School of the Wild
  • Home
  • About
  • Team Programmes
    • Teamwork + Collaboration
    • Wellbeing + Digital Detox
    • Sustainability + Social Responsibility
    • Legacy + Purpose
  • FOR REMOTE TEAMS
    • Zoom into the Wild
    • Thinking Like A Forest
  • Case Studies
  • Journal
  • Contact

Fieldwork

Team Building Away Days, Outdoor Events, & Stories From the Wild

Dawn over the Cuckmere

16/6/2019

 
Picture

​Epic all-night walk through our incredible land. Thanks to Caroline Whiteman for navigating and to everyone who joined the #schoolofthewild night herd.

#fullmoon #dawn #solstice #sussex #nightwalk #insilence #notorches

Helping business leaders with accountability at our Leading with Purpose sessions

10/6/2019

 
Picture
At our Leading with Purpose sessions, I ask: "Given all that you've learned and experienced today, if you could commit to doing one thing to make a difference, what would that be?"
Since the start of 2019 we've been convening groups of business founders, leaders and pioneers around a campfire to talk about how to solve 21st challenges - of how you lead with meaning and purpose in an increasingly uncertain world, and improve the planet and your business. So far we've run six campfires for 40 leaders. Publicly committing to an action in front of the group has been a key part of each session. This is what people have committed to:
​

Read More

How we helped Think Productive to be an even better and stronger team

8/6/2019

 
Think Productive work on communication, culture and strategy at a ninja away day workshop around the fire.
Picture
Who are they?
Founded by best-selling author Graham Allcott (How to be a Productivity Ninja), Think Productive help transform the productivity and wellbeing of leading organisations around the world, through practical, human and straight to the point time management and productivity training and workshops.

Think Productive are a close team, a mix of trainers (called Productivity Ninjas) and head office staff.
​

Read More

Getting the 'office' ready for Think Productive's Ninjas Away Day

7/6/2019

 
Picture
Great to be using our special London location.
#schoolofthewild #teambuilding #connection #unplug

Conversations that matter. #businessunplugged

1/6/2019

 
Picture

Great bunch at today's Campfire Catalyst for business leaders.

23/5/2019

 
Picture
I continue to marvel at nature's ability to support meaningful connections and creative thinking. Some powerful pledges were made. We're starting to have the conversations that need to be had.

The time I cried in a client meeting

22/5/2019

 
Picture
Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash
The other day I go for an early 8am coffee with a client. The HR director of a large charity, she has kindly agreed to meet me to explain why they have decided not to go ahead with my proposal for a leadership programme in nature.

Circumstances have changed. They’ve just done a 360. It has thrown up some unexpected stuff and the CEO has decided to go with a different plan.

It’s fine, I understand. And anyway I appreciate that she cares enough to explain this face to face.

Over coffee we have a wide-ranging discussion about culture, and the challenges and tensions of an organisation that has frontline support staff and also a retail arm, with different issues, different needs, and different personalities.

And then she mentions homelessness.

That’s when things take an unexpected turn.

For some reason I’m compelled to tell her what happened the day before. A visit to a meditation class has kickstarted my on-again-off-again resolution to be more generous to the growing number of people begging on the high street.

On my way to get some lunch, there's a toothless guy sitting on the pavement by the Barclays cashpoint, as I drop some coins into his hand, I ask him how it’s going.



Read More

The moon was really low last night!

19/5/2019

 
Picture
#fullmoon #brightonfestival #installationart #supermoon

Blindfold Foraging

18/5/2019

 
Picture
Last weekend a bunch of people trusted us to lead them on a blindfolded foraging walk. It was brilliant! Walking slowly from place to place we led the group to 10 edible wild plants and introduced them through touch smell taste and lastly through looking.

