21/08/2026
Some research I did a while ago when writing a motivational letter for what I understood was for someone in the educational department to please not stop school camps in government schools. Who knows what effect it had on the decision making of that matter two years ago or if it was ever used? Some content was also published in the ALLES Mag later. I place it here, as someone may find it interesting or need it as a motivation for camps for kids:
RE: Motivation and advantages of outdoor excursions for youths in schools
Introduction:
Although many people, especially the older folks understand that being in the outdoors had many advantages for children, recent studies have shown us just how important these are. Nowadays children spend more time on the sofa with their phones and have superficial relationships on media, than going into the back yard or woods. Taking safety, security and a few other issues into consideration, there is more than enough reason for parents, especially in towns and cities to not allow their kids into the open outdoors anymore. These social and safety restrictions has an everlasting effect on our children and a lack of spending time in nature will only be able to define the issues it creates when that generation is too old to fix the issue; one can simply not put a young adult back into his or her childhood and let them relive the development years and put them back into nature to “fix wat is broken”
Being the second son of a single mom in the 70’s it is for obvious reasons that while mom was earning a salary to keep ends meet, I was at home in a little “homestead” type setup of a mere 20 houses in a place called Beitbridge, the border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe and my only friend was the Shangaan gardener. Needless to say there was no other adult supervision and growing up without a father figure, this Shangaan young man `made it is responsibility to teach me the “ways of the bush” like his father has done for him. This is where my love for the outdoors was nurtured. I have been so deep in the African bush, and has done such “dangerous things” as a “pre-schooler” through my adventures with this young African man, that my mother’s blood would have turned to ice if she knew where I was and what I was up too. Although taboo for a white kid “growing up under a mom”, yet this was normal life for an African kid and considered everyday life. The education (and its effect on my life) I received from him cannot be put into Rands and Cents or even words.
Very soon in my life, even in primary school, I realised that I “owned” many skills as a person that lacked in my peers and in my early teens, I further noticed that I was more mature in my thinking, decision making and many other life skills, like now referred to “as emotional quotient” and “calculated risk taking”. Throughout my early teen years I tried to escribe the reason for my “advance” and the following brought me to the answer when I was more or less in grade five or six:
While being on a farm in Mafikeng one holiday, I could not be anything, but be amazed about the realisation of the fact that 3-6 year old “black kids” was walking kilometres in the bush veld, with all the apparent dangers, like the lack of water, deep dongas, snakes, wild animals, poisonous plants and other issues and go fetch their fathers cattle which was grazing on another farm or area. In Northern Natal these “stretches” between homestead and grazing field was even further apart with many more adherent dangers that can be imagined for such young children, yet this is the norm with African kids. Looking at the “white kids” of similar age during my holiday, which could barely do anything for themselves outside of their home, I was astonished at the level of “maturity”, wisdom in decision making and many other aspects that “black children” have and lacked by “white kids”. (You can imagine the reaction of white adults in the 70’s, in my search to receive answers for my questions regarding this matter, especially when I asked them why black kids was more clever at age 3-6 than white kids). It was then that it dawn on me, that the “experiential education” that happened between father and son and peer to peer, in the outdoors through exploring and “hands on” education and adventures, created a definite difference in the maturity level between kids of the same age, and this was also the reason to my questions as to why I was different than my peers regarding these aspects. It was the investment of my Shangaan friend who “raised” me and educate me through experiences and adventures in the bush. Ever since that realisation in my primary school years, I made it my lifelong vision and passion to study and use the outdoors, experiential learning and adventures, as an educational medium to educate, teach, heal and de-stress youth in the outdoors.
Other than the basic information, sharing fun and games that happens during camps and the motivations that we generally know, here follows some of the other reasons that my experience (and many studies already confirms) as to why kids need to be in nature and experiencing the vastness of the “Great Outdoors”.
I offer a summary of resend research:
The most basic of all reasons is the host of physical health advantages. Not only does nature or being outside to “roam” bring a positive “motivation” to physical fitness and skill, encouraging running, jumping, climbing and every other motor function, but the suns produces Vitamin D while shining on our skins and is a crucial ingredient to the development stages of a child’s brain and body. Vitamin D, affecting numerous health issues, including bone growth, muscle function, and even the timing of puberty. In fact, recent research has persuaded me that we shouldn't be complacent about lighting. Until proven otherwise, we should assume that long hours in dim lighting conditions like the class room, could impair a child's potential to learn. This fascinating research about the effects of sunlight on children. Bright sun light increases positive feelings, moods attitudes and concentration. Resend research [1] even suggest that may help prevent disease, circadian rhythm disorders, and near-sightedness. It also motivates the theory that bright sun light has a crucial impact on the brain: It may foster the formation of new synapses, and enhance our ability to learn. Sunlight also appears to protect children from developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life [2].
