Well hello there, June! The weather has certainly cooled but all engines are firing here at Adventure Specialities.
The first half of the year has flown by and we remain busy delivering programmes to our clients across the country. The lower temperatures of our great outdoor classroom at this time of year certainly create an additional challenge for our programme participants and instructors – but nothing a warm drink and a few extra layers of clothing can’t remedy. I think there’s something quite satisfying about completing adventures with an extra bite in the air.
While I’m not so much involved on the ‘ground’ anymore, I was recently able to step away from my glass cage and get my head out of compliance and finances to pick up a couple of programmes run by David Moss – one of our longest serving instructors – while he was on holiday. I spent a couple of days with a group of men through the Department of Corrections who were on home detention. It was rewarding to see them getting some physical activity out of their houses. The programme finished with some conversations around goals and dreams. It was touching to hear these men, who never really had visions or goals, talk about the bigger things that they planned to aim for in their lives.
Our Adventure Therapy programmes continue to go from strength to strength and we are leading the charge in New Zealand. The National Adventure Therapy Conference was held at the end of May in Nelson and our Adventure Therapy Manager, Amy, was heavily involved in a lot of the behind the scenes organisation and fronting it on the ground.
World-leading Adventure Therapy academic and author Mike Gass was in our midst recently too. Mike was in New Zealand earlier this month and ran a fantastic workshop at Adventure Specialties HQ with our Auckland and Christchurch staff. It was an incredible opportunity to hear him speak in person, provide insights on new activities to include in the programme and clarify our understanding of how metaphors and activities relate.
—Tim
