main point of ID for this one. They are tough and rigid leaves which are very similar to the shape and size of Holly leaves with spiny tips. This will help you remember the plant family – the Barberry – which usually have spined Holly-like leaves. Indeed, Mahonia has a very similar appearance to Holly, so let’s take a look at some characterising differences.

Plant family characteristics

1. Mahonia leaves grow flat along the stem and are glossy and evergreen in appearance. The leaves have spiny edges and leaf in pairs. Note that Holly leaves whorl around the stem.

2. The berries are blue for Mahonia, and red for Holly. Mahonia berries are oval in shape, have a powdery surface and have multiple small seeds inside. The berry stalks are also red for Mahonia.

3. The flowers are bright yellow for Mahonia, but small and white for Holly. Mahonia flowers are either in bunches (Aquifolium) or in strands (Media, Japonica). These then turn into a deep blue berry that is somewhat teardrop or oval shaped like a miniature Damson.

Barberries typically have very woody stems and are a bush-type shrub. The leaves of this plant family can vary but are generally evergreen in appearance. Many Barberries have spined leaves – but not all. The flowers are small and range in colour from orange to yellow and the berries are almost invariably blue. You are most likely to encounter a type of Mahonia or Darwin’s Barberry in the UK in general plantings and garden centres. Both Mahonia and Darwin’s Barberry have spined leaves that resemble Holly. However, Darwin’s Barberry has leaves no bigger than 25mm, is generally a smaller looking hedge-like shrub and presents with bright orange flowers.

Mahonia

Mahonia leaves

Holly leaves

Mahonia (Aquifolium) berries

Mahonia flowers/buds

Japanese Rose

Botanical Name: Rosa Rugosa

Common Name/s: Japanese Rose, Beach Rose Edible Parts: flowers and rosehips

Location: gardens, parks, hedgerows, coast Lookalike/s: other roses Family: Rose

The Japanese Rose is a beautiful rose bush which is not a native plant to the UK and, particularly around coastal regions, is invasive. However, their petals do make a delicious addition to salads and cakes! The flower is a stunning hot pink colour, with five large petals. The leaves are smallish and serrated along the edge and often look wrinkled due to their prominent veins. Unlike the Dog Rose, the thorns are densely packed, straight and of varying lengths - leaving no safe place to grab the stem without good gloves. You can get these roses mixed up with other roses, but none of them are toxic so it’s a good starting place for beginner plant identifiers. The Japanese Rose is a great plant for honing your ID skills and observing the finer details of a plant family. Most of us know what a rose looks like, but getting into the different types of roses is another matter entirely. There are loads of cultivated varieties of rose that we won’t get into, but knowing the differences between a native wild rose (such as Rosa Canina) and a Japanese Rose can be extremely helpful not just for the environment, but also for your finer identification skills. Take a look at the box below for some tips on comparing the Rosa Rugosa to an English Dog Rose (Rosa Canina), which is our most common wild rose in the UK.

Other roses

1. Rosehips of Rugosa are large and rounded. Canina rosehips are smaller and oval shaped.

2. Rugosa has hot pink petals. Canina has soft pinkish white petals.

3. Rugosa has a stem that is densely packed with straight thorns of varying lengths. Canina has thorns spread out and look more like a traditional rose thorn with a curved tip and uniform size.

These are just two of the main roses you will find in the UK, but there are a few others to investigate if you are keen to further hone your identification skills. For example, the rarer Arvensis with its pure white flowers and Rubiginosa with its somewhat prickly hips. Identifying a specific rose means looking at thorns, leaves, petals, sepals, hair, size and shape of hips, colourings and more – especially if you’re looking to reliably identify in any season. And yes, they can and do hybridise, which can make things a little trickier!

Plant family characteristics

Rose leaves are simple oval shaped “elliptic” leaves with fine tooth serrations along the edges. They will always grow in pairs along the stem with a terminal leaf at the end. Roses will have thorns of varying size, shape and thickness, but it’s important to remember that the rose family contains other plants too, such as the Great Burnet, as it’s a very large family not just limited to roses. The rose family often exhibits the colour red in its stem, so a red stem is usually a good clue.

Conclusion

Learning about plants and how to identify them can be a useful tool for outdoor educators, those who work in Forest School and bushcrafters alike, primarily because it helps you keep students/participants safe in outdoor environments. Further, it ensures that you can manage risks and environmental impact in any given environment – ensuring you do not unintentionally destroy a rare plant, an important food source for wildlife, a habitat, or accidentally spread an invasive species. Once you have a good knowledge of the plants in your area of work, you can then begin to teach your own students/participants - passing on your knowledge and continuing a culture of learning and care for nature that will encourage people to utilise natural resources responsibly. Knowing the difference between a Rugosa and a Canina, for example, will help you make good decisions about the plantings in your area and hopefully help to improve native biodiversity. In addition to practical applications, learning plant identification can be a rewarding hobby in and of itself. Improved knowledge of plants establishes a better connection to nature, encourages positive outdoor engagement and improves wellbeing. Successful identifications provide a unique sense of achievement that will leave you excited for more!

So, if you are new to the world of plant identification hopefully you are feeling a little more empowered now and less daunted by the prospect. Challenge yourself with new finds, keep a record of your finds if it helps your learning style and keep getting out there! I will have plenty more plants for us to explore in the next issue...p

Rosa Rugosa

Rosa Canina

Rugosa flower/rosehip/leaves

Photographs 5-11 provided by Stephanie Bale. Author retains copyright. Plant identification and foraging is undertake at the individual’s risk.

OUTDOOR LEARNING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Author profile

Sarah Earl is a Sports and Business Studies teacher working in a large secondary school/sixth form in Northamptonshire. Her interests are in developing the next generation in sport and the outdoors, researching issues relating to equality, diversity and inclusion in sport, and in ensuring that sport in all forms should be accessible and inclusive to all. Sarah enjoys challenging herself professionally and personally. She has completed the St BeesRobin Hood’s Bay coast-to-coast in twelve days, the Welsh 3000 to raise money for mental health, the Yorkshire three peaks, over twenty half marathons and three marathons. If you would like to come and see our programme in action, or wish to discuss it further, please contact me at sarah.earl@wrennschool.org.uk

Introduction

Here at Wrenn Secondary School and Sixth Form, in Northamptonshire, we have successfully implemented an outdoor education programme that has made a huge impact on our school’s curriculum. As we all know, in England at least, opportunities to embed outdoor education in the curriculum are limited. Before September 2022, Wrenn followed this well-developed trajectory – there were very limited outdoor opportunities for students. There were no meaningful community links, no outside stakeholders involved and no equipment to provide an outdoor education programme. In 2022, however, everything changed – we implemented a fullschool outdoor education programme which allowed each year group to experience education outside the classroom through a mixture of residential and after-school activities.