As mentioned, the motor function of the entire body gets a “super boost” within the development process whilst being in the outdoors as this exercise is, natural, positive and freely motivated by excitement. This excitement like on camps releases positive endorphins, which has many health advantages to the body and brain too. This excitement, exploration-being in nature and especially in new unfamiliar, but safe surroundings that an outdoor centre should offer, also creates sense of “awe” that have many other advantages that I will discuss later in this letter. When children are challenged with cognitive tasks that require lots of concentration and attentional control, those with higher fitness levels have performed with more accuracy, and sometimes faster reaction times, too [3]
The advantages given by Gwen Dewar,( Ph.D.) of such short term “exercise boosts”, that camp settings in nature offer, are really out of this world and to many science facts and scripts can be quoted here than to serve the purpose of this script.
Another health issue that camping in nature effects is that it may greatly improve sleeping patterns. Kenneth Wright, a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder found that a week of camping reset the body's "clock" to be more in tune with nature's light-and-dark cycle. Dr Wright's study in 2013, found that a week of camping -- with no smartphones -- reset people's internal clocks to be in rhythm with natures.
Saliva samples showed that levels of the "sleep hormone" melatonin shifted compared with a typical week at home. Melatonin levels started to rise around sunset, and the campers' "biological night" kicked in about two hours earlier.
The result was instant changes for adults and longer, better and deeper sleep. But one thing change with kids: You might have heard that outdoor play have a negative effect on children’s sleeping pattern through the increase of time that kids spend sleeping at night? Studies suggest otherwise: outdoor play didn’t make kids sleep longer at night. But it may help children fall asleep more easily with a deeper level of rest. Two studies of young children found no relationship between the amount of outdoor playtime and total duration of night-time sleep [12].
Let’s go further regarding health issues: “A little dirt never hurt.” Outdoor camps support the idea that a healthy immune system meant not being overly afraid of dirt or germs. The concept is much more scientific than the old ladies words.
I quote from Sawyer Kid Co:
(The Sawyer Kid Co. was founded with passion and a touch of nostalgia for our outdoor-centred childhoods. Children are spending less time outdoors and we believe that a strong connection to nature is important. Our aim is lofty yet clear; connect children to nature.)
“A microbiome is a community of microorganisms (or microbes) such as bacteria, fungi and viruses that inhabit a particular environment. Skin microbiome is basically the sum of all the living microorganisms on your skin. Microorganisms on the skin come from the microbiomes of environments and surfaces we interact with. David Suzuki of the David Suzuki Foundation drew from a variety of research material to conclude that getting dirty is healthy, particularly in terms of diversifying skin microbiome.
A diverse skin microbiome benefits the human immune system, and without that diversity, you have increased risk for illness, disease, and other medical issues such as asthma. He explains that diversity of skin microbiome comes from areas with rich plant variety, where humans interact with the microbes found on those plants. Indoor environments often do not include the same health-benefiting microbes. He explains very specifically:
A microbe common to mud and wet soils, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been shown to influence brain neurotransmitters to reduce anxiety and improve cognitive functioning. Another microbe encountered in natural environments, Acinetobacter lwoffii, has been shown to benefit the human immune system, preventing asthma, hay fever and other ailments in children who have been exposed to it.
Going further, Suzuki found a University of Helsinki study that blamed the increasing prevalence of allergies on the decrease in the biodiversity of our environments. When two groups were compared, those in less biodiverse environments (those exposed to less nature) were at higher risk for a range of allergies. The difference was on their skin.
Those exposed to more plants had a more diverse skin microbiome and fewer allergies. So, interacting with dirt and plants makes people healthier. “
Other Health Advantages not needed to explain:
Being in nature decreases stress[25][26][27]
Nature makes you happier and less brooding[28]
Makes us feel more alive and vital[36]
A second basic advantage to mention is the development of other socialization and communication skills than those used in normal home and school functions. Children need to learn how to work together. They need to learn to make friends, how to share and cooperate, how to treat other people. If they only interact in very structured settings, such as school or sports teams, they won’t — they can’t — learn everything they need to know. Studies show that outdoor learning such as on camps and outings increasing a child's engagement at school.
