Reflections from Adventure Mind 2023

We’re still on a high from a fascinating couple of days at Adventure Mind last month. Over the two days, we heard from and spoke to so many people working in or researching people’s connection to nature through adventures, both big and small.

What came through in almost all the conversations we had was the importance of belonging. Whether it’s belonging to a group or a place.

We listened to some brilliant talks centered around the themes of opening up the outdoors to make adventures possible for more people. We also explored reframing the concept of 'adventure,' shifting from extreme experiences to accessible adventures in our local communities.

Here’s a few of our takeaways, what we learnt as a company and what Andrew and I took away from the conference on a personal level.

We ran three Explore & Play workshops. We began with a group project that got us thinking about the elements humans require for a fulfilling life - from social support and reciprocity to movement, access to the outdoors, skill-building, and a sense of belonging.

Then, we engaged in various partner games aiming to get our bodies into novel positions, encouraging us to consider the 'in-between' strength crucial as we age and to think more about the need for more diverse movements throughout our days.

We’ve been integrating more elements of Constraints-led and Ecological Dynamic approaches into our sessions. Essentially, we explore how our environment influences behaviours and how we can utilise our local surroundings to promote flourishing.

We concluded by discussing the capabilities approach and how we can keep expanding our options in life by learning new movement skills with our friends. Similar to learning a new word and then suddenly noticing it everywhere, when we unlock a new movement skill, we start to view spaces and places differently, revealing more movement opportunities.

We’ve never run workshops for so many people at a time so it was brilliant to receive such good feedback - as well as seeing a group of 30 adults, most of whom don’t know each other, laughing and playing with balance, chalk and sticks.

The conference closed with a panel discussion on 'How communities can turn intention into lifestyle change & everyday adventures.' Belinda Kirk hosted Andrew Telfer, Nadia Weigh (Adventure Queens), Andrew Higson (Black Dog Outdoors), and Kelvyn James (Wellness Walks). It was a real pleasure to hear stories from such great organisations about what makes a community sustainable in the long term, along with brilliant anecdotes on reciprocity and support networks.

Gill’s favourite parts:

I loved hearing from Anita Grant about Adventure Playgrounds and the importance of allowing children to have access to unsupervised play. There was a Bob Hughes quote that really resonates - “It has somehow become normal for children to play whilst being overlooked or managed by adults." It chimes a lot with our more playful focus that we’re using at WildStrong around adventurous play and physical literacy.

I also really enjoyed hearing from Dr Susan Houge Mackenzie around small adventures being as impactful as big ones. Particularly around hedonic wellbeing (immediate sensory pleasure, happiness, and enjoyment) and eudaimonic wellbeing relates (what makes for a fulfilling and meaningful life). This really chimes with the PERMA model that we use at WildStrong when thinking about what makes a group become a support network.

I thought Nicky Chisholm’s Marketing workshop was excellent and has left me with lots of ideas that I’ve been mulling over. Including some sort of family movement challenge for January & February.

I had some great chats with so many people. The number of small, community-led projects happening to encourage more people outdoors is really inspiring. A huge thanks to Belinda Kirk for dreaming up and bringing that whole thing together.

As ever when I get back from these things, from hearing so many talks and meeting so many people, my brain is firing with LOADS of ideas of what's possible, just need to direct the energy into a few strategic directions...which is always easier said than done.

Andrew’s Favourite parts:

I really enjoyed seeing some old friends and faces from previous Adventure Minds. It was great hearing about what other people had been up to and how their organisations and ideas have crystalised over the past year.

As Gill mentioned, Anita Grant and Susan Houge Mackenzie’s talks were excellent. I enjoyed learning about Adventure Playgrounds and was struck by how much our own locations often resemble Adventure Playgrounds for adults with logs, scraps of wood and old tyres. Susan Houge Mackenzie referenced a lot of the same thinkers who’ve influenced us. It was great to hear how other people have interpreted and applied various social and behavioural change frameworks.

I always love hearing Kelvyn James talk about the good work they’re doing at Wellness Walks. They’re an excellent example of how outdoor communities can make a huge difference.

I really enjoyed some of the serendipitous meetings that occurred over lunch and dinner. I had a great chat with Israh Goodall about life, regenerative systems and applying holistic thinking to our lives. I also had a great time speaking with Martin Murphy. We both enjoy reading broad anthropology books by authors like David Graeber. He offered a few book recommendations that I’m looking into.

I had a great conversation with Charlotte Boenigk and Richard Whall on ecological dynamics, parkour, and how to coach diverse populations in different environmental settings. Excited hear more from Espirit Concrete and UCLan is always up to good things.