Since its introduction, our outdoor education programme has become a fully embedded constituent part of our curriculum and plays an important role in the student experience. We are in the unique position to offer an outdoor programme which spans the length of secondary and sixth form education, which allows seven years to promote our desired outcomes.

The programme itself came about when I was asked to create an outdoor education offering from scratch by our Principal, Laura Parker, who wanted to bring our school ethos into the outdoors with the aim of supporting our students to be more resilient.

These were the questions that I asked myself before designing our outdoor education programme:

• Are our existing extra-curricular activities (e.g. sports) ambitious enough for pupils and how can we make them more ambitious?

• Do our extra-curricular activities teach knowledge and understanding which will open doors and give them confidence in wider society?

• Are our extra-curricular activities logically organised and sequenced through the different year groups, so pupils gain a strong sense of progress and achievement?

The programme

Designing the outdoor education programme has been a great personal challenge, as I’ve tried to promote curiosity, critical thinking and reflection within the programme to ensure students can meet the social, economic and environmental challenges of our modern world. The programme runs throughout the year and consists of a wide range of activities including climbing, paddle boarding, canoeing, sailing, swimming, cross-country, orienteering, archery, golf, fencing and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). A typical programme for our young people might include the following: sailing and paddle boarding in year 7; an adventure education residential in year 8; the bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and a climbing programme in year 9; an outdoor residential trip and silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in year 10; the Welsh 3000s expedition and gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in sixth form; fencing and archery as extra-curricular components for years 7-9.

Through this diverse programme we have made a real difference to young people’s lives in our school. By providing them with physical challenges in outdoor venues, students

Sarah Earl shares her experiences developing an outdoor education programme in her school

have been able to improve their self-confidence, social skills, and mental health – all of which had been negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the students quoted “[the adventure education residential trip] has helped me get out of my comfort zone and speak to new people, which I would never have done before, and has made me realise that going out of your comfort zone is not as scary as I thought”. Anecdotally, a parent even came up to me and said, “thank you for allowing my child these opportunities which we have never done as a family before”.

Environmental awareness and connecting participants to nature has allowed us to develop adaptability and resilience in young people, specifically by encouraging learning by doing and seeing. This has been proven in the end-of-term assessments when topics such as rock formation and climate change have allowed students to answer these questions in more detail and provide real-life examples. We noticed that young people were increasingly enthusiastic about participating in the outdoor programme, achieving a 100% uptake (with more than 60% of students being those eligible for Pupil Premium in England).

Before we introduced our outdoor education programme, we started with the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award to the school in September 2015. We started off with a very small number of around ten students. In 2016, this number rose to twenty students completing the bronze DofE and eight completing the silver award. In 2020, this number increased to fifty students completing the bronze award and thirty completing the silver award. Since then, it has grown every year and we now have fifty students completing bronze, twenty completing silver and ten completing gold. Participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has made a huge difference to students’ desire to gain qualifications and go above and beyond to develop themselves as individuals. Then, in September 2022, we decided to develop this and introduce the outdoor education programme.

Aims of the programme

At Wrenn, we strive to ensure that ALL students experience an ambitious, broad and engaging curriculum that will enable them to achieve success. The aim of our outdoor education programme is to offer opportunities for all our pupils to enjoy first-hand experiences outdoors, whether within the school grounds, in urban green spaces, in Northamptonshire’s countryside or in wilder environments. Such experiences motivate our children to become successful learners and to develop as confident, enterprising and responsible citizens.

Our overall goal of the programme is to build character which, in turn, will improve attendance, educational attainment and engagement with school. Our aim is to develop high selfefficacy and self-belief associated with better performance, more persistence and self-control, and a greater interest in work. This will equip them with better coping skills to overcome the challenges they are faced with in school. This is how we see our outdoor education programme influencing the academic curriculum.

One of my main reasons for helping implement an outdoor education programme at Wrenn School was because I wanted to offer our disadvantaged students the independence, opportunities, confidence and skills that our outdoor education programme and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award could offer them. I am very proud of the impact I have been able to make here. We managed to secure funding with the support and advice of various national governing bodies (including British Fencing, DofE, British Archery, and NICAS Climbing), allowing us to translate our ambitions into reality.

Student voice and staff innovation

The student voice has been crucial to the growth of our outdoor education programme, as they have identified areas of the curriculum that they would like contextualised in real life scenarios - for example, in the mainstream geography curriculum. Students have told us they find it difficult to understand rock formations and coastal processes, but by visiting the Needles on the Isle of Wight they were able to contextualise what they have been learning in-class. Students also identified the value in visiting different places for their learning to inspire them to want to learn more about the world around them.

I made it my mission to ensure that the outdoor education programme was designed in a way that encouraged staff to invest their time and skills in order to bring their own subjects to life. Subject staff, such as geography, science, physical education and history, became more invested by taking a leading role in the bronze DofE award. Further, subject staff also wanted to participate in residential trips to deliver subject-specific content and deliver real-life experiences that would challenge and inspire students. Our outdoor education programme has also encouraged staff and students to see each other in a different light, building positive relationships and improving selfawareness and understanding of others.

I am immensely proud that I have built a team of fifteen colleagues who run the programme alongside me. I have achieved this through trust, knowing staff and understanding their strengths. I explained my vision, values and passion for the outdoor education programme, describing what is possible and showing a path from the present to the future.

Top tips for developing an outdoor education programme in your school:

1. Identify where in your curriculum you can provide an outdoor experience that can be applied to classroom learning.

2. Ensure that all students have opportunities and experiences that will enhance their learning and meet their individual needs.

3. Contact national governing bodies for advice on seeking funding.

4. Build trust within your team by making them feel empowered through opportunities for continuing professional development.

5. Design an outdoor education programme that runs throughout the year, building on skills developed across year groups.

I listened to staff and how they wanted to develop and then provided first aid training, minibus training, navigation and climbing courses for them to attend and up-skill themselves. They felt valued, which has influenced their careers going forward through delivering extra-curricular sessions and building key relationships with our students. One colleague said, “this has made me feel valued as a staff member at Wrenn and being able to experience opportunities with the students has allowed me to embed this within the classroom and build relationships with key students to help them academically”.

Outdoor education has changed the culture of our school

Our outdoor education programme has changed the culture of our school in numerous positive ways. Firstly, it has provided hands-on learning and offered students a much more stimulating learning environment through a variety of natural classrooms. We have connected the curriculum to the real world, and this has increased the interests and motivation of our pupils. We have positively affected our school’s culture by creating a synergy between teaching outdoors and the mainstream academic curriculum, developing a more holistic education approach. For example, sailing has complemented science and geography lessons by allowing in-context learning through understanding forces, tides, floating, currents, lakes, canals, maps, charts etc.

I have built a network of partnerships with local organisations, businesses, and professionals who have enriched our outdoor education programme, and provide students with additional resources and opportunities which they are able to take up outside of their educational context. The culture has changed and ensures that all students can participate, regardless of their socioeconomic status. There is no more “I would like to go, but can’t afford it”, as we provide subsidies and payment instalments, so parents can pay monthly with some of the activities we run and funding to provide financial assistance or transportation options.

