3 Ways Nature Has Helped Me in My Work, and How It Can Help You Too

27/8/2018

"From de-stressing to being more creative, my work has benefitted from spending time around a fire with other business people," says Amy Lishman of Brighton Chamber. "Here's how it helped me..."

I’m lucky that in my job I’m not constantly stuck in front of a screen for 8 hours a day. I get out and about and meet people across Brighton and attend networking events in venues across the city.

Most of these events and meetings are indoors though - in offices, coffee shops and co-working spaces like Platfr9m and Freedom Works.

So when I was invited to attend Mentors Go Wild, a session run as part of the NatWest Business Accelerator programme and facilitated by School of the Wild, a morning of conversation, teamwork and communication – all outdoors in the beautiful Stanmer Park – I literally jumped at the chance.

We did a number of exercises throughout the morning led by Nigel and the School of the Wild team. All designed to help the group get to know each other, discuss challenges and opportunities, and bring a group of seemingly disparate individuals together.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise of the innovative exercises we did, but instead I offer three things I learnt from working outside for the morning.

Delicious wild cocktails easy to make when you know how!

25/8/2018

How does your team come together on new projects?

28/7/2018

Staff from Matchbox Mobile show how it's done, aceing the team fire lighting challenge, one task at a time.

The Matchbox Mobile crew show off the knives they whittled in the woods

25/7/2018

. #schoolofthewild #teambuilding #awaydays

Summer Team Building Away Day: How a day in the wild builds Team Spirit

25/7/2018

Take advantage of the warm weather to hold your team away day in the Great Outdoors. Taking your team into nature has lots of benefits.

An away day in the wild builds camaraderie and team spirit

A few weeks ago we ran an away day for the UK Green Building Council, a passionate and busy organisation who advocate for a better built environment.

We got their team of twenty to connect around the fire, take an inspiring tour of the Brighton Earthship, and do some whittling and foraging.

Usually based in an office in London, the activities and time together in nature really worked - Julie Hirigoyen their CEO wrote that the day gave them a “palpable sense of calm and togetherness which is still with us a week later.”

Bringing the Meeting Room to the Woods: Exploring the Future of Medicine at a Horizon Scanning Workshop in the Wild

6/7/2018

The Academy of Medical Sciences delve into the future of medical research at an innovation away day workshop around the fire

All pictures: Academy of Medical Sciences

Who are they?
The Academy of Medical Sciences is a fellowship of 1,200 of the UK’s best medical science researchers working at universities and hospitals across the UK, with a mission to improve health through research.

Looking at the future of medicine
It’s March 2018, and the Academy are running a series of Horizon Scanning workshops across the UK to look at the future of medicine over the next 30 years.

The workshops are bringing the Academy’s fellows and grant awardees together with curious creatives from various research disciplines, to explore what areas of medical research and innovation will have the greatest impact on society by 2048 (when the Academy turns 50).

The Academy have asked School of the Wild to host the Brighton workshop - the idea is to hold it away from the usual world of universities and hospitals, in an environment not normally connected to research, to inspire attendees to think more broadly about the future.

Futures consultant Oliver Grant is leading the sessions with support from Academy of Medical Science (AMS) staff, and writers and graphic visualisers who record the conversations.

How a change of scene changes the conversation

17/5/2018

How fresh air can lead to fresh thinking and why that's important if we're to reframe our ideas about today's challenges

Dialogue and conversation are integral to every business. Despite the wave of new apps and technologies that offer better business processes at a click of a button, a fundamental element to any successful business is still face-to-face communication.

Innovation, strategy, creation, and implementation are all human-centred processes that rely on people talking to each other.

And with flexible hours, the increase in time spent in front of screens, and the demands of city life, it's never been more important to get teams communicating and working at their best.

With workplace relationships being so very important, more and more organisations are becoming increasingly conscious of the importance of team dynamics, and are taking steps to improve company culture to create the conditions for better conversations.

A 2017 report by Mazars found that culture is one of the top three priorities for company boards, and that the importance of corporate culture to business success is an area of growing strategic importance.

However, with virtually all employers thinking about improving conversations in the office, at School of Wild we believe getting out of the office might be a better option.

Nilofer Merchant, author and business innovator, spoke about the benefits of outdoor meetings in a TED Talk in 2013. She found a direct link for how walking meetings can change how we think: “Fresh air drives fresh thinking,” she says, and delivers some scary statistics about the health risks of spending too long indoors to back it up.

“Nowadays people are sitting 9.3 hours a day, which is more then we’re sleeping,” she says. “Sitting is so incredibly prevalent we don’t even question how much we’re doing it, and because everyone else is doing it, it doesn’t even occur to us it’s not okay.”

But it’s not just health risks that can be reduced by getting outdoors. As Merchant found, going outside brought benefits to conversations too.

