Month: January 2018

Outdoor recreation plays a huge role in education with many schools having it placed high up on their list of priorities. The benefits of children partaking in outdoor recreation were pioneered by the German educationalist Kurt Hahn in the 1930s. In 1934 he founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland. His educational philosophy was based around the theory that education of the mind and the body should be conducted together and not separately. The school promoted the importance of physical fitness and the use of expeditions Some of Hahn’s beliefs were extreme such as daily cold showers and “punishment runs”, and would later be taken off the school’s curriculum. However, some of his beliefs inspired other schools and led to the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme in 1956. He greatly believed that children benefited from being taken out of their...

There has been a continuing relationship between business and outdoor pursuits. Many of the skills that are learnt whilst surviving in the wilderness can be transferred into the work place to make it a more efficient working environment. Many companies will send their employees on team building exercises in order to enhance social relations and define roles within teams. Just taking the employees out of their natural work place and into the natural environment can be in itself a major first step. The difficult task in all of these initiatives is to get the participators to fully accept the aims of the day. An initial reaction from the group can be one of suspicion, and this type of negative attitude is one that may stop the participators from gaining anything worthwhile from the experience. Specialist companies have now been created...