Next steps

Our aims for the next academic year are:

• To continue to collaborate with Heads of Departments (such as Geography, Science, PE, Maths, English) to embed real-world experiences throughout the curriculum and provide students at Wrenn with every opportunity to explore a wealth of knowledge and experience a healthy challenge.

• To develop outdoor student ambassadors that represent our school and drive the outdoor education programme.

• To open our students up to career opportunities in the outdoors, such as environmentalism, marine biology, conservationism, outdoor instructor etc.

• To develop the allotment which the students started in school to support local wildlife, and for them to understand the importance of preserving biodiversity. This project will allow students to actively participate in creating and maintaining a sustainable ecosystem, learning about seeds, plants and soils through primary ecological teachings and basic biology. Students will also learn about whole and healthy foods as part of their food economics lessons where they will be able to use food from the allotment in their cooking p

If you would like to come and see our programme in action, or wish to discuss it further, please contact me at sarah.earl@wrennschool.org.uk

Photographs provided by Sarah Earl. Author retains copyright.

BEHIND THE SCENES IN BUSHCRAFT

in Bushcraft

Updates from the Executive Committee

By Luschka Van Onselen, IOL Bushcraft Professional Practice Group, Executive Committee Chair

There’s been lots going on for the Bushcraft Professional Practice Group Executive Committee! We’ve been up to plenty of stuff behind the scenes these last couple of months, including voting on and finalising the criteria for assessors for our bushcraft awards. We’ve worked with wellknown names and industry leaders, such as Dave Watson and Gary Johnston, to create a stringent process to follow to ensure integrity, while at the same time striking a balance to ensure accessibility. We can’t run awards if the criteria for assessment excludes even the most experienced among us! The new assessor framework is available online if you’d like to know more. In May, Gary Johnston was endorsed by the executive as a Senior Assessor for the awards and we hope that this will help increase access to assessments as Gary is based in Kent. Congratulations Gary! Many of our members have mentioned that food safety in the outdoors has been a difficult qualification to find, so we’re in discussion with a provider and the IOL to facilitate an annual course that members will be able to attend. Of course, we have issues of location and demographics to figure out, but if that’s something you’d potentially be interested in, or could offer a venue, do let Richard Retallick at the IOL office know (richard@outdoor-learning.org).

The November conference is shaping up nicely with Mel Grenfell at the helm and we’ll have more information on that soon, but for now you can save the date: 8th-10th November 2024. If you’ve been before you’ll know what a friendly and inviting atmosphere it is - the perfect place to run your first workshop and to share your knowledge. If you’ve never been before, you would be most welcome to come!

Finally, you may have noticed that the new IOL website is live and the new bushcraft section is coming along nicely. Don’t forget that you can find all the past issues of our newsletters on there, with recipes, seasonal information and all the fantastic articles our contributors have added to it over the years. You can also find other practitioners in your area and investigate other groups that may suit your niche too. If you’re in outdoor education, you’ll know what a busy time of year this is, so I wish you a productive summer!

Spoon Making (without the use of crook knives)

By Mel Grenfell

As part of a Desert Island Survival Project, the young people I was working with (aged from 8 to 17) wanted to make a spoon each to go with the coconut bowls that they had already made. If you have a group of carving novices or young people who are not yet ready to use a crook knife, or you don’t have enough crook knives for a group, consider using this alternative. We began by providing each young person with a spoon blank (a piece of wood which has yet to be carved or shaped) - ours were green beech and measured about 18x5x4cm. Each young person was equipped with a Mora Safety Knife. They examined their wood blank for any knots or grain irregularities and then chose one of a variety of simple spoon templates which they drew around onto the wood (or designed their own spoon

shape), avoiding knots where possible. They began by sawing stop cuts (to indicate where the cuts are to stop) at the base of the handle just above the spoon bowl and then batoned off excess wood from the handle.

Next, they turned the wood blank over and put a saw stop cut at the base of the handle and batoned off the excess from the top of the handle. Then they concentrated on carving the wood to the shape that they’d drawn - they were told to imagine cutting out a paper spoon with scissors to stop them getting overwhelmed by trying to work in three dimensions. We talked about the grain of the wood and how you can only carve downhill and not uphill into the grain. I reminded them to turn the wood around and not to work the blade towards their hand. Later on, for the confident carvers, we worked on ways that they could safely carve towards themselves. Next, they carved the back of the spoon bowl - this was the trickiest part because there’s not always a lot to hold onto if you’re carving away from yourself. Then they worked on shaping the handle until it was comfortable in their hand. Sandpaper was used to finish the spoons. We then left them to season outdoors in the shade for a week or two.

We lit a charcoal fire for the next step. The young people sat on seats around the fire pit (with hair tied back and no shorts) with their spoon in their leather-gloved nondominant hand and a short stick in their other hand. Once the coals were glowing hot, I removed a coal or ember from the fire using a set of tongs and placed it onto their spoon bowl. They held the coal in place with their short stick, ensuring they weren’t holding it over their laps. Then they began to blow on the coal in triplets of long slow breaths. The coal required changing every few minutes as it shrunk or cooled down. After a while, the spoon bowl began to char nicely. At this point they used a stick to scratch out the burnt material, then I added a new ember and the process was repeated. After about an hour, the bowls were sufficiently burnt out enough that they could be scraped with a stick and then sand-papered to remove as much charring as possible. Then we oiled them with coconut oil. This project took about 3.5 hours in total in 3 separate sessions. It’s a great activity to undertake with young people! p

Discover the latest news and fun activities

Photographs provided by Mel Grenfell. Author retain copyright.

SPLASH MAKING A MAKING A SPLASH

Author profile

Tom Partridge is Head of United World Colleges (UWC) Atlantic Experience where he is responsible for the delivery of both student and external participants’ outdoor learning. He is the South Wales representative of the IOL Cymru and has been involved in outdoor and adventure education for over 20 years. Amongst other things, Tom is also the regional representative for the National Coasteering Charter (NCC) in South Wales, a representative on the NCC Committee and a provider of the NCC Guide Award.

Whether you are new to the term ‘Coasteering’ or you are a current guide, this article covers a range of topics including who the National Coasteering Charter are, how to get hold of the latest safety advice and where to go for training and certification as a guide.

What is coasteering?

Coasteering is a popular and growing activity that takes place in many locations around the UK Coastline and, increasingly, in other parts of the world. It provides a unique activity that allows people to explore and experience the coast like never before with many challenges, learning opportunities and excitement to be had along the way.

While the term coasteering can be used to describe a range of activities linked to activity around the sea, the National Coasteering Charter (NCC) defines coasteering as:

An activity that includes swimming, jumping, scrambling, and or traversing along and in the fore-shore region of a coastline under the guidance of a coasteering guide. When participating in the activity of coasteering, participants should wear an appropriate wetsuit, personal floatation device, helmet and closed-toe footwear that is secured to the foot.

