The potential benefits of outdoor learning are so many that they are grouped
below in four broad categories: background, planned, bonus and wider benefits.
Background benefits of
Outdoor Learning are benefits that arise from spending time in the natural environment.
5 key ways in which exposure to the natural environment is beneficial to human
health:
enhanced personal and social communication skills
increased physical health
enhanced mental and spiritual health
enhanced spiritual, sensory, and aesthetic awareness
the ability to assert personal control and increased sensitivity to one's
own well-being.
Source: Health, Well-Being and Open Space,
Literature Review by Nina Morris, OPENspace Research Centre, (2003).
Planned benefits of
Outdoor Learning are benefits that are determined by, or negotiated with, the provider of
Outdoor Learning. For example, the City of Salford expects Educational Trips and
Visits to help young people to:
develop self esteem, take personal responsibility, co-operate with and
respect the needs of others;
extend their personal horizons through greater appreciation and
understanding of the world and its peoples around them;
understand the need for sustainable relationships between people and their
environment;
enhance practical problem solving and team work skills.
promote a positive and knowledgeable response towards personal health and
well being.
"Educational Trips and Visits are particularly effective when young people
engage in well planned and structured, first hand experiences in small groups,
with opportunities to reflect and build upon those experiences." Source: Educational
Trips and Visits, Health and Safety Guidance Notes, City of Salford (Revised
2003)
Bonus benefits of
Outdoor Learning arise where participants gain more value than was expected. Such benefits
happen more by chance than by design, but they are more likely to happen when
there is a highly supportive climate for learning. Many examples of
these extra benefits are provided in the research
pages.
Wider benefitsof
Outdoor Learning are benefits to stakeholders such as families, schools, sponsors,
society and future generations (especially in relation to sustainability).
Ultimately we are all stakeholders in the success of Outdoor Learning. The more
that wider stakeholders are involved, the greater the opportunities for
achieving these wider benefits. Some examples of these wider benefits
are provided in the research
pages, especially in 'Changing Minds: The
Lasting Impact of School Trips'. Next:Examples
of benefits gained from OLor:What
does the research say about Outdoor Learning?