Just one aspect that can help us through this time is our connection with Nature.

Numerous studies have proven that being in nature reduces stress: we feel more peaceful in natural places, and our restless minds can quiet and find some calm and rest.

Here’s an invitation:

Find a place in your own garden or near your home, where you feel drawn to something in the natural world that exudes peacefulness. Perhaps it’s under a tree in your garden, the signs of spring in your local park, a view from a nearby hill, a quiet stream, or the beach if you can get there.

Take some deep breaths and relax more with each one. Slowly pay attention to what is touching each of your senses:

See:

Observe the scene in front of you. Take your time, sinking into the experience, and study the scene in detail, one thing at a time. Notice colours and textures. Notice the space around you. The light, the clouds, the season. What is it about this scene that makes it so peaceful?

Listen:

With your eyes closed, notice the noises you can hear. Again take your time. Listen for sounds close and far away. Natural and made by people. Notice the silence too. Where is the calm in these sounds?

Touch:

Can you feel the wind or breeze or sun on your face? Notice the feel of your feet on the earth. Can you feel the bark of the tree, or the cool water, or the grass. Feel the stillness of your body.

Smell:

Place your attention on the sense of smell. What does the air smell like? Are there flowers or grasses or bark that you can smell? What are the urban smells around you? What is it about the smell of this place that brings you a sense of calm and rest?

Taste:

What can you taste? This one is harder, but perhaps it’s the coffee you had for breakfast, or the toothpaste you used? Or perhaps you’ve brought a bottle of water. Or in your own garden try something you know is ok to eat, such as parsley! Concentrate on the flavours, and let the slowness bring you calm.

Take some more deep breaths, inviting and allowing the tranquillity of this place to stay with you as you go back to your day. Notice how taking this sensory break has affected your mind and body. What can you remember from this scene, to anchor you again when you need it? You may like to end with a prayer for help to access this peace when you need it, or gratitude for this tranquil place.

(Thank you to Anneke, our Adventure Therapy clinician, for providing this meditation exercise)

The post A Gentle Adventure for Peace and Rest appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

Tēnā koe,

I hope and pray that all is well, whether you are in a 4 or 2 alert level. I am currently sitting in my Auckland home office doing my bit, and as such I thought I’d give you another quick update on how our organisation is faring.

The good news is that although under level 2 restrictions the Christchurch team is back operating!

This is fantastic for our rangatahi (youth) and for our Christchurch staff who can get back outdoors. There is a lot of juggling with rescheduling cancellations and postponements, and as such term 4 will be very busy.

Auckland continues to be unable to operate and Jeff (Auckland’s Operations Manager) certainly has his hands full trying to reschedule programmes with the additional challenge of not knowing when we can actually get back to work!

However, we are trying to keep our staff busy from home, usually with admin tasks. We even have Laura (one of our amazing instructors) sewing face masks as a fund raiser for her goal of creating an all-girls outdoor adventure journey!!

If you email laura@adventurespecialties.co.nz, you can order one which will support this awesome initiative.

Overall, the Auckland team is getting frustrated at not being able to get back to work but are mostly coping ok.

It’s really challenging for active people to be restricted to their homes in a level 3 or 4 lockdown.

Financially, we are thankful for the wage subsidy and resurgence support from the government and the on-going and continued support in the way of donations, gifts, and grants.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t cover all our expenses and we cannot sustain this for too much longer without the additional income from delivering our outdoor adventure programmes.

The good news is it is looking like we will be very busy in the last school term (as long as Auckland is out of lock down) as many are wanting their cancelled programmes to return in this period. This will obviously help our finances significantly.

We do want to get back out and serve our communities and we are worried about the ongoing impact of mental health on our rangatahi (youth). The experience of a global pandemic and on-going lockdowns can lead to increased feelings of anxiety, depression, isolation, and more.

We encourage everyone to spend regular time outdoors keeping active. Please keep in touch with your friends and family, whoever is in your support system.

Reach out for help if you are struggling.

On that note, if you are a person who believes in prayer (as we do), I ask that you do consider us in your prayers, and also the struggling youth out there!

Ngā mihi nui,

Tim Wills

The post Lockdown update from Tim, our CEO appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

Here are some replies from the Adventure Specialties Trust crew:

Tim, our CEO, says, “BEST PART not driving in rush hour traffic. WORST PART not being able to hit the surf.”

April, our Christchurch Adventure Therapy instructor, says, “BEST PART: all my project time to build bike jumps, do some weaving, finish all my mending. WORST PART: having to bring work home and use my bedroom space to work when I’ve worked very hard throughout my life to keep my room and home life separate from mahi.”