Activities during camp programming do just that. It comes as no surprise to teachers that not only go with kids on camps, but who are actively keeping an eye on them , will almost every time say things like “I never knew that child is like this” Or “That child really amazes me out here, he/she is completely different than in the class” The reason for this is that being in a nature setting, with “new turf” and where the “playground” rules are completely different, a new set of socialising and communication enfolds and some kids display and develop characteristics of leadership, teamwork and other qualities that normal life setting does not reveal or develop. Ask any salted camp leader and they will tell you the way a child arrives in a decent outdoor program is almost never the way they leave. (The opposite is also true and evident; because of a lack of trained camp program service providers and their untrained facilitators, as many kids who have positive experiences, there are also some many who will pick up trauma because of negative experiences, through activities forced onto learners, some not yet prepared emotionally, some experiences not debriefed or facilitated properly and some just poorly and unsensitively presented or facilitated. This advocates the main reason for a tremendous need in the school camp industry for a monitoring body, to rule out the many “evils” which are also evident in the South African school camp industry.)
Another major influence that camp programs offer (speaking of those comps not purely offered as a “sausage machine of experiences” as an agenda to financial means to an end), is the change in values, norms, attitudes and in many instances “ethics”. Almost every child walks away with some norm, value or attitude change in a major positive way. Let’s take for example the “love for nature” that most of the “non-sausage machine camp providers” are passionate about. This love and respect for nature is contagious to say the least and it harvest and nurture the value of “conservation” to many kids participating in camps. Positive nature experiences teach children to respect -- and protect -- the environment. This new ethic of “we have to conserve nature” is leading to secondary value changes like “we should not litter”, “I better start cleaning up”, “Water is precious, I should save and protect it” and one of the most important changes: “we should respect life”. Conserving nature is also paramount for the generations to follow.
When digging deeper a whole new world of motivation for camp programs in nature arise:
Dr Gwen Dewar of Parenting Science insist in her research, and uses many other research citations that outdoor play such as happening on well-structured and facilitated camp programs, can reduce a child’s risk becoming near-sighted. Heredity plays a big role in whether or not a child develops myopia, or near-sightedness. But it's also clear that time spent outdoors is protective. Scores of studies show links between outdoor time and the development of myopia. Kids who spend more time outside are less likely to become near-sighted [5] “Experiments confirm that we can prevent or delay near-sightedness by "prescribing" more outdoor play. For example, in one randomized study, 6-year-olds assigned to get an extra 40 minutes of outdoor time each day were less likely to develop myopia over the following three years [6].
Skills that help us plan, prioritize, troubleshoot, negotiate, and multitask; is called “Executive function skills”. Executive function skills are crucial for our success. Creativity falls within this category too and using our imagination to problem-solve and entertain ourselves. Blooms taxonomy for educational objectives: This framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The categories after Knowledge, were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice. But it is these skills that kids are introduced to, at a properly designed camp. Skills that can be learned, practiced and explored — and to do this, children need unstructured time like those offered during well designed outdoor camp settings. They need time alone and time with other children, and to be allowed (perhaps forced through skilful facilitation) to make up their own games, own plans, figure things out for themselves; think, plan, play and amuse themselves and a safe environment to explore these skills without negative criticism. Where the only criticism is in the form of a plan not working right now. It is these same skills that grows kids into entrepreneurs, which allows kids to compare knowledge, do research, leading to comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Evaluation that can test products, services and filling crucial spaces that in turn can create jobs and an economy. “See a need, fill a need”, the essence of entrepreneurship.
Children need to learn additional life skills training that a normal classroom setting cannot always offer. Such a life skill for instance is how to take calculated risks. As teachers and especially for parents, this makes us anxious; we want our children to be safe. But if we keep them in bubbles and never let them take any risks, they won’t know what they can do — and they may not have the confidence and bravery to face life’s inevitable risks. Yes, we know that a child can break an arm from climbing a tree or a low ropes course structure — and yes, our children may be humiliated when you try to make a friend and get rejected. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try; the lessons we learn at these camps from sitting with new (potential) friends and trying to befriend them to attempting challenges and its failures, are just as important as those we learn from success.
This doesn’t mean that adults should abandon all efforts to enforce safety rules. But researchers suggest we shift our mind-set from making children’s lives “as safe as possible” to “as safe as necessary.” [14] We should offer kids with outdoor venues and programs that feature mingling in new groups, structures to climb; graded to their developmental abilities. Offer kids group activities, construction materials, and access to dirt, sand, and water. Give children opportunities to help out in community projects like cleaning, digging, preparing and planting in a garden, and care for animals-even dirty ones.
Studies indicate that kids relish these opportunities [15]. Another eye opening result of this study was that kids prefer playgrounds with more challenging climbing structures.
At outdoor camps, outing to museums and all the other outings similar to these offer crash courses with instant result to these type of life skills. The effect of “not listening properly” for example is instant, you may not know the best route to your cabin and get lost; “if you don’t find the treasure-you lose your opportunity to the tuckshop”, “If you don’t stand still, you’ll slip” and if you don’t hold on, you’ll fall”, “If you don’t listen and look and do it the correct way, you’ll paddle in circles and go nowhere”.
