Making us of nature (outside) is one the most powerful tools to work around gaining new insights of yourself. Nature is an instrument that never lies. It’s not as comfortable as a nice warm training place somewhere in the city where the lights are on, a white board is hanging and a beamer is standing ready.
Thanks to nature we are confronted with ourselves and the way how we behave and work in group. When it rains, we get wet, when the sun signs, we get warm. When we cross a river, we have to work in team, … etc. Shortly: we can’t escape from the power of nature when we’re fully aware of its presence. It’s a start for our journey to personal growth.
Outdoor Experiential learning is a powerful methodology to (re)discover new insights and aspects of yourself and/or in group.
By taking a group into the wide nature and making use of the natural possibilities (ex. forest, rivers, mountains, caves …) and to combine this with specific exercises and personal and/or group challenges, we create situations where the comfort zone is stretched out safely. Trough this we create new understandings, skills and new behavior patterns and space to experiment with it.
Comfort zone: the emotional and mental space around each of us, where we feel safe to practice our behavior. Ex. our interaction with the direct people around us. When most of our activities are in this zone life is ‘comfortable’ but you do not learn very much nor develop yourself.
Stretch zone: this is the area of novelty, exploration and adventure. Here are the things that are a little or a lot out of the ordinary – the things you haven’t done for a long time or have never done before. It’s not really a comfortable place – but it is a stimulating one. It’s the area where we stretch and challenge ourselves mentally, emotionally or physically.
Panic zone: this is the zone of things-to-be-avoided either because they are unacceptable to you or because they are currently a ‘stretch’ too far!
Trough nature we get confronted with our inner self and with our natural behaviour when we’re working in group. When it rains, we get wet, when the sun shines, we get hot, when we have to cross a river, we’ve to work as a team together, etc. To put it briefly, we can’t escape when we’re in nature. And this is the starting point for our personal discoveries and personal growth.
Nature never lies!
Possible projects with Outdoor Experiential Learning:
- 1/2 day training in nature focussed on communication and how to deal with inner conflicts.
- 1 day outdoor training where creativity and problem solving take a central place.
- 2-days team building around putting bounderies, assertivity and group dynamics.
Do you have an idea, or do you want to exchange thoughts with us? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
Last modified: 13 December 2016