Jeff, our Auckland operations manager, says, “BEST PART: Being home all day during spring and watching things come into blossom and bud. WORST PART: When my children are a bit mean to each other and I have to tell them off.”

Anita, our Auckland operations assistant, says, “WORST PART is getting a stick up my nose (covid test). BEST PART is flatmate is trying heaps of new recipes so there’s lots of baking … which could end up being the ‘bad part’ again when i have to wear jeans again and not live in track pants.”

Joel, one of our Auckland instructors, says, “BEST PART- As an outdoor facilitator, you have very little schedule, so being able to settle into a rhythm for my day, it gives me a great sense of being in control and at peace. WORST PART- I don’t get to spend time with anyone as my flatmates are all avid gamers, and I am a very extroverted person!!! I am so LONEELLYYYY, I HAVE NO BODDYYYY!!”

Bex, our social media lady, says, “BEST PART is the whole family riding bikes to the beach, seeing the kids happy and laughing, spending lots of time outside in the sunshine. WORST PART is feeling trapped inside, the kids fighting with each other, me and my husband losing our tempers with the kids and with each other.” 

Ellain, one of our interns, says, “BEST PART is having time to do some arts and crafts, eg scrapbooking/card making. Going on walks and biking, you can actually hear the nature. WORST PART, sometimes it gets too long, ideas start to go downhill, bored.”

Joe, one of our interns, says, “BEST PART is having time to put some hard mahi into creating a plastic free flat! even found some tooth paste tablets. That and getting back into running every day… I haven’t done that since… last lockdown… WORST PART is been away from my nieces/nephews and having to video chat them.. That and the constant banter that is the life of an Adventure Specialties Trust intern.”

Brenda, our Auckland Adventure Therapy co-ordinator, says, “BEST PART is sometimes being able to work weird hours to suit my nocturnal tendencies! WORST PART is not being able to go out with people I love and I’m especially missing our eldest daughter who’s flatting.”

Mark, our safety co-ordinator, says, “BEST PART of lockdown was bonding with ‘Scout’ our new Border Collie (timing perfect we got him a week before lockdown!). WORST PART rainy weekend somehow felt worse perhaps it was because the weather during the week was so good and I spent it stuck in a room with my laptop!”

Kerryn, our admin and accounts wizz, says, “BEST PART about lockdown is watching Judge Rinder at lunchtime and playing Uno with the teens. WORST PART is the teens bickering, getting them to bed and waking them up for school!”

Laura, one of our Auckland instructors, says, “BEST PART, spending quality and intentional time eating meals together as a flat, getting into a creative space making things that usually don’t have time to do, reading and clocking up some bike km. WORST PART, missing connection with people.” 

Grace, one of our Christchurch instructors, says “BEST PART of lockdown! Living in a flat with 10 people, having lots of bike rides, games etc. WORST PART of lockdown! Possibly missing the best part of Alpine season ”

Levi, one of our interns, says, “BEST PART – bonding with flatmates, dressing up and making up new games. WORST PART – sleeping in which is wasting some of the day!”

Anneke, our Adventure Therapy clinician, says, “BEST PART is there is no mad rush from home-school drop off-work and work-school pick up-home. WORST PART is thinking about all those people for whom lock-down is lonely, chaotic, anxiety provoking or even traumatic.”

How about you? Please share below!

The post Best part? Worst part? appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

“I just want to touch base with our supporters: I hope and pray that you are all well during our current lockdown situation. I also wanted to let you know that Adventure Specialties Trust is doing ok, although we can’t wait to get back out and back to work with our clients!

We are keeping busy with instructors and staff working online where they can and we have a few projects on the go. Financially we can keep a float for the time being (assuming we can get back to work soon) but, of course, any donation would be appreciated.

Take care, keep safe and I trust that you are able to find some things to enjoy from this different pace. Kia kaha, stay strong.”

Just for fun, and memories sake, here is the video that Tim and the team created during lockdown last year … enjoy!

The post COVID-19 lockdown message from our CEO appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

All Auckland and Christchurch programmes are postponed during Levels 3 and 4.

We anticipate being back on board in Level 2, with strict COVID-19 safety policies in place.

Contact us for policies, questions or concerns:

• Auckland programmes jeff@adventurespecialties.co.nz
• Christchurch programmes chch@adventurespecialties.co.nz
• General enquiries office@adventurespecialties.co.nz.

Let’s work together to keep each other safe.

The post COVID-19 Level 4 Lockdown announcement appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.