Life skills training results on outdoor camps in most instances are with immediate effect. In Norway for example, many pre-schoolers attend outdoor, nature camps as a norm. Some of these camps function more like nature schools, but where adults permit kids to climb and leap and take chances. Research show that when these children master these challenges, they feel exhilarated, and some researchers think the experiences could function as a kind of anti-phobia behavioural therapy. Children learn that they can cope with frightening situations [13] on adventure camps for example and thus prepare them for adult life and the fears and stresses it brings about.
Outdoor, sports, culture and adventure camps, visits to museums and speciality tour type outings, offers young children special opportunities learn new words, skills, ideas, and concepts. It's much easier to learn what squish means if you get to feel mud squishing through your fingers. You're more likely to understand the concept of melting if you conduct your own experiments with ice cubes in the sun!
So going outdoors is an opportunity for kids to widen their sensory experiences, and gain an intuitive, "embodied" understanding of how things work.
For example studies suggest hands-on exploration helps young children learn new words -- especially words for things that kids can experience physically -- like movements, textures, touchable objects, and physical processes [7]. These concepts also greatly assist the children in later years in entrepreneurial skills and thinking. Another example is how many sports camps in South Africa have delivered leaders in the sports field in later years, one of them is our Springbok Rugby Captain. Numerous sports leaders testifies how camps have changed and advanced their skills to reach the position that they achieved. Another example is that many of the greatest young American music talents were developed during the famous “Summer School Music camps” like “Camp Rock” and “School of Rock”
Play is linked with better language skills.
Coming back to learning new words; studies reveal a link between particularly symbolic, pretend play,-like the initiatives and challenges during outdoor and adventure camps--and the development of language skills. For example: Psychologist Edward Fisher analysed 46 published studies of the cognitive benefits of play [19]. He found that “sociodramatic play”—what happens when kids pretend together—“results in improved performances in both cognitive-linguistic and social affective domains.”
In addition, a study of British children, aged 1-6 years, measured kids’ capacity for symbolic play [20]. Kids were asked to perform such symbolic tasks as those offered during adventure, drama and culture camps.
Researchers found that kids who did better on symbolic activities also had better language skills—both receptive language (what a child understands) and expressive language (the words they speak). These results remained significant even after controlling for the age of the child.
Alison Gopnik and her colleagues [21] argue that counterfactual reasoning helps us plan and learn by permitting us to think through "what if" scenarios. Pretend activities like the poisonous peanut butter river at camp that you have to cross with your team mates, taps into the same skill set. So perhaps pretend play provides children with valuable opportunities to improve their reasoning about possible worlds.
In support of this idea, researchers [22] found evidence of a link between counterfactual reasoning and pretend play even in pre-schoolers, and this correlation remained statistically significant even after controlling for a child's ability to suppress their impulses. There is also empirical evidence that kids treat play as a tutorial for coping with real life challenges. All around the world, children engage in pretend play that simulates the sorts of activities they will need to master as adults [23], suggesting such play is a form of practice.
And when kids are fed information during pretend play—for instance from a skilfully trained camp facilitator,--they take it in without restraint. The learning curve becomes steeper with less effort in a shorter period. (Another reason why camp facilitators need training in basic psychology, facilitation and program design)
When kids play in nature and outdoors, they reap special psychological benefits, including better recovery from stress, trauma and enhanced concentration. Not all time spent outdoors is equal. Scientists do not know exactly why, but “open deep nature” experiences have a special, restorative effect on all humans (some take longer to experience this effect, but all do).
For instance, experimental studies suggest that nature walks trigger short-term improvements in mood and stress recovery. And there is evidence [8] showing that kids become more attentive and focused after playing in natural settings. In one study, researchers [8] tested children’s attention and working memory performance, and then sent them outside to play in one of two places – (1) a green space in nature with trees, plants rocks etc. or (2) an outdoor paved school play yard. After the kids returned, they were tested again, and the results depended on where they had played and was astonishing: Playing in the green space resulted in improvements in attention and working memory performance. Playing on the school yard had no measurable effect.
Children connecting more often with nature like in outdoor camps may also lower a child’s risk of behaviour problems. There’s good evidence that people who feel a strong connection with nature are happier and better-adjusted. DR Gwen Dewar from Parenting Science explains for example that, in a recent study [10] of pre-schoolers, researchers found that nature-connected kids were better-behaved. They were less likely to suffer from emotional difficulties, and more likely to show kindness toward others. In addition, observational studies suggest that lifelong exposure to green space may reduce a child's risk of developing certain behaviour problems, like hyperactivity and attention deficits”[11]. Timbernook, Angela Hanscom, notes a dramatic increases in children being referred to occupational therapists for sensory issues. “As we continue to decrease children’s time and space to move and play outdoors," Hanscom writes, "we are seeing a simultaneous rise in the number of children that are presenting with sensory deficits.”