Most people have their first experience of coasteering as part of a programme of activities with an adventurous activity provider. This is the best way to learn the basic skills needed to have a go safely, paying particular attention to the environment and safety issues under the expert advice and guidance of a guide.

The National Coasteering Charter - NCC

Exploring the coastline by kayaking, scrambling, fishing and swimming are all long-established activities. Coasteering is a relatively new activity and involves groups making their way around a well-established series of routes at a coastal location wearing wetsuits, helmets and buoyancy aids. As popularity for the activity within the adventure activity sector has grown, so

Dive into the exciting world of coasteering and the National Coasteering Charter

A brief history of the NCC

In 2011, around eighty coasteering providers and interested parties such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) came together to form an organisation that would represent and advise the coasteering industry on a national scale. From this meeting, the fledgling National Coasteering Charter (NCC) was born.

Throughout the UK there are more than 400 members of the NCC today. They are made up of a range of companies, organisations and individual members (who are often freelance guides, soletraders or staff at coasteering businesses). The NCC works regionally and nationally to support coasteering. It is split into regional groups that have representatives who ensure that members in their area are kept upto-date with current practice, share information and learning and facilitate annual regional meetings.

The NCC also hosts a symposium every two years that is located in a different region, where members come together for workshops, practical sessions, see practice from other regions and keep abreast of the latest guidance from the NCC. The NCC works to represent its members and the activity of coasteering with the sector. With the growth in popularity of the activity, providers of coasteering now have an organisation that can advise and represent the sector, while promoting safe practice more broadly.

Another key part of the work of the NCC is to support access and conservation. At many coasteering sites around the UK there is a need for providers to engage in access schemes that permit responsible and sustainable coasteering. Through our national voice, the NCC has been able to work closely with key partners and landowners to support regional groups and representative bodies to maintain and provide access for coasteering. The NCC continues to promote environmental responsibility and actively encourages a range of environmentspecific topics in our regional workshops and symposiums to ensure there is always the opportunity for learning more about the unique environment we get to explore.

Safety advice for coasteering providers

Providing up-to-date guidance for safe coasteering to NCC members and the wider coasteering community is an important and ongoing part of the work. In March of 2024, the NCC published an updated version of ‘Safety Advice for Coasteering Providers’ following a series of consultations at both committee and membership level.

This document is available on the NCC website and anyone involved in providing or guiding coasteering should be aware of the advice and guidance within.

An award to recognise competence - The NCC Guide Award

In 2021, work began on the first draft of a ‘Coasteering Guide Award’. With input from members and experienced providers, a working group went through the first draft of the syllabus, training and assessment criteria. Regions voted for and proposed ‘Guide Award Providers’ from each region who would deliver the first training and assessment courses. Following ongoing scrutiny of the syllabus, development of an administration system and a face-toface weekend of standardisation, skills assessments, and further tweaks to the syllabus, the NCC Guide Award was launched to the public in April of 2022.

What has happened since then…

• Over 200 guides have been trained and 100 assessed.

• The committee has appointed an ‘Award Administrator’ to ensure the awards are correctly processed and to ensure important information is shared between providers.

• A two-year review of the award has been undertaken which took into account any changes or reviews to the syllabus, the proposal of a standardisation and moderation policy, and a pathway for new providers of the award.

The success of the Guide Award has led to a dramatic growth in the number of members, specifically individual members. In addition, as the NCC grows so does its need to revisit the constitution on which it was based. Work for the coming two to three years will include: (1) redrafting the constitution to reflect how the NCC functions currently; (2) developing a strategic plan and vision for the NCC to take us into the next five years; (3) establishing new projects and work streams to support the development of coasteering; (4) embedding a robust standardisation and moderation policy into the NCC Guide Award as well as supporting probationary providers to achieve full status.

If you are interested in finding out more about NCC Guide Training then you can head directly to the website where you will find a range of information including the syllabus, criteria and other supporting documents. You will also find a calendar of advertised courses and a list of providers of the Guide Award by region p

For more information regarding the NCC Guide Award visit: nationalcoasteeringcharter. org.uk/coasteeringguideaward or contact coasteeringguideaward@gmail.com

For more general information on Guidance, Membership and Regional Representation visit: nationalcoasteeringcharter.org.uk or contact coasteeringsecretary@gmail.com

Photographs provided by Tom Partridge. Author retains copyright.

EARLY YEARS OUTDOORS

Calum Wright takes a closer look at the importance of outdoor learning for children during the Early Years Foundation Stage and offers some creative pedagogical strategies for engagement

Author profile

With over 10 years of experience, Calum Wright is a highly skilled international primary teacher and outdoor learning specialist. He holds an MSc in Outdoor Education, a PGDE in Primary Education and is passionate about providing his students with engaging learning experiences.

In this article, I will explore the crucial role that outdoor learning plays in children’s development during the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) (up to the age of 5 in the UK). We’ll delve into the advantages of outdoor learning activities, from improving motor skills to encouraging imaginative play and promoting overall wellbeing. The article will also provide some creative ideas and pedagogical strategies for engaging young learners outdoors and discuss the resources and equipment that could be used to support children’s learning.

Embracing the early years outdoors

Many books already exist that go into enormous detail regarding the perks of embracing a child’s early years and exposing them to activities that allow them to learn through exploration, imagination and play. Children have an incredible potential for learning right from birth because rapid growth occurs during these years. The foundations for later sensory, motor, cognitive, physical, language and social-emotional development are laid permanently (1). EYFS outdoor activities can take the lead in providing a platform for the enhancement of these skills. Some notable positive outcomes for a child exposed to outdoor activities include greater self-confidence, interest in natural surroundings, better ability to work cooperatively with others and more sophisticated uses of spoken and written language. Of course, developed physical stamina and gross/fine motor skills are among the many additional benefits (2).

Playing in outdoor environments

Knight (3) states that ‘play allows children to understand the qualities and properties of the world’ (p. 98). By playing in an authentic outdoor environment, children can play with materials and observe the features of the landscapes around them. As children initially rely heavily on sensorial learning, outdoor environments offer children rich sensory learning experiences through discovery and play (4). When playing, children also inhabit their environment and make it their own.

Outdoor environments aid children’s physical development during sessions. They can contain uneven and variable terrain that helps to develop balance and physical fitness (5). This, combined with well-thought-out play equipment, can encourage the development of fine and gross motor skills and help an individual’s physical development and wellbeing (6).

Learning outdoors and wellbeing of early years learners

The outdoors is a powerful tool for developing a child’s social and emotional wellbeing. When partaking in outdoor learning activities, children demonstrate their feelings and inner needs, develop a sense of who they are, solve problems, and deal with conflicts. Outdoor play, working with natural resources, and outdoor learning activities all help build learners’ social and communication skills (7). Additionally, being outdoors allows children in their early years to switch off from the busyness around them and offers the chance to be at peace (8).

