A day in the woods onsite at the beautiful Badaguish Cairngorm Outdoor Centre encouraging a mindful and gentle ‘arrival’ within the Cairngorms. A mornings archery, an outdoor cooking and campcraft session and a short journey to explore some of the thoughts and feelings that can be invoked by allowing ourselves to be emersed in the beauty of nature and shrug off, even momentarily, the hustle and bustle of our current home/work environments.
People
Although both participants had undertaken some outdoor activities before, health and other factors within their own environments reduced their motivation and ability to get out. The pivoting influence of being invited to participate on the day provided them both with an opportunity to re-kindle their enthusiasms and re-gain some of the feelings and wellbeing gained from being in a nature filled environment.
Carol-Anne and Jamie are independent individuals, with capacity and more than able to take control of their own direction, however support with logistics and transport to the venues was provided by Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Scotland’s Family Support Worker, Sophie Tear.
Planning
Considerations were made during the planning of the day to be mindful and place value on the transition/de-escalation from busy lives into the more calming environment of the outdoors. The aim was to create a chance to experience ‘arriving’ with a certain amount of awareness to the actual change process. Archery was chosen as an activity which would allow a certain amount of focus on a task but importantly provide a non-threatening experience that involves a certain amount of individualised activity focussing on one person whilst others spectate and observe their surroundings. Campcraft (fire lighting and cooking) over lunch provided an opportunity to introduce the concept of ‘arriving’ to draw on the awareness of the change process and gauge the differences by undertaking a reflection based on thoughts and feelings at the start of the session and those they were experiencing currently around the fire.
The afternoon aimed to provide opportunities to explore the local area by whatever means they chose. Walking, wheeling and using the BOMA all terrain wheelchair from Equal Adventure around the beautiful location with the Glenmore Forest aimed at providing opportunities to explore their own mobility within an environment that has been developed to provide an excellent mix of trails, extending from the completely accessible network around Badaguish Cairngorm Outdoor Centre and into the further and more challenging trails away from the centre.
Environment
The activity site for archery is set up within a part of the Forest on the edge of the grounds of the centre. Accessed by level, wheelable paths the site sits amongst Scotts Pine trees and has a feeling of being in the middle of the forest, it uses the natural boundaries of prepared surfaces and forest floor to mark the area and moveable ropes to mark out shooting areas. Seating around the area provides opportunities for spectating and resting.
The campcraft location chosen by the session instructor, James Dyer, was on the edge of the forest and consciously off the path. The concept of activity thresholds and crossing from one environment to the other was provided by getting to the campcraft area.
The trails in the afternoon were explored and were all within the Glenmore Forest, escorted and unescorted forays into the forest allowed different terrain to be journeyed through and ranged from paved paths, gravel paths, tarmac, regularly used forest roads and less even, more challenging forest trails.
Equipment
The archery site is set up with net and 3 bosses at approx. 10m from the shooting line. Recurve bows were selected for each person suitable to their available strength. Both Jamie and Carol-Anne had the availability, control and strength in both arms and neither required finger tabs or release devices or stands to undertake the activity.
For the campcraft session the Armadillo Postural Support was used to provide comfort during fire lighting, cooking, eating and the reflection that occurred, most importantly it was used as an intermediate platform to transfer to the floor from Jamie’s wheelchair. Leather aprons were available to be used to cover clothes and reduce the likelihood of sparks/sticks damaging clothing but most importantly reducing the potential for skin damage to lower limbs. Fire Lighting equipment consisted of flints and strikers with good hand grips, a handled rotary hand air pump. A fire bowl with legs was used to lift the fire up to a more manageable height and a tripod with tray was used as the cooking platform, which was adjustable onto or away from the fire source.
Equal Adventures Boma All Terrain Wheelchair handlebar model was used to access trails within the park and was used by Carol-Anne and also by Jamie who independently transferred into it from his wheelchair.
Practice
As mentioned the approach was aimed at being less intensive and action packed as other activities to accommodate the ‘arriving’ process. With a small group of people with good capacity and independence the session was able to retain a supportive informality. During the archery session an operational consideration was made to the draw length of Jamie and the length of the available arrows. With people with a broad and strong upper body there is potential to over draw the arrow causing the arrow to get wedged by the string and the back of the bow handle. On this occasion the coach, Suresh Paul, was able to mitigate the potential using verbal instruction alone along with a cautious eye and a readiness to intervene.
Facilitating the reflection during lunch the camp craft session was undertaken again in a friendly and very relaxed manner, communication on preferences and the process of transferring to the fire pit was made with Jamie to ensure he was in control and aware of not only the environment but also to the proximity and functional requirements of working near to the fire. Comfort was supported using padding from the Armadillo and lunch was a collective and shared experience for all involved.
The afternoon session was an explorative opportunity to not only test equipment such as the BOMA but also to experiment moving on more challenging ground. This session again not intensive or adrenaline-filled was able to be facilitated at a distance, a distance which was appropriate to the calmness of the mood and the stunning weather of the day.
Key Message from EA
Participating in activities is not just about hi-energy or adrenaline filled rides, taking time to consider the environment you are in and how in a relatively short time you can ‘arrive’ somewhere and benefit from being in nature, with all that it can be or throw at you!
Possible Micro-Adventure Opportunities
- Go and sit in a forest and consider what you could hear, see, feel and smell.
- Plan a journey on a map from one point to the other, visiting 5 things on the way.
- Find an Archery provider and go for a taster session.
- Have a BBQ in the countryside (without harming anything around you!)
- Live for a day outside and cook all you need on an open fire.
- Take a tour using a BOMA all terrain wheelchair.
Additional Information
Speyside Trust
https://badaguishoutdoorcentre.org/
#badaguishoutdoor
Scott McNeish
The Badaguish Cairngorm Outdoor Centre is a place where you can explore and develop new and exciting skills in safety, amidst the superb forest and mountain scenery of the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands. It is committed to Access for All and has a range of fully accessible and affordable accommodation and facilities that have been purpose designed to meet the needs of youth, education, community and family groups and to suit all budgets.