So instead of just sending kids outside, research proofs we should also nurture their interest and passion in the nature itself. This includes teaching kids about local wildlife, and enlisting them to help preserve wildlife habits and getting more involved in outdoor programs.
Research suggests that playing rough and tumble games, climbing, jumping and discovering (like those offered during outdoor and adventure camps) trigger the secretion of BDNF, a substance essential for the growth of brain cells [16].
BDNF is essential for the growth and maintenance of brain cells. Another research suggests that BDNF levels are also increased after kids are allowed to explore, as the case is in most adventure camps [17]. Note that physical education classes are not effective substitutes for free playtime [18] and as physical exercise has important cognitive benefits in its own right, almost none of the research results on physical education classes had the same effect as unstructured “free play”, as those offered during outdoor outings.
Outdoor excursions relieves attention fatigue and increases creativity. Nowadays kids’ lives are filled with “tv and computer game” type technology and social media designed to constantly pull for our kid’s attention. But many scientists believe our brains were not made for this kind of information bombardment, and that with the “flickering” screen, can lead to mental fatigue, overwhelming feelings and emotions, insomnia, and burnout. According to Strayer we all need “attention restoration”: to get back to a normal, healthy state[24].
He believes that being in nature restores depleted attention circuits, which can then help us be more open to creativity and problem-solving. “When you use your cell phone to talk, text, shoot photos, or whatever else you can do with your cell phone, you’re tapping the prefrontal cortex and causing reductions in cognitive resources,” he says. In a 2012 study[24], he and his colleagues showed that hikers on a four-day backpacking trip could solve significantly more puzzles requiring creativity when compared to a control group of people waiting to take the same hike—in fact, 47 percent more!
Although other factors may account for his results—for example, the exercise or the camaraderie of being out together—prior studies have suggested that nature itself may play an important role. Nevertheless, all these happens during an camp.
One in Psychological Science found that the impact of nature on attention restoration is what accounted for improved scores on cognitive tests for the study participants.
This phenomenon may be due to differences in brain activation when viewing natural scenes versus more built-up scenes—even for those who normally live in an urban environment. In a recent study conducted by Peter Aspinall at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and colleagues, participants who had their brains monitored continuously using mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) while they walked through an urban green space, had brain EEG readings indicating lower frustration, engagement, and arousal, and higher meditation levels while in the nature area, and higher engagement levels when moving out of the nature area. This lower engagement and arousal may be what allows for attention restoration, encouraging a more open, meditative mind-set. It’s this kind of brain activity—sometimes referred to as “the brain default network”—that is tied to creative thinking, says Strayer. He is currently repeating his earlier 2012 study with a new group of hikers and recording their EEG activity and salivary cortisol levels before, during, and after a three-day hike. Early analyses of EEG readings support the theory that hiking and activities in nature seems to rest people’s attention networks and to engage their default networks. Strayer and colleagues are also specifically looking at the effects of technology, by monitoring people’s EEG readings while they walk in an arboretum, either while talking on their cell phone or not. So far, they’ve found that participants with cell phones appear to have EEG readings consistent with attention overload, and can recall only half as many details of the arboretum they just passed through, compared to those who were not on a cell phone. Though Strayer’s findings are preliminary, they are consistent with other people’s findings on the importance of nature to attention restoration and creativity.
“If you’ve been using your brain to multitask—as most of us do most of the day—and then you set that aside and go on a walk, without all of the gadgets, you’ve let the prefrontal cortex recover. And that’s when we see these bursts in creativity, problem-solving, and feelings of well-being.”
One researcher in “Psychological Science” found that the impact of nature on attention restoration is what accounted for improved scores on cognitive tests for the studied participants.[30]
ADHD Researchers tested the effects of short-term exercise “rallies” like those provided in outdoor camps on kids diagnosed with ADHD. They found that aerobic activity gave these kids a special boost, altering their brain activity in ways that might enhance self-discipline [4].
Another group [9] tested the effects of specific “nature outings” on children with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and found that they, too, showed enhanced concentration abilities after a 20 minute nature walk.
The kids in this study each took three different walks -- one in a green nature setting, and two in quiet, urban settings with minimal levels of foot traffic. But only the walk among greenery delivered attention benefits, and these benefits were substantial -- "roughly equal to the peak effects of two typical ADHD medications" [9]
The results tie in with previous, correlational research: Kids who spend more time participating in real nature outdoor activities, tend to have less severe attention deficit symptoms.
