Outdoor Education: Why we should include it in our programs and some ideas to get started!

"Great things are done when men and mountains meet; 

This is not done by jostling in the street."

- William Blake

Adventuring outside brings me great joy. Taking students on adventures in the wild brings me even more joy! One of the many things I love about the school I teach at is their belief in the importance of an outdoor education program. In my opinion, outdoor education programs teach students confidence, determination, perseverance and resiliency. Students have to prepare for the day, carry their own packs, manage their own layers, and complete a task that is often challenging and physically demanding. They learn that they are able to overcome obstacles and, most of the time, complete the adventure feeling more confident in themselves and what they can accomplish. These challenges build student character, which will then transfer to the classroom to positively benefit their academic learning. I'm not the only person who believes this. 

John Hattie is a well-known name in education. He has written many books, one of them being Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. Hattie explains his research on the factors that affect student achievement and learning. He uses something called an effect size to show the impact a factor has on the learning of students. In his research, .4 represents one year's growth and any factor above .4 would be an intervention/teaching method/program that is beneficial to student learning. Outdoor adventure programs are rated as having an effect size of .43 by Hattie. Hooray! What a great reason to continue taking students into the great outdoors!

The Education Endowment Foundation has also spent a lot of time researching different practices to see if they are useful in student learning. Their research has concluded that outdoor adventure programs provide moderate impact for a moderate cost based on moderate evidence. Their evidence suggests that outdoor programs are more useful for vulnerable students and students in high school. They also suggest that the impact of outdoor learning is greatest when the students are in the wilderness for over a week at a time. 

Hopefully you are now convinced that it is a great idea to implement outdoor adventure programs into your practice! It would be best for one to also be experienced in how to adventure safely in the wilderness before deciding to take a bunch of students along. It is also a great idea to have wilderness first aid. If you are interested in some outdoor ed options, keep reading! 

Outdoor Ed Gear

It is important that students are prepared for the adventures they go on. We expect students to have the gear below for every trip. 

• Backpack/daypack
• Hikers or runners with good tread
• Whistle
• Emergency blanket
• Sunscreen
• Toque and mittens
• Two one litre water bottles
• Bagged healthy lunch with snacks
• Two pairs of non-cotton socks
• Long underwear bottoms and top
• Athletic shorts and t-shirt
• Fleece insulating jacket and pants
• Waterproof jacket with hood
• Waterproof pants

Canoeing and Hiking 

This is a favourite of many students! Our school owns eight canoes and a trailer, so we head off to a small lake in Port Moody and split the class in half. Half of the students canoe with our outdoor ed co-ordinator for the morning and the other half go for a hike through the nearby forest with me. We meet back together for lunch and then switch places. Those who hiked now canoe and those who canoed go for a hike. If purchasing your own canoes is not an option, look up adventure companies in your area and see if you could get one of them to run a day long canoe program for your class!

*Optional Gear: Flip flops, sunglasses and a towel 

Caving

This adventure gives students the opportunity to practice bravery and problem solving. There are some fantastic caves in Chilliwack that we drive to. There are no washrooms there, so we make a stop at a provincial campground before the final destination of the caves. This is a great time to explain the appropriate etiquette for using an outhouse! Once we get to the caves we split the class in half. One half plays around in a larger cavernous cave with a couple of parents standing guard for safety. The other half of the class go single file through a cave that starts just above a river and ends partway up the side of a mountain. After lunch, we switch places the same way we did when canoeing and hiking. 

We place staff strategically in parts of the cave that are difficult. Their job is to encourage the young ones as they climb through. Those who were afraid of the cave are always so joyful after they have conquered their fears and gone through tiny spaces!

*Mandatory Extra Gear: Helmet and headlamp

Snowshoeing

This is such a great way to let students experience a winter exercise option! We take students along the Dog Mountain trail on Mt. Seymour. This year I made my class a chocolate fondue when we reached the lookout to celebrate their exceptional perseverance. If your school does not own snowshoes, there are a lot of mountains with school program options and gear rentals!

*Mandatory Extra Gear: Snowshoes, winter boots, extra insulating layers

Hiking

There are many hiking trails on the west coast. It is important to choose a hike that is the appropriate length and level of difficulty for your students. If you need ideas, the Vancouver Trails website has a very organized layout. It will tell you the approximate time to complete the hike, distance, level of difficulty, and amount of elevation for each hike. There is also helpful info on how to find the trail head and descriptions of the trail to help you go the right way. 

*Optional Gear: Camera

If your students and school love these trips, you could end the year with a camping trip where they use their new outdoor skills again. Just an idea. The year end camping trips are extremely memorable but do pose a great amount of liability and risk. 

Hopefully you've been inspired to adventure with your students!