FAREWELL DAVE! The man, the myth, the legend … After an adventure-filled 10 years, we are sadly saying farewell to Dave, one of our most experienced outdoor instructors and Adventure Therapy facilitators. Dave and his wife, Sophia, and their little ones are heading South to another outdoor adventure job with another amazing organisation. We wish them lots of fun family adventures together in their new home.

Tim, our CEO, has a farewell message:
“Dave, it’s sad to see you go. You have put your heart and soul into the Trust over the last 10 years. You have brought such maturity and wisdom to the organisation. Thanks, Dave, you will be missed. But, as we always say, once you’re part of the whanau, you never really leave!”

Brenda, Dave’s manager, has this to say:
“I’ve known Dave for 3 of his 10+ years working at Ad Specs and have really enjoyed working with him. He is a popular member of staff who is easy to get on with and has a great sense of humour. We get constant positive feedback from the organisations we work with about Dave; how well he connects with the clients he works with and his way of making them feel comfortable, which has meant he has been able to establish rapport easily and help bring positive changes in the lives of many. We will all really miss Dave and wish him and his family all the best.”

The post Farewell Instructor Dave! appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

Watch this 11-second video to see who our most Graceful (with a capital G) instructor is!

The post Instructor Dave a.k.a. The Graceful Butterfly appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

There are two possible explanations for this photo, which one do you think is correct?

1. At our recent staff training retreat, the instructors practised zipline rescues (how to rescue someone stranded along a zipline).

2. Staff training is actually just a great excuse for cuddles.

The post Which explanation is correct? appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

Check out these good looking guest speakers!

Anneke and Dave are part of our amazing Adventure Therapy team at Adventure Specialties Trust and they recently attended the “Involve” youth workers national conference in Wellington.

Anneke and Dave led a practical workshop about a model of facilitation that we regularly use during our outdoor adventure programmes: the “What? So What? Now What?” model.

>>> What is the “What? So What? Now What?” model?

We create a challenging activity, then afterwards we ask the participants these three questions, to encourage them to reflect on the experience, draw out meaning, and create growth.

1. What? (What just happened? What were your actions, thoughts, feelings?)
2. So What? (What is the meaning and significance behind what just happened?)
3. Now What? (What is the relevance of this to you, to your group, to your future?)

During the Involve conference workshop, Dave and Anneke ran the ‘helium pole’ activity with the 80 workshop participants, to illustrate this model.

>>> What is the ‘helium pole’ activity?

Each group (4-10 people) is given a pole or long stick. The members of the group split into two lines, facing each other, with the pole in between them. Their task is to place the pole on the top of their index fingers and balance it there. Everyone must keep their finger touching the pole at all times. Then the team needs to work together get it down to the ground.

Sounds simple, right? 

But it takes a lot of patience, trust, teamwork, communication, and any other outcomes you might want your group to achieve. 

And as the name suggests, the pole can go up as if it is filled with helium!

You can also make it more difficult by adding a weight to one end of the pole.

Dave says, “The activity went off with a hoot, poles flying everywhere! One participant from each group got to facilitate the activity and then, afterwards, share their learnings with the rest of us.” 

>>> How can you apply the “What? So What? Now What?” model to the helium pole activity?

As an example, the group discussions included comments like:

1. What? “We noticed that we were all trying to speak at once and not listening to each other.”

2. So What? “This meant that our pole kept going up and not down. We needed to listen to each other and take turns, and then the pole began lowering when we worked together.”

3. Now What? “In challenging situations, we all need to talk together, listen to each other and come up with a plan.”

Outcome: a stronger team with improved communication!

>>> So how does all this tie in with your work at Adventure Specialties?

Anneke explains, “Models such as the “What? So What? Now What?” (and many other models of facilitation) really help to empower our programme participants to identify what it was that is meaningful, to identify the skills that were learned or practiced, and to reflect on how this understanding can help them in everyday life, or through very challenging times, or to celebrate success.”

The post Good looking guest speakers! appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.