Dragons, Rabbits and Endless Rain : Students' Accounts of the I.O.L.

SCAN is a member of the Institute of Outdoor Learning (IOL), a professional association for people who lead activities outdoors - from kayak instructors to bushcraft specialists.

In January 2015 six Newcastle University students, all  experienced and committed volunteers on SCAN's outdoors environmental projects, took part in a day of workshops and training on lake Windermere, in the lake district. We stayed together in the Ambleside youth hostel, just over the lake from Brathay hall where it poured and poured with rain all day.

(SCAN division of the Institute of Outdoor Learning, on tour)

I asked the students to tell me what they thought of the event :

Nina :
"The outdoor conference sounds hippie to me when I received the email!
It was different from what I've imagined but turned out amazing! The views in Ambleside are breath-taking though the weather wasn't nice. People at the conference were passionate about outdoor activities and skilful too which gave me much inspiration."

Others described it as "a wonderful opportunity for those who are interested in outdoor activities", "a well-planned event", "fun, engaging and inspirational" & "a great chance to meet new people who share the same or similar interest with me."

(sketch by Mike : morning briefings in the main hall)

We attended different workshops from a long and diverse list : and considering the pouring rain, it was no surprise that none of us chose any of the water-based activities.


Workshop 1 : Using Smartphones for Outdoor Learning

Phil "picked up some good ideas on how best to use smartphones" and "learned about all of the useful apps that are out there." 

Workshop 2 : Dark Sky Discovery

Fathima learnt that "Binoculars often work just as well as telescopes so I will be trying that when I'm back home. I plan on making ISS spotting my new party trick."
"We can see a lot without any equipment  at all. The glow from a campfire actually helps the naked eye to see constellations-this is possibly why ancient civilizations have so many star-related stories. I was a little cold and sleepy so I zoned out on some of the science but I was definitely inspired to learn and understand more."

Workshop 3: Myths, Mystery and Language - Stories from our native islands

(sketch of British folklore workshop, with small cauldron on the floor)

Two students, who both come from China, attended this workshop.

Nina commented that "It was a bit difficult for me to understand the whole of it as English is not my first language - as well as the whole session was relevant to very old mysteries and traditions. However, it was intriguing as Britain's old fairies and culture is exactly what I love and the difference I found out from Chinese just amazed me. For example, the dragon in China is the epitome of power, status and wealth rather here is guarding the power or they even has evil dragons!"

Aimin resolved, "after this workshop, I decide to check on internet or read some books to know more about British culture."

Jasmine was at a clashing workshop, but "During the lunch space I managed to speak to the lady running the workshop" and "she was extremely passionate and very happy to discuss her ideas despite having to repeat everything in her afternoon session!"  

(Prompts for discussion, British folklore workshop: photo by Jasmine)

 

Workshop 4: Biology and Backwoods Cooking - the anatomy of your meal

(A two hour session on hour to safely prepare a rabbit for a meal in the outdoors).

Ali was the best at this, and comments that "I learn the key things to do and not to do, avoid ruining the meal of the day, i.e. what Phil did ;)"

I'm a vegetarian, so I teased Ali afterwards for hating rabbits. He replied, sensibly: "Although I didn’t show any sympathy for the rabbit I was dissecting, it didn’t mean I hate rabbits! It is a survival skill."

Workshop 5 : A Journey into Awesomeness: creating magic moments in outdoor learning

"This discussed the concepts of what a magic moment or a moment of awe is to individuals, in order to stimulate ideas on how to create such moments in learning and education. It also covered other topics of educating successfully. These concepts were not something I had given much thought to beforehand, but proved to be very inspirational and thought provoking. I was also able to use and share this concept in planning an event on making research understandable to children the next day!"

Yoko, who had attended the discussion based session on "Values in the Outdoors" in the morning, commented that this second workshop "was more interactive than the morning session. I could get new insight about what's 'awesome' and learnt how I could change the minds of people in this session."

 

Workshop 6: Forest School

Five students all attended the Forest School workshop, led by Lily Horsman, and it seems to have been a highlight of the day.

"We have been taught how to built a tent roof according to the nature positions of trees around you, the skills of lighting a fire and how do we observe the environment. It was really practical and I had a great fun by using metal to light the fire and made popcorn and bread. It tasted great!"

(Working together to raise shelters - photo by Fathima)

 

"They made something that seemed quite difficult, like setting up the tarps and making the fire, quite doable. We all have the capacity to problem solve but the experience of others just gets us there faster- that's what teaching is largely about."

"I really notice the different education styles between the UK and my own country - China. When I go back to China, I will try to promote this education style."

(Sticks whittled into flowers - photo by Fathima)

 

"This was an intriguing insight into how forest schools are run and gave me food for thought about running my own workshops in the future and incorporating outdoor activities into learning scenarios. It also provided me with details of how and where to get training to run forest schools professionally." 

 

(Fire being used to make popcorn, bread & handwarmers - photo by Fathima)

 

"I learned more about how to prepare, organise and maintain a good outdoor activities with kids. The main thing I took with me, is being Creative, as the outdoors, e.g. woods, is an area full of things that can be used as tools for our imaginations. Kids love to be outdoors, and love to look around for anything to play with, so we should provide them these facilities"

Finally, some general comments about the day :

Phil loved the building but commented that it was "hard to eat off paper plates" at lunch, also that there was an "Excellent choice of workshops" & it "would maybe have been even better to have 3 workshops instead of 2".

Some students have now identified targets for future training, such as Forest School education, and here are some final comments to share:

"For a conference run over just one day, it allowed for plenty of interaction and activities"

 "It inspired to me to get more into nature of Britain, travelling around and care more about the environment."

"I would also like to explore more about teaching and educating skills and techniques in general after the second workshop; it highlighted how important it is to understand yourself in relation to your student, as well as your student’s perception of self and teacher, and having respect for these aspects of learning... I feel it is important for my future work to understand how to engage successfully through such techniques."

"The best relief after weeks of being locked indoor studying for the exams, is by getting dirty in the mud and rain, with the countryside’s fresh air."