Designing an outdoor learning environment

When designing an outdoor learning environment, it is important to note that schools must work within their unique contextual and environmental constraints. Not all schools have access to forests; however, using effective equipment can improve the natural environment and inspire children’s imaginations in even the most basic outdoor spaces (9). Here are some examples of playground equipment that, in my experience, has been effective in my urban work contexts.

EYFS learners sequencing story stones

Old gardening pots have been a surprise hit with the EYFS learners. I have seen them used for various purposes, such as mud play, stacking games, and building insect hotels.

Above left: Providing children with cloth and pegs allows them to build dens and create quiet spots in the playground.

Above right: Planks of wood and crates allow children to construct different structures and develop their gross motor skills. They can also use the planks to develop their balance.

Having areas where children can draw or write in the playground is always well-used by the EYFS children.

Mud, mud and more mud!

Natural materials like mud can help children of all ages connect with the lesson in many ways. By touching, feeling, and smelling, children can engage their senses and generate questions about the environment around them while learning. Using natural materials, such as mud, helps stimulate children’s senses. Most children are more interested in utilising their senses to explore what they see (10). Sensoryrich outdoor activities like playing with mud can cater to diverse learning styles and nurture each individual’s connection to the curriculum. Let’s not forget: mud is also super fun!

Recently, I facilitated a Big School Mud Bake Off! with an early years class. The skills I intended the children to develop through this included: understanding instructional texts, counting skills, and working in a team. With three delicious mud recipes to choose from, the learners worked together to collect natural ingredients from the local park and made their mud creations.

Learning linked to stories and characters

Starting the lesson with a story or introducing an animal character, such as a stuffed hedgehog or duck toy, ignites EYFS children’s curiosity, gives their exploration a clear purpose and helps them connect with the tasks. For example, I recently conducted a lesson on hedgehogs. I started the lesson by reading “The Very Helpful Hedgehog’ by Rosie Wellesley. I then introduced my hedgehog character, a cute stuffed hedgehog toy called Hamish, to the children. This sparked a discussion about hedgehogs where they shared their knowledge and experiences with each other. Afterwards, the children made a giant leaf pile in the playground for Hamish to sleep in and then they made hedgehog models out of clay and sticks.

A few of my favourite outdoor activities for early years

Left: Introducing our Hedgehog project and inroducing Hamish the Hedgehog.

Above: EYFS learners are building leaf piles for the hedgehog to sleep in.

Right: Finally, clay hedgehogs were built using sticks and clay. Linking outdoor and classroom activities.

Think back to your early childhood years, how you spent your free time with friends exploring different games and even learning specific skills such as rope jumping and building castles. Your curiosity and vibrancy during these years were likely through the roof, having the opportunity to learn much faster and spending much of that time outdoors. Today, children barely have creative outdoor experiences (11). This interferes with a child’s natural desire to learn and discover. It is important to emphasise outdoor learning activities in the early years as they heighten their senses and awaken their innate creativity (12). Some of my favourite early years outdoor activities are: 1) building projects such as making bird nests - this allows children in their early years to develop problem-solving and collaboration skills while learning about the animal for which they are building a home (pictured right); 2) matchbox scavenger hunts are always a favourite - the children get hands-on with many different natural materials while also having to consider the size and shape of objects (pictured below right); 3) Stone painting is always a fun activity to do outside - the stones in the picture are ladybird maths stones, where the sum on the back corresponds to the number of spots painted by the learner (pictured below left).

Above: EYFS learner cooks different mud kitchen recipes.

Left: An EYFS learner chose not to use the mud kitchen but instead used their imagination to build an insect hotel using gardening tools.

Unintended outcomes

I often find that some of the best learning comes from the unintended outcomes. Learning is discovered by the children rather than planned by the teacher.

Potential learning from this rock could include: patterns and shapes (maths); rough and smooth (senses); how did the rock get here? (geography/history); why are there white stripes on the side of the rock and how was it created? (geology); a chance to engage in an imaginative conversation with a creative young mind.

Kelly (13) stated that when facilitating learning there should be a balance between the intended, planned and lived curriculum. A curriculum outcome may not have to be the catalyst for the learning experience. Therefore, a teacher must be on hand and ready to engage fully in spontaneous discussions with the learners.

Class management outdoors

Often teachers who keep the boundaries of the lesson more open (14) and incorporate time for children to explore and discover during study find notable success with outdoor learning (15). However, as with classroom learning, children respond well when they clearly understand the expectations.

It can be challenging for children who don’t have experience working outdoors to know how they can get the most from the learning experience and stay safe. This is why I always share my expectations with the children before lessons, and I have different ways to do this, including presentation slides and circle time. However, I have found that the most effective strategies are the ones that give the learners an active role in setting and demonstrating expectations. These days, I like to use different scenario cards where the children must act out or create freeze frames of situations they may encounter when learning outside. I often refer to the Instagram account Good Morning Ms Foster to find creative and effective ways to manage class behaviour that can easily be transferred to outdoor contexts.

It can also be challenging to get learners’ attention when working outdoors. However, I’ve found that using a fun way to get their attention often works well. For example, I use a duck whistle or a wolf howl as an attention grabber.

Conclusion

Let me know your experiences with taking early years learning outdoors. What was the response you received from your learners? Please email me: freshairteacher@gmail.com p

References

1. Schakel, J. (1988). Providing Services to Preschool-aged Children. School Psychology International, 9, 163 – 173.

2. Sutapa P, Pratama KW, Rosly MM, Ali SKS, Karakauki M. Improving Motor Skills in Early Childhood through Goal-Oriented Play Activity. Children (Basel). 2021 Nov 2;8(11):994.

3. Knight, S. (2013). Forest school and outdoor learning in the early years. Sage.

4. Duffy, B. (2007). All about… messy play. United Kingdom: Crown.

5. Fjortoft, I. (2004). Landscape as playscape: The effects of natural environments on children and motor development. Child Youth Environments, 14(2), 21–44.

6. Blackwell, S. (2015). Long-term forest school programmes impact. Children, confidence and wellbeing 30(04), 1-46.

7. Santer, J. and Griffiths, C. (2007). Free play in early childhood: A literature review. National Children’s Bureau.

8. Berger, R. and Tiry, M. (2012). The enchanting forest and the healing sand—Nature therapy with people coping with psychiatric difficulties. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 39(5), 412–416.

9. Coleman, M. (2016). Recognising young children with high potential: U-STARSPLUS. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1377.

10. Edgington, M. (1998). Developing a sense of place. 1998, 3-3.

11. Clements, R. (2004). An Investigation of the Status of Outdoor Play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5, 68 – 80.

12. Honig, A. (2019). Outdoors in nature: unique spaces for young children’s learning. Early Child Development and Care, 189, 659 – 669.

