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The outdoors has a lot of benefits for children and adults and it is definitely a vital part in the development of a person. These benefits effect a person physically, mentally and emotionally. Using the outdoors contributes to a persons body massively, it develops a wide range of skills such as problem solving, interpersonal, team building. There is many activities a person can do to develop these and there is sure to be  something for everyone, for example there is land based activities like hill walking and climbing, as well as water based activities like kayaking, canoeing and coasteering.

In an article from the English Outdoor Council they state that "Outdoor activities provide valuable alternative, often non-competitive, avenues for achievement, as well as opportunities to develop independence and self-reliance. Through successfully facing up to the challenges which outdoor activities provide, overcoming fears and apprehensions along the way, young people make major strides in confidence, with implications for all aspects of their development."

This is very true, when a young person is doing an activity such as climbing or kayaking for the first time, the idea can be daunting. but once they take the step and build the courage to do it, they will most likely feel an overwhelming sense of achievement and confidence.

Activities such as camping and expeditions develop a persons independence and planning skills as well as their interpersonal skills if they are with a group. Cooking, walking and navigating with others involves a lot of communication and team building.

These skills learned will stick with a person even when they leave the outdoors and have a major affect on their social lives and even work. Having key skills like the ones mentioned above would be highly wanted by any employer. This is why Awards like DofE are extremely good to have because it is proof of a persons skills.

Having some time in the outdoors also has an effect on a persons future education and their careers. Research by the government into how schools can improve disadvantaged pupils exam results and career opportunities has shown that "6 out of 10 disadvantaged young people do not gain 5 good GCSEs. Future outcomes are not just about exams but character as well" (GOV.UK, 2018)

The Council for Learning Outside the Classrooms (lotc) goal is to educate anyone but especially schools and teachers on the benefits of integrating outdoor learning into the curriculum or just everyday life. They have many articles explaining the personal and social developments a person can gain from the outdoors.

References:

https://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/Values_and_benefits.htm

https://www.lotc.org.uk/why/personal-and-social-development/

https://www.lotc.org.uk/why/personal-development-and-character/

GOV.UK. (2018). Cracking the code: how schools can improve social mobility. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cracking-the-code-how-schools-can-improve-social-mobility [Accessed 7 Dec. 2018].

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Understanding others in the outdoors is a major aspect because everyone is unique and has their own way of dealing with things and their own abilities. In the industry and in groups of individuals taking part in outdoor activities, understanding is key. An example of this would be if a group was doing a kayaking day activity where some of the people hadn't done kayaking before, the instructor would acknowledge this and tailor the lessons to them. People in the group that are more experienced with kayaking would also have to realise that it takes time to learn and make the others feel included without mocking them.

This is also the same with people who are disabled, it is not easy for them to do these activities even if they really want to. Making them feel included will lead to them being really happy, this is why places like the calvert trust were created and are a well known organisation for supporting the disabled in outdoor adventure.  They have been going for over 40 years and there motto is "Its what you can do that counts!"

There is also an act made for inclusion called the Disability discrimination Act of 1995 which states that disabled students should be treated the same as any other. We all have the right to enjoy the activities of Outdoor education.

As well as disabled people, there are also groups called young offending teams (YOTs) for people with behavioural issues, they have sessions in the outdoors to help rehabilitate these students. Giving them the important skills that have been mentioned, such as, trust building, team building, interpersonal and risk taking skills. They also build a relationship with an adult they can trust if the intervention is successful.
The education endowment foundation say that , “Adventure learning interventions appear to make approximately three months additional progress over the course of the year.”

Reference:
(http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/)

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Having a well put together team who trust each other and have good communication is a very important thing to have, in the outdoors and in the work place.

If people in a team don't work together effectively, the work output they produce will be very low. This may be because they aren't comfortable with talking to each other or just haven't got to know their peers personally, which is hard to do in the workplace. Getting out of the workplace and outdoors is an extremely effective way of building good teams. There are companies made specifically to specialise in training workers from big organisations or small offices, such as Fresh tracks.

They use various activities outside of the workplace and have been given good feedback on how they've helped teams.
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in an a year of conversation" - Plato, This a quote that fresh tracks used and i believe it applies to team building really well.

Some Workplaces have also integrated outdoor team building activities into their training process because they know it works.

Outdoor adventure is in my opinion the best way to build a team, its away from the workplace or classroom and the vast range of activities you can do in the outdoors all have a way to help build a team. For instance when climbing you will need effective communication and team work to safely go up a wall and come down again. Another example would be canoeing in tandem and communicating to go in the right direction whilst stable, so that you can stay on course. There's also camping, in which you would need to work as a team to decide who's cooking, cleaning and much more.

It will have benefits on a person for life, giving them good interpersonal skills and the team building knowledge to help them with future employment, not just in their current workplace.

