The Outdoors Group Podcast

In this episode, we were delighted to sit down with the Head of our Alternative Outdoor Provision, Nigel Stanley. Nigel joined us to talk about our approach to alternative provision at The Outdoors Group. We talked about how this area of our business works, what this provision looks like for the young people we work with, why it works so well and our plans for the future. We also discussed how we...

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by Rob Cartwright, Core Intervention Lead at The Outdoors School. We spoke about what his role involves, the approach to literacy and numeracy that we take and how we work with learners who might previously have struggled to engage with these key building blocks of learning. It was a really interesting and enjoyable conversation and a pleasure to hea...

Ahead of his appearance at our upcoming Outdoor Learning Conference, we were delighted to be joined by Mike King for this episode. We connected online to discuss his experience of outdoor education and in particular, his work with learners with SEN (Special Educational Needs). We chatted about his school, Releasing Potential and how they are breaking the mould and doing things very differently in...

In this episode, we were delighted to be sitting outside in the sun at our South Brent site to talk to two parents of some of our learners from The Outdoors School. Amongst other things, we talked about their previous school experiences, why they chose us for their children, their first impressions and how their children found it and the progress their kids have made during their time with us. Com...

In this, our first episode of Season 6, we've been joined once more by one of our directors Shev Pring to talk about the concept of experiential learning. This educational approach is at the heart of everything we do here at The Outdoors Group and this conversation was well overdue on the podcast! We discussed the history of this approach and the contributions made by the forefathers, David Kolb a...

For the final episode of season 5 of The Outdoors Group Podcast, we were delighted to be invited to On The Hill, who are based in the beautiful Teign Valley in South Devon. We met one of the directors of this community interest company, Jo Clark, to discuss the story of On The Hill. We chatted about where they originated, the land based learning that they do and most importantly, what drives the w...

In this episode, we were delighted to be invited to visit The Bioasis, which we found at a top secret location in the South West of England. We were met by the Director Adrian Ferraro to explore this beautiful patch of the world and talk about the experiences they offer to young people. The Bioasis runs immersive residential adventures, with a focus on climate change and looking after the world we...

In this episode, I was delighted to be joined, once again, by the headteacher of The Outdoors School, Robyn Vincent. For those new to us, The Outdoors School is a unique completely outdoor special school based across 4 sites in Devon. It offers a project-based learner-led educational approach to autistic young people and those with special educational needs. This was Robyn's second appearance...

In this episode, I was delighted to be joined by not one but three of my esteemed colleagues to discuss journalling. Our Welfare Officers Rowan Pring and Pete Shepherd were discussing it from a therapeutic perspective and our Director Shev Pring added an educational view point about using learning journals. We discussed the practicalities of what journalling is, why it's a helpful practice and...

In this episode, we were delighted to talk to Abel Pearson, one of the directors at Glasbren. Glasbren is a not-for-profit community land project in Carmarthen, Wales. Over the last 5 years they have been engaging with their local community to grow and deliver over 4000 veg boxes through their Community-Support Agriculture veg box scheme and recently have become the new custodians of a National Tr...

In this episode, we were delighted to visit The Baby Room in Exeter to talk to one of its founders, Jen Harris. The Baby Room is an amazing venue and resource for families in Exeter and the surrounding area, offering (amongst other things!) breastfeeding support, real nappy consultation and hire, baby sling consultation and hire and inclusive support for families. At the cornerstone of this Commun...

In this episode, I’ve passed over the hosting hat once again to our Head of Forest School and Training, Nick Murphy. This is the second episode in which Nick is talking about the realities of running Forest School provision in mainstream schools and this time, he’s joined by local freelance Forest School Lead, Ali Taylor. Nick and Ali had a fantastic conversation in which they talked about the ben...

In this episode, it was such a delight to talk to founder and Director at ThoughtBox Education, Rachel Musson. She invited me to her little patch of heaven in Totnes and we sat down to talk about what ThoughtBox Education does, their Triple Wellbeing project and the holistic approach she takes when it comes to education. We also delved into her very interesting journey to where she finds herself t...

This episode marks the first in a miniseries within the series, in which I’ve handed over the reins as host to our Head of Forest Schools and Training, Nick Murphy. Nick is spending a few episodes talking to those working within mainstream primary schools running Forest School provision. They’ll be talking about the realities of providing Forest School sessions in schools, the benefits and challen...

In this episode, we were delighted to talk to Richard Mathews, a Devon based adventurer, explorer and expedition leader. He told us about his lifetime of adventuring, and shared stories from circumnavigating the globe in a Nissan Micra to walking the Slovenian Mountain trail. We talked about what it means to be a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, his experience of working with young people...

In this episode we were delighted to be joined by Tom Walmsley from the Ministry of Eco Education to talk about sustainability in education. We discussed what the Ministry of Eco does, why embedding sustainability into education is so important and the influence that children can have on the adults around them in making choices and driving changes to help with the climate crisis we find ourselves...

In this episode, I was so delighted to have the pleasure to visit The Apricot Centre in Totnes. Mark and Hannah gave me a warm welcome (and a delicious lunch!) and we had a fantastic conversation finding out about the amazing and varied work they do on their beautiful site. We chatted about regenerative farming, outdoor well-being, the gut microbiome and so much more. It was a really interesting a...

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by two of our tutors from The Outdoors School. Woody and Hannah both began their teaching careers in mainstream schools before coming to work in an outdoor school with a radically different approach to education. They chatted to us about what drew them to a career in education, what their experiences of mainstream education are, and how that differs...

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by Royal Army Staff Sergeant Nathan Jones. Nathan joined us to talk about his new venture, Discover A Guide, an online community that connects instructors with those new to outdoor adventures. We discussed why he wanted to create this resource, his experience of instructing outdoors and some of the benefits of partaking in outdoor adventurous activit...

In this episode I had the absolute pleasure of visiting three of the sites of The Outdoors School to talk to some of the learners there. The Outdoors School is our special independent school that runs outside, all year round, on four sites in Devon, for autistic learners and those with SEN (Special Educational Needs). We chatted about what they thought about the school, how it differs from other s...

In this episode we were delighted to be joined, once again, by one of our directors Tom Lowday. This time, he came with his ecological hat on to talk about the rewilding and sustainable woodland management work that is taking place on our largest site, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. We talked about orchards and apples (extensively!), woodland management techniques, therapy cows and biodiversity...

It was such an absolute delight to go for a stroll by the canal in Exeter with Robin Harford in this episode! Robin, the man behind the well known Eat Weeds website, joined me to discuss foraging, Ethnobotany, plants as medicine and food and so much more! We discussed why the stories behind plants are so important and need to be told, how those listening can dip their fingers into finding food in...

In this episode, we were so delighted to talk to Devon based artist, Joe Webster. Joe is a landscape graffiti artist who works almost exclusively outdoors, mark making in harmony with the elements and whatever Mother Nature throws at him! We spoke about why he works outdoors and the challenges that brings with it, his favourite spaces to paint, advice for those looking to develop their artistic pr...

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by Annkatrin Hendry, a small scale grower and outdoor educator. She came to talk to us about The Landworkers Alliance, the work she does with children and teachers, her own personal growing space, a recent arts council funded project she was involved in and the thread that ties all her ventures together. It was a hopeful and interesting conversation...

In this episode, I was delighted to visit the beautiful Tucketts Farm, in South Devon to talk to part of the management team about what they do on this gorgeous riverside site. Rob and Kim joined me to talk about regenerative farming, the compassionate approach they take to working with animals, off grid life and the exciting new artistic venture that they’re undertaking. It was a warm, fascinatin...