English Outdoor Council

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 benefits of 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’.

EOC – High Quality Outdoor Learning document

This document, found in the publications section,  highlights 10 key outcomes of Outdoor Learning and the role Outdoor Learning can play in supporting the development of young people.