Vertical Playpen

Do you operate an adventure program in a school? Are you interested in beginning one? Mark Friedrich (Milburn High School) joins Phil to discuss; - Running an Adventure Program in a school - How to manage short class times (43mins) - His 8 week curriculum - Methods to incorporate the larger school community into the program Want to reach out to Mark, heres how; Email - mark.friedrich@millburn.org...

Phil, Sam and Jamie sit around a table at High 5 HQ and answer questions about themselves and play "This or That". Ubuntu Cards - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/high-5-products/products/ubuntu-cards Submit any questions you have to either; - Instagram - @verticalplaypen - Email - podcast@high5adventure.org Music and Sound effects - epidemicsound.com Intro/Outro song - Future is Now b...

Do you find learning names challenging? Especially when you are leading a 1-day program? In this "Listener Question" episode, Phil gives 2 ideas on how he learns names during shorter programs. Adventure Basics Training  - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/multi-day-workshops-and-trainings/products/adventure-basics-level-1-training?_ga=2.88191451.15375352.1662925267-1772421505.1613053803...

Do you struggle with encouraging reluctant participants to participate? In this Listener Question episode, Phil addresses this topic and discusses; - Creating Engaging agendas - Being aware of activity types - Giving participants purposeful roles Spot markers - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/props-throwables/products/spot-markers Reach out to Phil either via Instagram - @verticalplay...

Join Phil and Rich as they travel together for a training. So many great conversations go unrecorded when traveling for work so in this episode we had a microphone ready as we discussed; - Best and Worst Traveling stories - A couple of canadian misadventures - The luxuries of airtravel 30 years ago Reach out to Phil either via Instagram - @verticalplaypen email - podcast@high5adventure.org Music a...

Are you looking for a career in the adventure industry? One of the main driving reasons for creating the podcast was to highlight the many ways that people have found careers in the adventure industry. This summer Phil wrote an article for Adventure Park Insider (API) titled "Mapping Career Paths". In this episode Phil reads the article while using the voices of those professionals featured in the...

This episode has very little educational value, but should, at the very least, put a smile on your face! You can be the judge of who in this episode has the talent. Featured are; - Ella singing "A little seed" - Phil singing "Pure Imagination" - Sam Hunt - instrumental performance Ubuntu Cards - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/high-5-products/products/ubuntu-cards Music and Sound effe...

Newer facilitators (understandably) rely on bags full of props when facilitating programs....I certainly did. In this episode Phil and Ryan discuss; - the value of enhancing your facilitation skills - the importance of avoiding becoming too reliant on props - using props in deeper ways Tinker Book - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/high-5-products/products/tinker-building-purposeful-ex...

Poor gear storage can lead to; - Replacing damaged gear - Lack of professionalism - Participants who are now less likely to climb In this episode Phil shares his recommendations for gear storage. ROAM Storage Case - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/equipment-storage/products/roam-adventure-co-rugged-casses Music and Sound effects - epidemicsound.com Song - Future is Now by FLYIN

Summer Camp Training season recently wrapped up for our training team. In this episode, Phil shares his 5 big takeaways. - Practice makes progress - Belay stance is so important - Lighter belayer/heavier climber - Prior knowledge isn't always a good thing - Where is the gear? Link to Tinker - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/high-5-products/products/tinker-building-purposeful-experienc...

Do we adequately prepare our participants for struggle and frustration on the ropes course? It's a challenge course, not a success course, after all. In this episode, Phil, Lisa and Rich talk about facilitating struggle, share stories of struggle and give some activity ideas that you can use with your next group. Referenced in this episode are 2 blog posts; - The Struggle is Real - https://high5ad...

Parachute Cords (aka P-cords) are an essential feature of a ropes course, as they are what you use to set your ropes up and take them down at the end of the day. They can also be the MOST ANNOYING part of facilitating on a course as they can get tangled in everything they touch, and can also be the reason for having to perform a gear retrieval. In this episode, Phil and Rich discuss all things par...

