About Outdoor Learning

The Institute for Outdoor Learning is the professional body for organisations and individuals who use the outdoors to make a positive difference to others.

What is Outdoor Learning?

The Institute for Outdoor Learning defines outdoor learning as an umbrella term for actively inclusive facilitated approaches that predominately use activities and experiences in the outdoors which lead to learning, increased wellbeing, and environmental awareness.

Rather like defining sports or the arts, describing outdoor learning in a concise and inclusive way offers challenges.

Being too generalised does not highlight the unique qualities of outdoor learning as distinct from outdoor recreation, leisure, community or competitive sport, countryside or farming.

Excessive detail can narrow the focus and exclude some of the wide variety of approaches, participants, activities, locations, and outcomes in the field.

This current IOL description includes the work of volunteers, part-role, and full-time professionals and providers across the sector:

Facilitated approaches

Whereas outdoor recreation can be described as a self-led approach for leisure purposes, Outdoor Learning is seen as a planned and purposeful facilitated approach led by an instructor, teacher, leader, coach, guide, etc. The term actively inclusive is both a celebration of the longstanding attitude within the field to working with participants as well as a call to continue to reach out and bring even more members of our communities into direct connection with outdoor activities and experiences.

Activities and experiences

In many sports and pastimes, the outdoors provides the essential backdrop or surface that makes participation and play possible. Outdoor Learning goes further. Whilst Outdoor Learning happens predominately, but not exclusively, in the outdoors, learning about the environment in which the activity and experience takes place is often a key part of the overall process of participation and learning.

Learning and change

The description adopts a broad view of learning that includes self-direction, direct education and all points in between and beyond. Outdoor Learning covers the acquisition or refinement of specific knowledge and skills as well as the sometime more subtle changes in behaviours and attitudes that can lead to increased health and wellbeing, and environmental awareness.

Informed by research

The descriptions of Outdoor Learning used in the field have evolved, and will continue to evolve, over time. The aim of the current IOL description is not to limit scope and redefine established and valued terms within the field but to include them and celebrate the rich breadth of outdoor learning as it is provided in the UK. Outdoor Education, Adventure Tourism, Outdoor Therapy, Environmental Connection, Forest Schools, and other similar terms are all seen as part of Outdoor Learning, each with their own distinct history, approach, and purpose.

Life-long progression

If people are to form a healthy, developmental, and sustainable self-led relationship with the natural environment they need a mix of outdoor learning experiences. This is true for any age.

Experiences made possible by others are the first step in inspiring self-led or independent adventures and connections with the outdoors
Instructed, taught or guided experiences can provide frontier adventures and memorable moments when benefiting from the skills, knowledge, and experience of outdoor learning professionals

A Personalised Description of Outdoor Learning

Whilst the generic definition can be useful for many, the ability for individuals and organisations to customise the description to fit their audience and purpose is when it can be most beneficial. The starting point is answering five questions:

By completing the how, who, what, where, and why, professionals and providers can create a description that can convey their unique approach and work in the outdoors.

Benefits of Outdoor Learning

Whether an outdoor learning activity or experience is for a few hours, over a weekend or lasting many years, the chosen location, equipment and people involved can make each event unique.

Lifelong activity and learning
At the intrapersonal level: strengthening self-confidence through engagement with activities and the environment leading to lifelong participation and outdoor competence. Learning through experiences and developing skills, knowledge, character, resilience, and a positive approach to risk-taking.

Appreciating and valuing differences
At the interpersonal level: providing a safe and supportive setting to enhance social skills, appreciate and value difference. Making time to meet and interact with peers and role models from outside the home, school or work environment. Encouraging meaningful relationships across generations that foster tolerance, respect and kindness.

Sense of place and community
At the societal level: providing space for spontaneous, in the moment events that are driven by the needs and interests of self and others. Developing a sense of place leading to greater engagement with the community and an appreciation of the opportunities available to live, learn and work in the local area.

Care for the worldwide environment
At the global level: giving people a chance to ‘unplug’ and foster a connection that leads to respect and care for the natural world, an appreciation of biodiversity and sustainability, and pro-environmental behaviours.

Making The Case for Outdoor Learning

Research, reports, policy documents and news items in support of Outdoor Learning impacts can be found on the Outdoor Learning Research website. There is strong evidence that Outdoor Learning activities and experiences can have positive impacts on:

In addition, the Blagrave report on The Existing Evidence-Base about the Effectiveness of Outdoor Learning found:

Almost all outdoor learning interventions have a positive effect.
The effect attenuates over time: the effect as measured immediately after the intervention is stronger than in follow-up measures after a few months.
Evidence for the value of longer interventions. The systematic reviews found that overnight and multi-day activities had a stronger effect than shorter ones.

Whether you are looking to commission outdoor learning for a school residential, personal / social development programme, team development, management or leadership programme, education session, professional development or for any other reason, there are some simple things you need to look out for:

For working with young people, there are a number of different accreditations, qualifications, good practice guidelines and benchmarks that you can look for. Some are imperative, others voluntary. These will also vary depending on where in the UK you are. Simple things to look for are the AALA (Adventure Activities Licencing Authority) badge and relevant sporting awards for the activities you are doing.

If an organisation or individual is a member of the Institute, you can rest assured they have signed up to our code of conduct. For all our current organisational members, and to search for some in your area see here. We have also set standards for professionalism in our sector through our accreditation structure for individual outdoor learning practitioners. You can find a map of currently accredited individuals here.