Ghost pier. #fullmoon #westpier #brighton

18/5/2019

 
Picture

Hemlock Water Dropwort

5/5/2019

 
Picture
Reminding me of celery this innocent riverside plant looks good enough to eat. Smells deliciously sweet too. Nestled amongst edible cleavers nettles and fireweed what is it about the most poisonous plant in the UK - Hemlock Water Dropwort - that's so seductive?

The 'meeting room' for yesterday's new cohort of business leaders.

26/4/2019

 
Picture
The question that emerged at this Campfire Catalyst was 'what else can we do to make an impact now?' Answers and actions ranged from small to large personally and professionally. Making a difference one step at a time.

A message from the land?

22/4/2019

 
Picture
I stumbled across this heart stone on a solo sunrise-to-sunset medicine walk around Devils Dyke yesterday. Once I let go of 'the plan' good things started to happen, and I had a totally different experience. So much occurred, I'm still processing all the symbols and insights. 

Is 24-hour Always-On Connectivity Causing a Burnout Culture in Your Organisation?

18/4/2019

 
What does burnout mean for your organisation and how can you use culture change and the power of nature to help your teams to thrive instead? Here’s a 5-step toolkit to cope with an always-on world. Words by Lauren Psyk
Picture
Photo by ​Victoria Heath on Unsplash
In a 24-hour, globally connected world, we are always-on - spending our entire lives connected to technology, with instant access to the world around us.

There are undoubtedly positive benefits to business and organisations from this state of 24-hour connectivity.

You can be more productive by managing projects using cloud based tools; you’ve got the convenience of being able to access everything you need, from meals to travel, with the touch of a button; and you can easily serve international markets during their waking hours, as working across different time zones and having staff based across the globe is becoming de rigueur.

However, it's also becoming clear that it’s not all sunshine and roses.

You may be able to have a gourmet meal delivered at all hours of the day and night, but what is this state of being always-on doing to your mental and physical health, and the health of your team?
​

Read More

Collaboration, impact, and purpose. How campfires help business leaders develop a plan for the future

15/4/2019

 
In the last few months, School of the Wild has been convening groups of business leaders to explore what we can do to address global social and environmental challenges, and how to make the world a better place. Here, business coach Neil Pavel explains what he experienced around the campfire.
Picture
Picture
What happens when leaders, business owners, senior managers, and people who work for themselves get together around a campfire in a new and natural environment and are asked: “What conversation would you like to have that will make a difference in the world?” ​
I have experience of this twice now after Nigel, who runs School of the Wild, invited me to attend a couple of the Leading with Purpose campfire catalyst sessions that he facilitates.

For a few hours, myself and the other people in these groups shared our stories, ideas and insights into leadership and responsibility, and about culture and the future.

Being outside has an immediate impact.

I notice how we all think and behave more-than-slightly differently. There’s an openness to the conversations, less boundaries, and lots of trust.


Having the time and space to reflect on leadership and impact with a bunch of complete strangers allows a wide range of subjects, voices, and opinions to be heard and mulled over.

Being outside has an immediate impact. I notice we all think and behave more-than-slightly differently. There’s an openness to the conversations, less boundaries and lots of trust. 

Read More

Conversations that matter on a team away day

13/4/2019

 
Picture
Conversations that matter: culture, impact, legacy. And fireside rapping. Space Doctors team away day in the woods. 

The woods are where we do our best work

11/4/2019

 
Picture
Mark and Rosie, key members of the School of the Wild team, get the woods ready before the client arrives.
#teamawayday #schoolofthewild #natureisouroffice

Still night.

8/4/2019

 
Picture
#brighton #seafront #stillness

It's midday. Which direction are these barefoot feet facing?

7/4/2019

 
Picture
A visual natural navigation challenge. Can you tell which direction the bare feet are facing?
#naturalnavigation #schoolofthewild

Trees are good for Natural Navigation

7/4/2019

 
Picture
Today we're learning how the moss, shape, and roots of trees can help you find your way. This tree has a different kind of message though.
#schoolofthewild #naturalnavigation #wild #stanmerpark #treesareamazing #specialgroup

#foraging huddle

1/4/2019

 
Picture
#schoolofthewild #spring

This yellow beetroot is keeping its own count of how many we've peeled.