Mount Kelly is a boarding and day school that heavily supports outdoor learning and the LOTC.  " There is a strong focus on development through the years and the programmes encourage all pupils to get fully involved and take on a number of team work and leadership roles throughout the year." They realise the benefits of the outdoors and make sure their students get to experience these in a number of ways.

References:

http://www.innovativeteambuilding.co.uk/benefits-of-teambuilding/

Freshtracks.co.uk. (2018). Team Building Activities and Programmes | Fresh Tracks. [online] Available at: https://www.freshtracks.co.uk/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2018].

AdventureBritain. (2018). Outdoor Team Building - Adventure Britain. [online] Available at: https://www.adventurebritain.com/outdoor-team-building/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2018].

Mountkelly.com. (2018). Learning Outside the Classroom | Mount Kelly. [online] Available at: http://www.mountkelly.com/LOTC [Accessed 7 Dec. 2018].

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Risk taking is the process of making decisions which could have undesirable consequences

every person comes across risks in their everyday life, but the severity can change drastically, from crossing a road to almost falling off a cliff, risks can come in all shapes and sizes.

its not the severity of the risk that changes things, its how you approach it, whether you avoid risks as much as possible or you deliberately go out of your way to take risks.

some people live their lives as safe as possible, eating no weird or abnormal foods, keeping to safe roads only,
on the other hand, some people go out of their way to put their-selves in harms way, some examples include cliff jumpers, skydivers, climbers and many more

“Exposure to well managed risks helps children learn important life skills, including how to manage risks for themselves… children, in particular need to learn how to manage risks, and adventure activities such as rock climbing, sailing and canoeing are an ideal way of doing this.” ~ The Health and Safety Executive

References
https://www.lotc.org.uk/why/risk-challenge-and-adventure/

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Doing activities in the outdoors, especially if you are a part of a group being lead, requires a lot of trust in the person leading you. Younger people especially will take a lot of time to build trust with their leader and their other peers but in time after doing activities with each other they will build this trust, that's whats great about the outdoors. Groups of all ages can experience new things together and get each other through it, gain achievements, help each other and build up good communication. Residentials for example, are a great way of bringing classmates from school together in brand new ways.
As well as activities like scrambling, where you will be relying on the people you are with to spot for you and make sure that you don't fall and injure yourself, this requires a lot of trust and means that they will also have to trust you as well. These are just a couple of ways that the outdoors can build trust but there are many more.

The new forest outdoor centre state that "trust building exercises help a group increase their team trust levels by developing mutual respect as well as openness, understand and empathy with their fellow peers."

The things they'll learn from these experiences wont just stop when the outdoor activities end, They will carry on into that persons real life and have a massive social effect. It will be great for employment, especially if you are working in a team environment where trust and interpersonal skills are key.
Even relationships with partners and friends will be improved due to you knowing how to build trust effectively and just knowing how to trust in general.

There is even a website for an organisation called The Team building company (https://www.teambuilding.co.uk/outdoor-team-building-events.html) on there site they have a range of events that are aimed at employees and groups in general to help create trust between them. For example they have various treasure hunts on sea and land, quad bike games, mini tanks, archery and obstacle courses.

References:
https://www.teambuilding.co.uk/outdoor-team-building-events.htm

https://www.newforest-odc.co.uk/activities/activities-on-site/team-activities/trust-exercises

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recognising achievement is important in outdoor activity and education as it motivates people to get more into the sport or activity as their achievements are being noticed and they are feeling rewarded for them

the Duke of Edinburgh award is an excellent example for promoting achievement recognition

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the importance of self expression is to make sure that people have the ability to feel comfortable being their true self and not being shy or want to hide who they are. for an individual to be themselves they need to feel welcomed and involved in the task or activity, the Cambridge Dictionary states that Self-Expression is the expression of your personality, emotions, or ideas

References:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/self-expression

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problem solving is the process of find a solution to an issue or a difficulty, this is used a lot in the outdoors in various ways.

problem solving can help to improve many key skills such as; communication, trust, responsibility, leadership, co-operation, time management and prioritisation.

there are seven basic steps to any problem solving issue, these are said to improve effectiveness in problem solving;

1. Identify the issues.

2. Understand everyone's interests.

3. List the possible solutions (options)

4. Evaluate the options.

5. Select an option or options.

6. Document the agreement(s).

7. Agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation

Everybody can benefit from having good problem solving skills as we all encounter problems on a daily basis e.g. deciding what university to go to, deciding what career you want to go down, what job to apply for, etc.. Therefore, we should all strive to improve our problem solving skills, having the ability to quickly and efficiently solve any problems  can improve your everyday life and make life easier for yourself.

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. ~ Henry Kaiser

references ~
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_00.htm
http://www.blueperis.co.uk/activities-problem-solving/
https://www.mediate.com/articles/thicks.cfm
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/problem-solving.html