Outdoor Education Research
& Evaluation Center

Adventure therapy: I'm confused
(Ray Handley, 1996, Adventure Therapy Network Newsletter)
Ray Handley eloquently questions what "adventure therapy" means.  In so doing, Handley lays out a synthesis of the assumptions of brief therapy, reality therapy, provocative therapy and Glasserian-type views on counseling.  Handley suggests making the position of the therapist clear, like this, provides a reasonable basis from which to understand what "adventure therapy" might be all about.

Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 8(1), 2004
This issue is characterized by an emphasis on Australian outdoor education perspectives, featuring papers by three Australian "environmentally and socially" focused writers.  Other diverse topics are rites of passage in overseas expeditions, a research evaluation of a youth at risk program, analysis of the environmental circumstances of 40 years of outdoor fatalities in Australia, how camping can change the world, and an examination of key aspects of risk.

Environmental activity: Eating bugs
(James Neill, 2004, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center)
There is arguably no more intimate way of getting to know nature than by handling it with bare hands and even, yes, eating it.  Most insects are edible and nutritious.  Opening your mouth can open your mind.

Theory: Scale of experientiality (Gibbons & Hopkins, 1980)
(James Neill, 2004, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center)
Are some experiences more "experiential"?  Can we categorize some activities as being more "experiential"?  Gibbons and Hopkins (1980) believed so, and created a 10-rung ladder along which "degree of experientialness" could be ranked.  Although this "scale of experientiality" is often cited, the model appears to have some serious flaws, among them that the model seems inconsistent with Dewey's more widely accepted theory of experience.

David Abram: Cultural ecologist and philosopher
(The Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education, 2004)
Abram, author of "The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World" weaves the mysteries of nature back into the human psyche.  The barrier between human and nature disappears.  A key player in the deep ecology movement, Abram's book has received wide acclaim as a "life and world changer".

Psygeist: Actually we eat less
(The Daily Telegraph, 30 May, 2004)
According to current trends, by 2020 half of the children in the Western world will be obese.  Yet, we are eating on average 750 calories less per day than we were in the 1970's.  So, what's happening?  Its not so much that we're eating too much but rather that modern life has become too sedentary.  We are burning on average 800 fewer calories per day than 30 years ago.  With better quality food available today than ever before, what is lacking is self-discipline and cultural support to adopt active, healthy lifestyles.

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