13. Kelly, A.V. (2009). The curriculum: Theory and practice. Sage.

14. Glackin, M. (2016). ‘Risky fun’ or ‘Authentic science’? How teachers’ beliefs influence their practice during a professional development programme on outdoor learning. International Journal of Science Education, 38(3), 409–433.

15. Mannion, G., Fenwick, A., & Lynch, J. (2013). Place-responsive pedagogy: learning from teachers’ experiences of excursions in nature. Environmental Education Research, 19(6), 792–809.

Photographs (other than the title image) provided by Calum Wright. Author retains copyright.

COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE

Peter White explores the concept of collective knowledge as a way of keeping people safe in outdoor activities

Author profile

Peter White is a Lecturer and Instructor at the School of Adventure Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Fort William.

Alongside working within Higher Education, he has experience in residential outdoor education, instructor training programmes and commercial guiding. His main technical expertise are in paddlesports and he has conducted research focussed on the professional identity of outdoor professionals.

Introduction

This article introduces a new project that is intending to utilise the sector’s collective knowledge and experience to help keep people safe while participating in outdoor activities. We will explore the context and rationale behind this, along with an explanation of what we have achieved so far. Outdoor adventure activities take place in diverse environments and conditions, ranging from indoor climbing walls to remote mountain areas. These activities all contain inherent levels of risk, often related to both the environment they are in and the type of activity being conducted. The purpose behind these activities has traditionally stemmed from outdoor education with young people, but has spread to other areas such as adventure sports coaching and adventure tourism.

Safety and risk management within the UK outdoor sector changed dramatically following the 1993 Lyme Bay tragedy. The deaths of four young teenagers whilst kayaking on the coast was the final trigger that led to government regulation with The Activity Centres (Young Persons’ Safety) Act 1995, which led to the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 1996 and the creation of the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) (1 - see chapter two). Whilst the licensing scheme may appear all encompassing, it has some significant exclusions – both in terms of activities and providers who are exempt from its coverage. Whilst not necessarily directly related to this, there has remained the sad reality of fatalities during participation in outdoor adventurous activities in the UK (e.g. Stainforth Beck, Glenridding Beck, Grey Mare’s Tail, Haverford West and most recently the Great Orme).

Incident Reporting

There has been an enduring emphasis on safety and risk management within outdoor literature, specifically through key examples such as ‘safety, risk and adventure in outdoor activities’ (2) which uses personal experience as a basis for working through all the variables related to safety and risk management. Throughout such literature the themes of learning from incidents and near-misses are present, with the purpose of preventing serious incidents or fatalities. This is evident within the licensing scheme as a requirement for recording incidents, and the suggestion that it is good practice to record and investigate near-miss incidents (3).

The Australian approach

There has been substantial work over the past decade on the development of a systems approach to incident reporting in led outdoor activities (LOA) in Australia (4). This has been inspired by the work of Jens Rasmussen (5) who suggested accident causation was a complex issue that was too easily diluted down to the simplistic concept of ‘human error’. Instead, his suggestion was to utilise a socio-technical system that accounted for the changing nature of society and technology, allowing for a cross-disciplinary approach to risk management. Using these principles, Paul Salmon and colleagues (4) have suggested that they are able to identify a range of actors and subsequent contributory factors to incidents within outdoor activities. These actors include higher-level dimensions such as government policy and regulatory bodies, alongside the more ‘traditional’ dimensions of instructor/participants and equipment/ surroundings. This led to the development, in 2014, of the ‘Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System’ (UPLOADS) that aims to help LOA providers to better understand incidents that occur and improve safety within the sector. The Australian UPLOADS project is still active and produces an annual report with summary data of incidents from the past year (see uploadsproject.org).

A slightly different perspective has also come out of Australia, along the lines of fatality aversion (6). Their premise is that most accidental deaths in outdoor education are not normally caused by misfortune, but normally involve ‘failures to learn from the past’ (6 - p.1). They suggest a three-legged stool approach to fatality prevention: strict aversion to fatal incidents, knowledge of environmental hazards, and knowledge of fatal incidents. This approach supports the role of incident reporting in adventurous activities, but differs from the systems approach discussed previously which directs attention away from practical prevention – and potentially reduces the personal responsibility of the instructor (6 - p.210).

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Find out more - to follow this project, head to the Institute for Outdoor Learning website. Select the News tab, then Current Projects and take a look at Keeping People Safe in the Outdoors.

Collective knowledge

A potentially helpful perspective on incident reporting systems is collective knowledge management (7). Whilst not being in the context of adventurous activities, collective knowledge explores how organisations are able to connect ‘relevant information to individuals and groups in order to prevent rare but catastrophic events’ (7 - p.1257). Maslen and Hayes suggest that, firstly, the emphasis should be on knowledge rather than learning within incident prevention, as learning can confine us to the data collected and used in reporting systems – whereas using knowledge as its reference point draws us back to what we need to know and communicate to prevent catastrophic incidents. This is built upon the work of Hecker (8) and his thinking around collective knowledge with its three aspects: collective knowledge as shared knowledge, collective knowledge as complementary knowledge, and collective knowledge as knowledge embedded in collective artifacts. Incident reporting systems fit within collective artifacts, but the key is how they work to mediate and synchronise the shared and complementary knowledge between individuals and groups. This can be achieved only through the social practices between people, and ‘without this, information collected in incident reporting systems cannot hope to achieve the goal of connecting relevant information about the potential for a [serious incident] to individuals and groups’ (7 - p.1257). The concept of incident reporting is clearly well-established within adventurous activities (2). Within the UK, most National Governing Bodies operate their own incident reporting schemes (e.g. BMC, Paddle UK, RYA). Some of these result in case studies being published (e.g. Paddle UK) or annual reports which summarise the past year’s incidents (e.g. British Cave Rescue Council). Whilst this is all positive and there are clear obligations in place for providers, there is still a disjointed approach within the sector to overall incident trends and ensuring good practice (collective knowledge) is adopted by all providers.

The sector itself has evolved considerably in the past 30 years, with the perception of significant progression and improvement in safety and risk management. But with an increasingly diverse outdoor learning sector, fixed legislation and a changing workforce, there is scope for improvement in our current frameworks. This is to ensure that knowledge and lessons from previous incidents are not forgotten and are retained to help support the workforce and organisations of tomorrow.

The Collective Knowledge Project

With this in mind, a new project is being developed through the Adventure Activities Industry Advisory Committee (AAIAC) in partnership with the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (North, West and Hebrides) to develop a framework that will provide structure and opportunities for mediating knowledge creation in activity safety within the UK. Titled ‘Collective Knowledge - evidencing the practice that keeps people safe’, the intention of the project is to connect relevant information to individuals and providers in the sector to reduce incidents, improve quality of provision, and support individual/provider development by encouraging a greater understanding of safety and risk management.

