You can read the BBC’s take on the report of the natural connections project here.
As part of this, the report’s main author told BBC news:
“We need to be a little bit clearer about what forms of outdoor learning meet what purposes and aims (of curricula). So rather than just being outdoors magically making things happen, activities such as residential outdoor experiences would be particularly effective for developing social skills and leadership. Whereas field studies would be particularly effective for greater awareness of the environment. What we argue in the report is for people to think about the purpose and place (of the activity), as well as the people involved, in order to construct different forms of outdoor learning that will meet certain (teaching) aims.”
We think that the notion that those engaged in outdoor learning should think more clearly about why they are doing will likely come as a bit of a shock for some – that is, to the <0.0001% of teachers who never bother to do this.