Wellbeing, outdoor learning and sustainable living

Please begin by reviewing and reflecting upon the following outdoor activity example. The outdoor activity was Blind String Trail. The children were blindfolded, with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front. They had to follow a string through an outdoor obstacle course. The aim of the activity was to introduce them to communication by encouraging them to give short messages to the leader and get them to pass it back like Chinese whispers. This was the group’s first activity at the outdoor centre. After the activity, the male teacher engaged the children in discussion: Tm

Can we all sit down in a nice big circle and I’ll join you. You need to ­concentrate.

Who can tell me please what you needed to accomplish?

Pg1 ¹

Listening.

Tm

Yeah, listening. Now hands up who thought that they were good at ­listening?

(All raised their hands up.)

Tm

Yeah, I agree, you were all pretty good. What else do you think we had to do?

Pb

We shout stop.

Tm

We shout stop, what else?

Pb1

Carry on!

Tm

What else?

Pb2

Oooh, ooh, you need to say what you felt.172

Tm

Yeah, you had to tell everybody what you felt. The idea is that you needed to do it yourselves, but you obviously did it with a bit of help, because it was your first time. The idea of this week is things like that, you’ve got to think carefully about what you’re doing, who you’re talking to. Are we all happy now?

Pg

Yeah!

Tm

Well done everybody. Give yourselves a round of applause. That was one of the best, if not the best first time string trails.

(On the way back, two girls were chatting.)

Pg1

I’m dying here.Pg2:I’m sweaty.(Field notes II, pp. 7–10)