Very little is known about the experience of awe; such as experiencing when arriving in nature, be overwhelmed by an activity(like just finishing a scary abseil) or even the “greatness of a camp. However, several new studies, many conducted by the GGSC’s Dacher Keltner, have shown “awe” to be a potentially powerful positive emotion that might just help our students develop empathy. Here’s how it works: we often feel two things when we find ourselves in an overwhelming place or positive situation, or relationship group like on a camp, these two things boils down to: 1) a sense of vastness that gives us 2) a new perspective on the world and our place in it. This is awe.
Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D. explains the advantages of “awe”: “Imagine the potential of this life-changing emotion for students—and, in particular, for our hyper-self-focused teens! Since adolescence is a crucial period for identity-formation, some researchers have suggested that adolescence is a particularly important time to experience awe—it could help them see themselves as deeply connected to the world around them, not the centre of it. Inducing the uplifting experience of awe could also be a positive way to keep narcissism in check.” While scientists haven’t yet examined if this temporary loss of self-focus directly impacts empathy levels, they do know that awe makes people feel less impatient and more inclined to volunteer their time to help others—strong evidence that it makes them feel more connected and committed to something bigger than themselves.[39] So how can teachers help students avoid the joyless path of self-absorption and instead cultivate a life in which they feel part of something larger than themselves—one of the keys to a meaningful life? There are, of course, many strong programs that have been designed to help students develop empathy and positive relationships but the answer can be simpler than that, new research suggests another way: “awe”. At camps a trained skilful facilitator creates moments of “awe” His tools are adventure courses, high ropes, low ropes, balls, poles, mud baths, the river and cliffs. These little moments of repeated “awe” reconditions the soul to something beyond what can be imagined. But one of the problems is that not all students will “get it” That’s why it needs to be facilitated.(Another reason for trained facilitators at camps) Let me explain: The same lion catching the same little deer, will create in one student a feeling of “Awe in its majestic greatness of the lions power” in another it will put a student off, as the little deer is now dead. But this “feeling of loss” can be facilitated into: “Awe of the circle of life”. We have to help students process what they’ve experienced. Awe requires what psychologist Jean Piaget called “accommodation”—the process of changing our mental models to incorporate something to which we’ve recently been exposed. Discussing (facilitating) about experiences of awe will help students understand and process at a deeper level what they’ve just felt. But is that experience strictly personal? New research from UC Berkeley and UC Irvine suggests that experiencing awe can actually prompt us to act more benevolently toward others. In other words, awe, like we experience on camps, in nature and other outings that make us feel in awe, can help make the world a better place through many different ways, scientifically proven.
“Cytokines are necessary for herding cells to the body’s battlegrounds to fight infection, disease and trauma, sustained high levels of cytokines are associated with poorer health and such disorders as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s disease and clinical depression. It has long been established that a healthy diet and lots of sleep and exercise bolster the body’s defences against physical and mental illnesses. But the Berkeley study, whose findings were just published in the journal Emotion, is one of the first to look at the role of positive emotions in that arsenal. That “awe, wonder and beauty” promote healthier levels of cytokines, suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions—a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art—has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy,” said UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, a co-author of the study.[45] These are all activities we find during school outings, camps and similar programs.
The camp experience as a whole
When looking at the advantages of a combination of the “tour/being on the road”, controlled positive social behaviour on camps, the nature/outdoor setting, the feeling of being “away”, positive input of trained facilitators, positive mentors and couches, the “isolated positive safe bubble” we create during outings and the creation of a feeling of awe; we sit with a powerful tool that creates what we can call “happy hormones”
These famously happy hormones promote positive feelings like pleasure, happiness, health, and in many cases even emotional and physical healing and love. These hormones and neurotransmitters are involved in lots of essential processes, like heart rate and digestion, but also your mood and feelings. They are the body’s chemical messengers, and some of them are known for their ability to help people bond, feel joy, experience pleasure but one of the most important aspects is it motivates learning.
Here are the main “feeling good” chemicals that that can be releases in your body through following camp related experiences like “exploration in a safe environment, excitement, being together, natural exercise, positive surroundings, feeling you are part of something greater and that feeling of awe”:
Chemical Mood function
Serotonin Mood stabiliser, wellbeing, happiness
Dopamine Pleasure, motivational role in brain’s reward system
Oxytocin Bonding, love, trust
Endorphins Pain relief, runner’s high, relaxation, stress releave
Serotonin: Is the feel good hormones in your gut and is essential for mood, digestion, sleep, brain function, and circadian rhythm. A regular fitness regimen is also known to boost mood, relieve anxiety, and even combat depression. Exercises like being on ropes courses, obstacle courses and general camp site activity and games, has also been shown to promote tryptophan formation and greater volumes of serotonin levels. (Tryptophan is an amino acid needed for normal growth in infants and for the production and maintenance of the body's proteins, muscles, enzymes, and neurotransmitters.)