The first part of developing this framework is to set up a UK-wide incident reporting system for a diverse range of providers within the UK sector. This will enable us to collect basic information about trends and themes across the country, helping to guide and direct relevant safety knowledge to individuals and providers working in the outdoors. The collection of this data should also enable the sector to identify relevant statistics regarding incident levels in relation to participation, which should help to support the position of the sector as a significant contributor to areas such as education, recreation, tourism and health and wellbeing. We aim to encourage a viewpoint of seeing knowledge as something held and used by individuals/ providers, rather than understanding knowledge as information stored and accumulated in databases.

We have already tested an initial version of an incident reporting system with a small number of providers and hope to start with the formal system early next year. We are actively looking for organisations and providers that are keen to participate in the project, so if you would like to find out more, please contact collectiveknowledge@outdoor-learning.org p

References

1. Fulbrook, J. (2016). Outdoor Activities, Negligence and the Law. Abingdon: Routledge.

2. Barton, B. (2008). Safety, risk & adventure in outdoor activities. SAGE Publishing.

3. HSE. (2007). L77: Guidance from the Licensing Authority on the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2024, from l77.pdf (hse.gov.uk)

4. Salmon, P. M., Goode, N., Taylor, N., Lenne, M. G., Dallat, C. E., & Finch, C. F. (2017). Rasmussen’s legacy in the great outdoors: A new incident reporting and learning system for led outdoor activities. Applied Ergonomics, 59, 637-648.

5. Rasmussen, J. (1997). Risk management in a dynamic society: a modelling problem. Safety Science, 27(2-3), 183-213.

6. Brookes, A. (2018). Preventing Fatal Incidents in School and Youth Group Camps and Excursions: Understanding the Unthinkable. Cham: Springer.

7. Maslen, S., & Hayes, J. (2016). Preventing black swans: incident reporting systems as collective knowledge management. Journal of Risk Research, 19(10), 1246-1260.

8. Hecker, A. (2012). Knowledge Beyond the Individual? Making Sense of a Notion of Collective Knowledge in Organization Theory. Organizational Studies, 33(3), 423-445.

SUMMER FORAGING

This issue, Lizzy Maskey explores and gives us a great recipe

runs Pippin & Gile, a bushcraft school based in the South-East established in 2018. Lizzy has been teaching outdoor education since 2013 and moved to formalise and extend her bushcraft knowledge in 2016. Lizzy launched Pippin & Gile after returning from cycling 9000km to Kazakhstan unsupported. When not cycling or teaching, Lizzy is always looking to learn and develop and can be found exploring hedgerows and muddy puddles across the UK and around the world.

Autumn is often the time of year where our minds turn to foraging, with summer often seen as lacking in foraging opportunities. As the energy in the plant moves from the leaves to the flowers and eventually the seeds, there can be a lull in foraging opportunities. However, I find that late summer is the perfect time for gathering plants which can have medicinal uses.

Apothecary plants

Plantain has a huge range of properties, including being an antihistamine, anti-fungal, antioxidant, analgesic and even a mild antibiotic. It is a useful plant to keep around and one that can be easily processed into a compact and quite powerful balm. I tend to use plantain on any red non-bleeding bits of skin, be it stings, grazes, burns or dry chapped skin etc. I have found that it has helped to reduce the redness and improved healing times when I have applied it to scabs or dry skin.

To quickly extract its goodness, roll between your hands, mushing to a rough pulp, you’ll need to do slightly more of this than you expect. Suddenly, it will start to release a green liquid - squeeze this onto the affected area of skin. It’s a similar technique that many people are taught when they’re young –to rub a dock leaf on a nettle sting. Next time you need sting relief, try plantain instead and you’ll be amazed at how much difference a plant with beneficial chemical properties makes compared to the placebo impact that a dock leaf might have.

Greater Plantain was known by the Native Americans as ‘white man’s footsteps’ as it colonised the country in the wake of the

Author profile Lizzy Maskey

Plantain - it comes in a variety of sizes!

FORAGING

explores the uses of apothecary plants recipe for some summer foraging

Europeans who brought it over. When you pull plantain leaves off the plant you will often find that the strands that make up the veins of the leaves stay behind. You can make a miniature guitar with these or roll them up into a very fine cordage.

Plantain skin balm

I often create a pale green skin balm from plantain, beeswax and almond oil. I use this on any red broken skin or on dried chapped skin and have found that it does seem to help cuts and grazes to heal better once they have stopped bleeding.

This really simple hand balm is great at fixing chapped hands. It uses the properties of all the ingredients – plantain, almond oil and beeswax - to produce its healing and skin recovering properties.

Plantain contains emollient (which helps to soften and smooth the skin) as well as vulnerary properties (which helps to heal wounds). Greater Plantain Plantago major is preferred, but Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata has similar properties, so I tend to use whichever (or a mix of that which I can gather in quantity). Almond oil has long been used as an oil for the skin - John Gerard describes in his book ‘Herbal’, first published in 1597, that it “makes smooth the hands and face of delicate persons and cleanses the skin from spots and pimples”. Beeswax is mildly antiseptic and antibiotic as well as being an emollient. So, it is ideal in combination with plantain to create a hand balm.

I’ve been using this on my hands regularly over the winter when they start to suffer and go chapped with the cold – but also whenever I get a cut or a graze that stays a little red after scabbing over. I also use it on my dog’s paws when she runs though nettle patches.

I’ve had first-hand experience of plantain’s vulnerary properties which promote faster healing and reduction in infection. A messy cut I got on my knuckle healed very quickly and with no visible scaring. I just applied the juice of plantain to it shortly after it finished bleeding. Not only is this balm good for your skin, but it also smells divine and is super simple to make at home, or in the woods – so have a go!

Plantain skin balm recipe

Materials

• 1 handful plantain leaves rinsed

• 200ml almond oil

• 2 bars beeswax – approx. 30g

Instructions

1. Pick your plantain leaves. Make sure you don’t pick all from one plant, but gather a few leaves from each one, so as not to affect the plants too much. Cut the leaves into small chunks.

2. Put the leaves into a pan with the almond oil and leave overnight in a warm place to infuse. I’ve put them beside a fire, on top of the wood burner with a cake rack and on the side of the aga previously. You want it infusing not cooking.

3. The next day, strain it through muslin or a sieve and really push the liquid through. When it starts to run as dark green liquid that sinks below the oil stop squeezing.

4. Return the oil to the pan – leaving the liquid below the oil –and add one of the beeswax bars. Warm the pan back over a low heat to melt the bar.

5. Once melted, test the setting point by dipping in a cool spoon and removing. If it sets on the spoon then you’ll have enough wax added, if it does not set then add more beeswax and repeat the last two steps.

6. Once you're happy with the setting point, pour into your chosen containers or moulds. I’ve used small jam jars, aluminium tins & silicone cake moulds before.

7. Once they are set, they’re ready to be used and shared!

Notes on the plantain skin balm recipe

Coconut oil can replace the almond oil, which in turn means you need a lot less beeswax as the setting point of the coconut oil is much higher, giving you a greater ratio of infused oil to beeswax in your balm.

