‘Go somewhere, do something’. How students responded to the opportunity to complete an unstructured, five-day, wilderness solo in the Cantabrian Mountains, Northern Spain

Campbell, Liz

doi:10.1080/14729671003669347

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…While pre-experience, expectations and personal preferences have been suggested to be elements affecting the perceived outcomes of the solo experience [27][28][29], solo experiences also vary according to several demographic factors. For instance, gender and age have been investigated, showing complex or inconsistent relations regarding solo experiences [9].…”

Section: Solo's Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, solo has been performed in a variety of nature types such as mountains, e.g., [29], coast or lake landscapes, e.g., [12], wooden areas, e.g., [30] and even in urban nature, e.g., [31]. While recent findings suggest that different types and quality of environment have different psychological benefits associated with them [32], no scientific investigation has yet empirically compared the impact across specific types of nature environment on solo experiences.…”

Section: Solo's Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand

Petersen

Bischoff

Liedtke

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: Solo—being intentionally solitary in nature—is receiving growing attention as a valuable outdoor education program component. Its practice and history have been researched in the context of experiential learning, but few studies have explicitly examined how solo experiences can affect dimensions of well-being. This study investigated a broad range of well-being pathways provided by being solo, based on data from Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis (QCA), the solo debrief responses of 40 participants (26 females, age: 19–64 years) were analysed, applying the PERMA-V framework (emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement, and vitality). Variations in the reports were explored as a function of the national sample, gender, age, prior solo experiences and expectations. Results: The study suggests that hedonic and eudemonic well-being pathways, represented by the six PERMA-V pillars, interrelate strongly. The experience of a range of positive emotions and connecting process during solo highlights two of the most frequent findings related to well-being pathways. The secondary findings suggest minor variations in the well-being pathways for the different national samples, gender and age. Expectations and prior experiences with solo were identified as context factors with minor impact. Further, the data-driven analysis identified specific physical activities, landscape features, sense-activation, perception of time and ‘good’ weather as relevant to the specific experience. Conclusions: Solo experiences provide for well-being-related pathways in a multitude of ways, which highlights the well-being potential of solo implementation across practical fields beyond outdoor education, such as wilderness therapy, and environmental and planetary health initiatives. Future studies should continue to explore solo’s well-being potential in different settings, especially in the context of non-Western samples.

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Section: Solo's Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Solo's Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand

Petersen

Bischoff

Liedtke

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In OE literature the power and experience of 'the solo' have had an enduring appeal as an antidote to urban living with opportunities to 'reconnect' with nature (Bobilya, McAvoy, Kenneth, and Kalisch, 2005;Knapp and Smith 2005;Campbell, 2010). In Outdoor Environmental Education (OEE) literature innovators such as Cornell (1989) and van Matre (1990) have for some time been using nature-based activities to promote learning in the outdoors through experiential engagement.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

You are never alone: understanding the educational potential of an ‘urban solo’ in promoting place-responsiveness

Nicol

Sangster

2019

Environmental Education Research

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Solos have a long history in outdoor learning (education) for their use in 'wilderness' settings. They have been theorised in experiential education literature and through phenomenological concepts where dwelling and solitude provide unstructured time for individual reflection. Place-Based Education provides opportunities for educators to develop place-responsive practices in areas local to where people live, work and study. This paper reports on an exploratory investigation into a Masters-level course. Students were required to undertake an 'urban solo' in a familiar place and consider how ontological disruption might be nurtured in city-based locations. Six students participated in semi-structured interviews which were then analysed thematically using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings revealed that their solo experiences had had a profound and unexpected effect on all students. These changes seemed to occur as the result of an ontological shift in the students from being passive receptors of stimuli to engaging more actively with their surroundings. We concluded that, because of its simplicity and close proximity to school grounds, the urban solo is one way for teachers to overcome the barriers they consistently report to outdoor learning. We recommend that future studies draw further on urban theorists to develop more city-based, place-responsive practices.

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“…The balance of this might depend on the degree of adventure and level of competence of participants, and experience and understanding of the older adult. In an educational context, Campbell (2010) in her role in as lead tutor for a group of students on an extended solo experience comments, 'As a facilitator it felt, more than usual, like walking across a tightrope balancing my responsibilities as an outdoor educator with my responsibility to manage risks according to a set of well-established rules.' (46).…”

Section: Day 9: (Monday)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Text messaging as a near synchronous method of remote support in outdoor adventurous settings

Prince

2017

Applied Mobilities

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In transient outdoor adventurous settings such as expeditions, mobile communication is often used in a safety framework or for support. Text messaging (or SMS: Short Message Service) as a near synchronous method is explored in this non-representational micro-research in a cycling expedition context. This interactive approach is supplemented by telephone conversations and post-experience interviews. The dualistic methodological positioning within a phenomenological and ethnographic approach is situated in an expanding transdisciplinary mobilities discourse. Text messaging is a valid tool for recording meaning and reflexivity of real, lived experiences in this setting and has application for remote supervisors of outdoor adventures.KEY WORDS: Text messaging, SMS, mobile methods, outdoor adventure, remote support IntroductionText messaging (or Short Message Service 'SMS') is a widely used data application using mobile telecommunications that has been most prevalent in the last 10 years, moving from text only messages to those including images, sound and videos. Its use in research appears to be confined to participatory interventions, mainly in the field of medical research (e.g. Brabyn et al. 2014) in linguistic analysis (e.g. Ling 2014) or in studies comprising a range of virtual and mediated communication tools such as blogs, email and social networks (Molz and Paris 2015). Some applications for communication are synchronous (e.g. calls andconversations) or asynchronous (e.g. mobile 'apps') or for information retrieval (internet) and these will no doubt extend in the future as the technology of 'smart phones' that most people now possess, develops. Text messages using mobile phones are characterised in their brevity situations, a mobile phone is carried and only used (or instructed to be used) in the event of an emergency to encourage self-reliance with back up support if necessary.However, in an adventurous setting for remote support, there are circumstances where a delayed response is preferable (e.g. seeking information and its interpretation such as a weather forecast, participating in the activity itself or when travelling in locations with intermittent reception). Communication during aerobic adventurous activities is uncommon and any categorisation into active or passive mobility is upended because the 'passive', noncycling time is when communication necessarily takes place and challenges the stasis (Hannam, Sheller and Urry 2006;Merriman 2014). It is the interaction through mobile communication that is important here and focuses on text messaging supplemented by telephone conversations, videos and post-experience interviews.The paper conceptualises text messaging within the mobilities paradigm and its application in an adventurous setting, and places it in a methodological framework, exploring the challenges and tensions emergent and contingent on that definition. It presents the results of a limited scope research study with reference to a cycling expedition, discussing this within the conceptual framewo...

show abstract

‘Go somewhere, do something’. How students responded to the opportunity to complete an unstructured, five-day, wilderness solo in the Cantabrian Mountains, Northern Spain

Cited by 8 publications

References 6 publications

How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand

How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand

You are never alone: understanding the educational potential of an ‘urban solo’ in promoting place-responsiveness

Text messaging as a near synchronous method of remote support in outdoor adventurous settings

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