She explains, “There is this amazing thing about getting out of the box that leads to out of the box thinking, whether it’s nature or the exercise itself, it certainly works.”

And the science is there to confirm it. One study discovered that simply being exposed to office plants can boost employee wellbeing and productivity by 15%, which gives an inkling into the dramatic benefits that being outdoors can bring.

According to another study by the University of Kansas, being absorbed in nature can help increase creative problem-solving ability by as much as 50%.

With the multitude of distractions that office screens and phones give, it’s no wonder that getting away from the office is a good way to change a conversation.

Why taking your team outdoors is good for business

28/4/2018

Spending time in nature is a powerful way to boost your employees' wellbeing, and has a dramatic effect on creative thinking and team cohesion, by Liz Naven

In the past few years, workplace wellbeing has become a staple of the modern office. Prompted by research demonstrating the inextricable link between employee happiness and productivity, organisations are placing serious attention on initiatives to improve employees’ experience at work, inspired by forward-thinking companies such as Google and Zappos.

Although your company may not have a budget as large as these tech giants, chances are you're looking to replicate the same positive company culture with practical alternatives that make employee wellbeing a priority.

Flexible working hours, on-site massage and fitness classes, and duvet days are just some of the perks you might already be offering in a bid to increase employee happiness, engagement, and productivity.

The results are usually worth the effort: organisations with properly-designed wellbeing programs enjoy large financial returns, amongst other competitive advantages. For example, according to research from Harvard Business Review, Johnson & Johnson's wellness programs cumulatively saved the company $250 million on health care costs, with a return of $2.71 for every $2 spent, between 2002 to 2008.

Yet could you be overlooking the most effective activity for wellbeing? To create a positive workforce full of high-performing employees, you may just need to send your team outdoors.

Being outdoors in nature has a dramatic range of benefits, for both physical and mental health. Time spent outdoors boosts mood and energy, improves attention and encourages connection and community.

If your business is to prioritise the wellbeing of your employees and improve workplace productivity, getting them to spend time in nature as part of their working life can be a vital piece of the process.

Take Your Team on an Away Day in Nature. You'll love the results.

23/4/2018

Been given the task of arranging a team away day and wondering where to start?

Team Away Day in Nature

Our outdoor team away days in the wild are the perfect way to bring people together.

An away day outdoors in nature has lots of benefits - including dramatic impacts on creative and innovative thinking, and decision making. Plus time in nature is a great leveller and breaks down personal barriers, making it much easier to connect with each other.

We cater for groups of various sizes from 6 to 35 in the Brighton and Sussex countryside, and we'll help you arrange your team away day with ideas that suit your specific needs.

From a foraging walkshop to a creative campfire, we listen to what you want, share ideas and put our planning expertise into practice. You get an away day tailored to achieve your desired outcome.

There are plenty of options to explore, from facilitated conversations to bonding exercises. We have covered spaces in case of bad weather and all our team away days are designed with one purpose in mind - to keep your team effective and energised.

So leave everything to us, you can just relax and enjoy the experience.

Rooftop whittlers. Team away day activities for Then Somehow

20/4/2018

Being open in the open. Inspiring campfire conversation with Brighton business leaders and mentors

19/4/2018

Business leaders, mentors and entrepreneurs getting to know each other better around the fire at a Creative Campfire. Nature helps to breakdown personal barriers and makes it easier to connect.

From Digital to the Woods: the story of a Team Building Day in the Wild

14/2/2018

This is what happened when the team from digital agency ribot came together in the woods of East Sussex

Ribot getting creative with a woodland shelter

21/12/2017

Team Building in the Woods

Team members from digital agency Ribot getting creative on a team building day in the woods.

#teamwork #teambuilding #wildtime #winterfun

Bringing in the kit. Start of a great team time day in the woods for the lovely Ribot crew

16/12/2017

Team Building in Nature

Rosie and I bring in the kit by hand for Ribot's team day in the woods.

#teambuilding #wildtime

Pictures from a Foraging ID Walk and Tasting for Journeys by Design

23/6/2017

Journeys by Design asked us to run a foraging walk around Firle for their team after their annual company meeting.

Foragers and hedge witches Jane and Lucy took the team along the lanes and fields from the Ram and into Firle Place, showing them a variety of edible wild plants, alongside tastes of deliciously refreshing elderflower cordial, and relaxing lime blossom tea.

A fun foragers quiz to finish.

The workplace

23/6/2017

#foraging #wildtime #firleplace #teambuilding

The office

22/6/2017

Taking the Journeys by Design team on a foraging walk around Firle, with foragers Jane and Lucy Hedgewitch. This was a view of the South Downs from the path, on this beautiful summer's day.

#foraging #southdowns #hedgewitch #journeysbydesign #summer #wildtime #today

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School of the Wild
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Brighton BN1 4GB
Tel: 01273 721258
email: info@schoolofthewild.com

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