The photos alongside the recipe were some of the first balms I made using coconut oil and a very small amount of beeswax, before they set. They melted in the warmer temperatures though, and could have done with a little more beeswax. I used a maximum of 1/4 of a bar in this.

Something to eat!

I couldn’t write you an article without a recipe for a tasty treat in it now, could I? This time it’s a much simpler one, but a firm favourite on our autumn foraging courses - Seedy Herby Mash with Elderberry Jus.

Collect a range of wild herbsmarjoram, thyme, mint and yarrow are the ones I use most commonly. Add in-season seeds - greater plantain and nettle are again my go-to ones here. Rub the seeds off their stems and finely chop the rinsed herbs, then stir into mashed potatoes.

Whilst the potatoes are cooking, push a head of elderberries off their stems per person, this can be done by fingers or fork (depending how happy you are to look like Lady Macbeth at the end of the process) and pour these into a hot skillet or thick based frying pan. They will bubble up and break out of their skins. Once this has happened, add about a tablespoon of sugar per person and stir in. It will dissolve into the mix creating a thick, richly flavoured and coloured jus - perfect for adding to a dark meat and serving with the herby spuds.

Have a great summer of foraging! p

Photographs (apart from the title banner and side bar) provided by Lizzy Maskey. Author retains copyright. Foraging is undertaken at personal risk.

IN PROFILE

In this issue, Horizons speaks to Luschka van Onselen, a Wilderness Therapeutic Practitioner and Chair of the IOL Bushcraft Professional Practice Group

Jo Barnett: Welcome to Horizons, Luschka. May I start by asking what is your current role in outdoor learning?

Luschka van Onselen: My current job title is Wilderness Therapeutic Practitioner and I work with young people with special needs or behavioural needs, usually on a one-to-one basis or in small groups, using bushcraft and Forest School style engagement as tools. It's about developing their soft skills such as perseverance, persistence, confidence and self-esteem. I'm also a Beach School practitioner. Living on an island, the Isle of Wight, you'd think that every child goes down to the beach, but actually no. I've currently got a group of 14-year-olds who've never gone crabbing, so we're just crabbing for six weeks because they absolutely love it, and it’s their hook to engagement with learning! Recently I have become the Chair for the IOL Bushcraft Professional Practice Group which has the ultimate goal of enriching and supporting the bushcraft community.

Jo: Where did your love for the outdoors come from?

Luschka: I have memories of my grandmother taking me bird watching in the incredible botanical gardens in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It had a raging river and waterfalls, and it was just the most incredible place. We spent a lot of hours ticking off birds from the Roberts Birds of Southern Africa book. I was a very depressed teenager and I often say I think she saved my life, so I think that's a big part of my love of the outdoors. Being outdoors was such a South African way of life, just exploring the incredible nature, scenery, forests, beaches and mountains. Before South Africa, I lived in Windhoek, Namibia, and I remember my dad coming home from work and piling us all into the VW Kombi and we would just go - there was no real destination. We would wake up in a dry riverbed or next to a cliff-face full of Love Birds. There are many memories of our family of five stuffed into one of those old-style triangular four-person tents like sardines and I always ended up on the floor somehow! My earliest memories are of dust, and wandering around a tribe of people who were all painted red - the Himba - when we lived on the northern Namibian border. Being outdoors and being a wanderer have just always been a part of my life.

Jo: When you think about your career, what are you most proud of?

Luschka: I love what we’ve built here on the Island. I started working in the outdoors with Wood Learn Forest School in 2019, just before the whole world descended into the Covid-19 pandemic. We managed to work through much of it with vulnerable people or with people who really needed to be outdoors, such as key worker children. I would say I’m proud of what we’ve built because all through the upheaval, we consistently hosted after-school and home education sessions, which provided opportunities for people to engage with each other in a different way. We saw real growth and development in so many young people, things like children who had no friends or who were too scared to leave their houses and too afraid to engage with others; so anxious that on arrival they weren’t able to leave their cars. And then by the end they’re independent, confident young men and women, who have developed connections with nature and each other. We worked with one boy who was so afraid of the dark that he would leave twenty minutes into the session because the trees were forming shadows. After a while, he was even attending nighttime sessions or dark sessions like late afternoon in the winter. He saved up and sent me some flowers to say thank you for helping him with his fear, but all we did was provide an opportunity.

These experiences always offer small pockets of pride; it's individual achievements that I hold very dear. I'm also really proud of being the first female Chair of the Bushcraft Professional Practice Group. When my own daughters were small, I spent a lot of time teaching them about inspiring women like Amelia Earhart and Jane Goodall, or other women who were pioneering. I never really thought I'd be the first one to do anything. In my home, and in my four walls, it's something I really am quite proud of because to my children it’s an equivalent achievement by their mum.

Jo: What would you say is the most significant thing that you have learned in your career?

Luschka: We are always learning and yet so much of what we are learning our ancestors already knew. Things like old wives’ tales and nursery rhymes have their foundations in elements of truth or science, and yet we're only relearning those things now. The learning that has been the most significant for me is that we are so connected to nature. I think about all the things we don't know yet - like what’s in the depths of the oceans or even about uses for the plants that we've relegated to being just ‘weeds’. I think the moment that you think you know everything is the moment you start to become irrelevant.

Jo: So, what would your top tip be for someone starting a career in the outdoors?

Luschka: Invest in good clothes! The days I've come home with my feet all wrinkly because my socks or shoes have leaked! Now I have the most comfortable pair of fleece-lined builders’ boots and they're fantastic. Spend more on woollen socks or the better waterproofs or just invest in quality. It might feel painful in the short-term, but in the long run you'll be so grateful for it. If the coming winters are going to be anything like the last one, you'll be wet often, so invest in things that make the day-to-day easier.

Jo: Looking ahead, what do you think is important for the future of outdoor learning?

Luschka: We need to find ways of working together for the benefit of our communities. Collectively funding and collating research is going to be really important going forward as we justify our work to funders and decision-makers. Getting behind projects such as Nature Premium is going to be essential. We're now looking at a generation of parents who weren't outdoor children themselves. Parents cannot teach and share what they do not know. We need people in positions of power to make outdoor learning happen for our young people. This is increasingly important as young people are at a critical point in our history and technology is part of that. I see many teenagers who are at breaking point and something needs to be done for them. Trying to make a global change as individuals is going to be nearly impossible, so we need to collaborate to increase our impact on society.

Jo: And finally, what's next in your calendar?

Luschka: I'm currently halfway through becoming a qualified therapist, so I’ve just started my one hundred hours of placement. It is all very office-based, which I've been finding quite challenging, but I'd like to combine my outdoor work with more intensive therapy work because I think the two combined can be powerful.

Jo: Thank you, Luschka, for sharing your fascinating outdoor learning career and thoughts with us p

Photographs provided by Luschka van Onselen. Author retains copyright.