29/3/2019

 
Picture
#schoolofthewild #awayday #outdoorkitchen #inthewoods #campfirecooking #teambuilding

How can your organisation have more impact and make more of a difference?

25/3/2019

 
Picture
How does your organisation stay connected? How can your team have more impact and make more of a difference? Making meaningful connections and having conversations that matter to address these questions at a team building away day in the woods today.
​#team #strategy #nature #business #schoolofthewild

How connecting around a campfire can help you reignite your purpose

24/3/2019

 
Marketing guru and writer-photographer, Lauren Psyk, came to a Leading with Purpose campfire catalyst session. She wasn't expecting it to be so powerful. This is her story.
Picture
photo of Lauren Psyk by Saskia Nelson.
Picture
In my twenties, I was attracted by the bright lights of London and had ‘trendy’ marketing jobs with media organisations.

​From an outside perspective I had what every young professional wants - I worked on partnerships with music and media brands, I got to go to glamorous events and trendy media industry parties and I had a decent enough salary to enjoy the London life.


Back then, nobody talked about millennials, the buzz word at the time was urbanites - and I was living the stereotypical urbanite life; work hard, play hard, spend hard. 
​  

Lack of purpose
​

But despite my initial excitement, within a couple of years it became clear to me that I had set off on the wrong path. Neither my job nor my lifestyle were going to make me happy or give me any sense of fulfilment.  Life and work felt meaningless, empty and vacuous - essentially I was lacking any sense of purpose.

So I quit the media life and went to work in Government communications, on a THINK! road safety advertising campaign aimed at reducing deaths and injuries amongst motorcyclists.

My work had meaning and I felt fulfilled. I got a huge sense of achievement from the fact I was doing something with purpose, and which had a positive impact.

Eventually I left London to seek a healthier and more balanced lifestyle by the sea here in Brighton, and I started designing a career that fits around my needs and values.
​

More recently, I have worked a lot in the charity sector and on projects which give me creative freedom. But purpose, and doing work which has a positive impact is still a core part of what drives me.


Read More

Flickering flames mark the end of a magical night walk over the #Downs.

23/3/2019

 
Picture
Not your usual Friday night. Thank you @natureschildling.
​#schoolofthewild #solstice #nightwalk #fullmoon #silence #notorches
<<Previous
Forward>>
    Nigel Berman, School of the Wild

    Author & Curator

    Nigel Berman is the founder of School of the Wild.

    Blog HOme

    Categories

    All
    Away Days
    Campfire Conversations
    Case Study
    Leadership
    Networking
    Organisations In Nature
    Purpose
    Talk
    Team Building In Nature
    Teams
    Video

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    RSS Feed

Organisations

  • ​​Programmes​
  • Away Days
  • ​Why Nature
  • Guest Speaker
Picture
The movement for Regenerative business
Picture

Leaders

  • Courses​
  • Leadership​ Development
Picture
Picture

About Us

  • ​Our Story
  • Blog​
  • ​Fieldwork​
  • Our Team

Support

  • Contact Us
  • ​FAQs
  • Reading List
  • Privacy
  • Covid ​
Picture
Picture

Sign up for News from the Wild:

By subscribing you agree to us sending you occasional emails with info about our services. Unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy
School of the Wild
​c/o ONCA, 14 St George's Place,
Brighton BN1 4GB
Tel: 07764 404992
​email: info@schoolofthewild.com
© COPYRIGHT 2015-2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Team Programmes
    • Teamwork + Collaboration
    • Wellbeing + Digital Detox
    • Sustainability + Social Responsibility
    • Legacy + Purpose
  • FOR REMOTE TEAMS
    • Zoom into the Wild
    • Thinking Like A Forest
  • Case Studies
  • Journal
  • Contact