East of England

Monday 15th April 10am to 3pm- Lunch included!
Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre Trust
Thetford
 
Dan Playford the IOL East of England Regional Chair
 
After many online events…. we held our first Eastern region meet up of outdoor providers!! Great turnout with over 15 organisations represented! The event was at THE THORPE WOODLANDS ADVENTURE CENTRE TRUST hosted by Tim Edmonds and his team, a fantastic venue with a clear vision of how they deliver powerful outdoor learning experiences.
 
The event had two key purposes, bringing together leaders and managers to address regional challenges and share good practises, then provide a CPD event for practitioners.
 
Topics included the staffing challenges facing the sector, how Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre embeds Choice Theory into its practises, Jo Roberts from the The Wilderness Foundation UK shared about Nature Based Theory integral to their delivery, an update from Joanna Barnett CEO updating from IOL and accreditation pathways, and Graham Lodge from the Outdoor Advisory Service and the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel on national guidance for outdoor learning and educational visits.
 
Alongside this, there was practical events, where practitioners from across the region took part in activities and reviewed different practises. This is the first of our face-face meet ups, the next one we are planning for is in September 4th , prior to that we will have an online meeting lunchtime on 24th July.
 
They are low cost CPD events open to all outdoor practitioners in the Eastern region, with one aim to come together, share practices, experiences and develop ideas on how outdoor learning can make a positive difference to others people lives.
 
A huge thankyou to Tim Edmonds and Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre for hosting, Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL) for the time administering and updates, and Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres (AHOEC) supporting the sharing and running of the event.

Dan Playford (East of England Chair) writes,

‘Great to meet with outdoor providers from across the Eastern region today at Nene Park Trust and Nene Outdoors. Updating on the latest developments in the outdoor sector. The event was organised by the Institute for Outdoor Learningand included representation from AHOEC, OEAP and Adventure RMS. David Welch from Living Sport came and delivered about the work they do and funding opportunities available to support outdoor learning experiences. Thankyou to Anna Thompson and Devon Brooks for hosting us, also Stephen Brown from the Outdoor Education Advisers'​ Panel and Joanna Barnett from the IOL for supporting the event.’