Our Edinburgh University Outdoor Education MSc cohort recently celebrated our 15-year anniversary, a testament to the powerful community we built and the enduring love for nature that brought us together.
Looking back on my time at the University of Edinburgh, one of the best years of my life was spent canoeing down the River Spey, organising expeditions to the Atlas Mountains, and winter mountaineering in the Cairngorms. These experiences were transformative, but the most significant impact came from the community we created.
🌱Bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds with a shared passion for outdoor learning was truly amazing. I’ll never forget the 2010-2011 OE cohort!
👉This highlights a key principle of outdoor learning: the outdoors is a powerful medium for exploring and strengthening community. As Hopkins and Putnam (1993) noted, the bonding that takes place is evident within outdoor education communities. The space and open-ended challenges of outdoor activities allow for greater freedom to interact (Harris, 2017), reducing the formalities of typical societal settings.
🌱The power of outdoor education isn’t just about reaching a destination or achieving a goal. It’s about the company you keep along the way and the lasting friendships and bonds you forge through shared experiences.
📣Now more than ever, our social connections and communities need support to grow. Let’s provide our children with these same outdoor community-building opportunities.
📚References
Harris, F. (2017). The nature of learning at forest school: practitioners’ perspectives. Education 3-13, 45(2), 272–291.
Hopkins, D. and Putnam, R (1993). Personal growth through adventure. D. Fulton.