It also boosts the diversity of your gut microbiome, which is equally beneficial for overall health. (Believe it or not; both the above is also increased by taking certain foods, and of these foods, are evident from many of the “camp type menu’s kids receive on outings, to name a few(most are prebiotics): apples, citrus, cold potato like potato salads, oats, beetroot, onions, garlic, wheat, cold pasta, yogurt, soybeans, eggs, oats, milk, cheese, beef and chicken)
Oxytocin: is a hormone that promotes bonding and trust. One of its lesser-known, but equally important, functions is as a neurotransmitter that helps regulate stress responses and calm the nervous system. It’s been pinpointed in human bonding, generosity, and establishing trust, while other studies show that it might be what makes some romantic relationships work. Definitely not helpful during camps but higher blood oxytocin levels have also been linked to greater perceived love, responsiveness, and gratitude in couples-this may also be the reason so many teens fall in love (type fling/romance) wile they are on holiday with mom and dad.
Oxytocin secretion happens in response to stimuli perceived by the brain, which is carefully monitoring your environment for threats and signs of safety using your ears, eyes, taste, touch, and smell. It’s produced in response to touch and even the right kind of eye contact, but also in times of stress to counterbalance the effects of cortisol.
Oxytocin plays a much wider role than initially ascribed, regulating the immune system, wound healing, muscle health and even pain perception. Some suggest that this chemical might contribute to healthful longevity. Probiotic bacteria received from foods mention is the camp menu list was shown to increase the body’s natural production of wound-healing oxytocin.
Just to set things straight, there is no oxytocin food, but only foods with bacteria that assist in the production of it, but most important oxytocin is released when you engage in caring relationships and have a loving (and safe) community around us, as is happening on a properly facilitated camps (another reason why camp facilitators need to be trained).
Dopamine is another hormone that makes you happy while also keeping you alive and alert. It’s involved in a wide range of activities:
motor control and cognitive function
the brain’s motivation and reward system
decision-making and impulse control
memory and attention
maternal and reproductive behaviours
This chemical is part of the brain’s reward system; it’s what gives you pleasurable sensations and keeps you coming back for more. Dopamine is considered to be the “motivational cog in this system”, and it’s naturally released for example, in situations where you perceive food for a time period before you consume it, like when you stand in a que, perceiving your food (being hungry) for some time before you eventually get it, then still moving to your table before you can start eating. (Dopamine is the active neurotransmitter “culprit” in addictions to substances (drugs and alcohol) and behaviours (gambling, s*x, p**n). How good to have a safe environment producing the same effects/chemicals for the body?)
Endorphins make you happy, but not in the way you might think. Endorphins are hormones and neuro-signalling molecules that function as painkillers. They inhibit the transmission of pain signals in the central nervous system by binding to opioid receptors (the body’s natural morphine). Endorphins (and cardio fitness) are boosted by physical activity that tires us, like running. This ubiquitous “runner’s high” or better known as “happy hormone boost” is caused by a big rush of endorphins straight after exercises like running, which again is plentiful during camp life, not just “structured” like during program activities, but also unstructured during informal games and chasing each other around etc.
In general Endorphins release happens when you:
are injured
experience positive stress(during activity hardships)
minor controlled fear(like abseil)
activate your natural reward system with activities like eating, exercising, (or s*x-lets not elaborate on that one!?!?)
Research from 2011 suggests endorphin release occurs after 30 minutes of exercise or physical activity. [40] Moderate-intensity exercise may be best. A 2017 study [41] found that 22 participants experienced euphoric feelings linked to endorphin release after an hour of moderate-intensity exercise. Moderate exercise means your heart rate and breathing speed up. You can talk, but you might be a bit short of breath, and you’ll probably sweat at least a little. This is best explained as a moderate hiking exercise during a camp outing to (whom the majority may be) unfit candidates. Group exercise may give you a better endorphin boost. According to a small 2010 study, [42] 12 participants saw more of an endorphin boost when exercising (actual activity was rowing- like in paddling or river rafting) in a group than when they did similar exercise alone.