As a full-time adventure education trainer, travel is a part of the work.  Traveling can be full of great experiences but it also features a lot of time in cars and hotels. In this episode, Phil details 2 of those car/hotel experiences and also shares a recent mistake and reminder that he had during this summer travel season. Music and Sound effects - epidemicsound.com Song - Memorabilia by Phello

Do you feel anxious before facilitating programs? Our training team collectively says an emphatic yes! This episode is a re-release of a conversation we recorded a couple of years ago, sharing our anxiety experiences and giving some tips on how we overcome them. Music and Sound effects - epidemicsound.com Song - Anxiety by Mindme

Over the years, we all make mistakes.  However, we are often too embarrassed to bring them up because of the possibility of being negatively judged. It is through these mistakes though that we learn and by sharing them with others we can help prevent them from making the same ones. In this episode, Phil and Rich will be sharing some of the mistakes they have made over the years, with 2 main goals;...

How do you prepare to present at conferences? In this episode, Phil and Rich Keegan discuss; - How to come up with conference workshops - How to submit workshops - How to prepare for presenting the workshops Follow @verticalplaypen on Instagram Email questions or comments to podcast@high5adventure.org

What contributes to a psychologically UNSAFE learning environment? In this episode (Part 2) Phil, Lisa and Romy discuss; - The power of evaluative words - Mining for opposite experiences - Making yourself equally accessible to all participants - Our own psychological safety - Managing participants that negatively impact the psychological safety of the group Connect with Romy - romy@romy-alexandra....

How can we create psychologically safe learning environments for our participants? In Part 1 of this 2 part episode, Phil, Lisa Hunt and Romy Alexandra discuss; - What is a psychologically safe learning environment? - How, using 4 animals, you can identify the needs of your group - Role-modeling vulnerability and asking for feedback during a program. Connect with Romy - romy@romy-alexandra.com Lea...

This episode, inspired by the Multi-stage fitness test (PACER or beep test), brings in Phil to become a guest facilitator for your program. Phil guides your participants through 3 different opening activities, providing you with framing ideas and reflection prompts.  Activity 1 - Jump In Jump Out - 3:00 - 12:40 Activity 2 - Alternative Introductions - 12:50 - 22:50 Activity 3 - The Wright Family V...

This phrase describes both our work as Experiential educators but it is also a large part of Bryn's pathway in this industry. In this episode, Bryn Lottig (co-founder of Kikori) talks to Phil about; - The transformational power of working in the outdoors and its effects on her - The need for this educational pedagogy to be taken seriously  - The best advice she has recieved in her career so far Co...

Do connection activities actually help our participants connect? This was the topic of discussion in this live recorded episode of the podcast. It was recorded while attending the BOOST (Best Out-Of-School Time) 2022 Conference The contributors in this conversation; Phil Brown - @verticalplaypen Sam Copland - scopland@high5adventure.org Ian Hockley - ian@dylanswingsofchange.org ElizaBeth Phillips...

This is a short update episode to let you know that VPP will be on the road! Phil will be bringing his microphones with him this busy training season to learn more about the life of a trainer and to interact with the diversity of people he meets along the way. If you would like to submit questions he should ask folks on his journey, you can submit them via instagram - @verticalplaypen. Have a grea...

Josh Nadzam (Co-founder of On The Move Art Studio) joins Phil to discuss; - Discovering the power of facilitation - Growing as a facilitator - Facilitating dialogue sessions and why it is so novel Learn more about Josh - https://www.joshnadzam.com/ Learn more about On the Move - https://www.onthemoveartstudio.org/home.html Email Josh - joshnadzam@gmail.com 

Joe Hirsch (Ted X Speaker and Author of "The Feedback Fix) joins Phil to discuss; - The qualities of positive and negative feedback - Moving from a feedback to a feedforward mindset - The feedback wrap - How we can empower our participants and colleagues using feedback Connect with Joe - joe@joehirsch.me Learn more about Joe's work - https://joehirsch.me/

Myriam Hadnes (workshops.work) joins Phil to discuss; - The importance of leaders role modeling vulnerability - The work before the work, assessing the needs of your clients - Why doing things you have never done before can enhance your facilitation skills Connect with Myriam - myriam@workshops.work Learn more about Myriam's work - http://workshops.work/