6 Benefits of Outdoor Education for Adult and Youth Learners
Here’s how outdoor education can help adults pick up helpful skills, spark their creativity, and feel better inside and out.
Improve Your Physical and Mental Health
Whether you’re going on a guided wilderness hike, touring your local botanical gardens, trekking through the woods on a group camping trip, or taking a foraging class, spending time outside supports your physical and mental health. Not only does time outdoors reduce your stress levels, getting in some physical activity outside actually strengthens your immune system and boosts your vitamin D levels.
Boost Your Concentration
In our fast-paced world, it’s all too easy to get distracted by technology. But through outdoor education, you can enjoy a welcome break from screens and give your mind a reprieve from constant digital stimulation. One Medical states that outdoor activity actually enhances your memory and cognitive skills, because you’re solely focused on the tasks at hand.
Expand Your Creativity
Do you ever struggle with writer’s block, or feel like you’re tapped out when it comes to artistic inspiration in another field? Stanford News states that taking regular long walks outdoors can drastically increase an individual’s creative output, so make sure to jot down any big ideas you’ve had after you get back from your walk! When going for a walk, look for pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods ideal for taking a stroll.
Enhance Your Learning Capabilities
Learning is a skill like any other. Perhaps it’s been a long time since you tried to learn a new skill, taken a class, or picked up a new hobby that pushed you out of your comfort zone. Getting outside and learning the art of navigating new environments and terrains in the wilderness will help you become a more adept and confident learner. In the future, the idea of trying new things won’t be so intimidating anymore!
Master Valuable Survival Skills
When you spend time in the wilderness, you’ll master survival skills that can serve you well in a wide variety of situations. For example, you’ll become a better navigator, and you’ll learn how to start fires safely, purify water, build reliable shelters, carry out basic first aid tasks, and, most importantly, stay calm when the unexpected happens. If you’re ever in an emergency situation one day, these skills will come in quite handy! Learning these skills in a safe situation like an outdoor education course makes it stress-free.
Identify Flora and Fauna
Finally, outdoor education can help you accumulate essential knowledge of your local area and delve into the flora and fauna that are native to your region. You may even be interested in taking classes on identifying plants and foraging for edible herbs and berries that grow nearby. People often overlook the natural beauty that surrounds them, and it’s easy to think that you need to travel far away in order to see interesting plants or animals. But if you prioritize outdoor education, you’ll quickly find that this isn’t true! So many wonders lie just beyond your own front door, and all you need to do is lace up your sneakers.
Many people assume that you glean knowledge from books and lectures. But the great outdoors has plenty to teach you. By pursuing outdoor education, you can polish your learning capabilities, enhance your concentration, and uncover the wonders of the world right in your backyard.
Image Credit - Unsplash
Disclaimer - This is a guest blog and the opinions or thoughts are that of the author. There may be errors or ommisions and Learnroll is not responsible for the content source.
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