Beyond that, smiling or laughing at something funny can help lift a bad mood and relieve feelings of anxiety and stress and laughing with people you’re close to, can also release endorphins-all these evident on a well facilitated camp. A small 2017 study found evidence to suggest watching something funny, like a shy friend performing drama with a group of other, not so shy friends, boosted endorphin levels.[43] So sending kids on camps and outings can be very beneficial for an endorphin boost. Furthermore enjoying a drama on a camp or outing, whether performed during a group concert like we do on the last night of some camps or just someone acting out funny during a group activity, or someone telling a funny story that stir you emotionally, all can boost your endorphin levels.
Another camp activity proven to release endorphins is when a group member/s is/are doing something kind or help another complete a task. It benefits the helper and the one being help. By helping another person, you might lighten their physical or emotional load, giving them the boost, in more than one way, they need to get through the activity.
They will generally also feel happier and better about themselves when they do something nice for someone else, since acts of kindness trigger endorphin release. This boost doesn’t last long, but the positive feelings you experience can make you want to keep doing kind things for others. What may also last a lifetime is the relation forming during such activities, which in turns, becomes part of the “boosting circle”
Performance in a group, especially music or singing your groups “anthem”, or performing a drama together, may have its own reward, but another reward you’re likely to see is an endorphin release. Students feel euphoric while making music or performing, or straight afterwards, that’s probably your endorphins kicking in. Simply listening to music can promote good feelings and an improved mood, but a 2012 research[44] suggests musical performance is more likely to boost endorphins than listening to music alone. All in a camps program for most. This may relate to the community aspect of performance, similar to the way social laughter is more likely to boost endorphins.
“Get some sun”, has more than one health benefit to offer. It helps your skin, as mentioned, produce vitamin D, an essential nutrient assisting in production of serotonin and melatonin, which can help improve your mood, increase your energy, and help you get better sleep, but in addition to this the ultraviolet radiation in sun can also boost your endorphin levels. Getting outside a few times a week during a camp will also help students to benefit from sun exposure in this manner.
There are some natural ways to increase your levels of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin which will boost your mood, emotions, and even cognitive function. Activities like exercise, eating a meal with trusted group members, loved ones, and increasing your intake of prebiotics and probiotics are all beneficial. All of these still present in a well-designed and facilitated outing or camp.
Others psychological and social advantages:
Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation [29]
Improved affect and cognition [29]
Improving Creative Reasoning [31]
Approached moral dilemmas more ethically[35]
Other Social advantages:
Deepen our understanding of ourselves and others[37]
Make Kids Less Self-Absorbed[38][39]
Promotes greater(more) prosociality[32]
Leads to deeper prosocial behaviours[33]
Help you to be kind and generous[34]
Lead to greater helping behaviours[32]
Influence that relationship on the willingness to be generous, trusting, and helpful toward others.[32]
In Summary:
The primary advantages of outdoor programs, be it adventurous, culture related, drama, sport or just a visit to a community centre, is far beyond wat I can proof through quoting resources and scrips here.
These are only the primary advantages. Each of these advantages mentioned here has even a greater network of secondary advantages and then tertiary. On each of the transformation from primary to secondary to tertiary the amount of advantages double, sometime triple and even more.
It’s impossible to write a motivation that will contain all the advantages of an outdoor school programs as it is immeasurable.
If we try to list the disadvantages of an outdoor excursion like many media and social platforms try to portray on one hand, and on the other hand, a program offered by trained and qualified personnel, the scale will not even move, that is as mentioned only if/when the personnel are trained and invested in, being under mentors themselves.
Many of my own experiences and studies and research is not even mentioned here. These include the advantages for youth at risk, youth with learning disabilities, youth with psychological challenges, disabled youth, bullied youth and more serious issues like MPD, DID and Bipolarity within young people.
To say the least, considering these aspects mentioned and experienced, I feel that it will be discriminatory and against human rights to not allow kids on such programs.
What I do agree is that we do need is to protect them from certain service providers and untrained facilitators and hard skill instructors/leaders; that’s why we need, setting training and operational standards and an approving and monitoring plan for all service providers.
Thank you for offering this motivation and concerns
Yours sincerely
Rubin v Rooyen
PS. I also add reference letters from students of 25 odd years ago, who has done some of these programs with ROAG and Choose Life and what it did for them “long term”
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37. Jill Suttie, Psy.D (2015) https://greatergood.berkeley.edu
38. Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D 2012 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu
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40. P. Rokade Published 2011 Psychology
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43. Sandra Manninen, Lauri Tuominen, Robin I. Dunbar, Tomi Karjalainen, Jussi Hirvonen, Eveliina Arponen, Riitta Hari, Iiro P. Jääskeläinen, Mikko Sams and Lauri Nummenmaa. Journal of Neuroscience 21 June 2017
44. Harvard Davis Lecture 2015
45. Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015).
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