Field Trip
Exploring in the woods, doing positive psychology interventions in nature, and calling it work. YES PLEASE!
We had a great day.
I was so happy when Dr Lucy asked me to lead a field trip for her counselling and psychotherapy students that I got to planning straight away. The topic was Positive Psychology and using nature based interventions which was right up my street! I decided what interventions I thought would work best, choosing engaging, interactive ones so the students could really get hands on. Hands on they got!
I introduced myself to the students and gave them a bit of background into me and Flourish with Fox and then we all filled out Scales questionnaires to determine our mental wellbeing at that moment. 4 different scales were used including Ryffs Psychological Wellbeing scale and the Flourishing scale.
From there we walked from campus to Plymbridge. It was so pretty! The sun came out for us and the colours of the leaves were beautiful. A very Autumnal day! Our first stop, about 1 mile into the walk, was a clearing by a river under the trees. We took 5 mins to have a break and a I introduced the first intervention. 5/4/3/2/1. This is a grounding technique used for people with anxiety, but can also be used to centre yourself in times of stress or overwhelm. Connecting the bodies senses to nature to enable you to be present in yourself and the moment.
5 things you can see
4 things you can hear
3 things you can touch
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Once we had spent 5/10mins completing this intervention, we continued on our walk into the woods. The path followed the river all the way to our next stop. I noticed people stopping on the way to enjoy the views, take pics and even feel the water on their hands and face. This was wholesome to witness.
Our next intervention involved getting creative, using nature to create a piece of art that represented how they were feeling in the moment or something that brought them joy. The designs they created were fabulous and each person shared their art with the group. This was a lovely moment as the students gave each other space to talk and share their feelings without judgement (some pics attached).
After lunch, we continued our walk before our final intervention and redoing of the scales questionnaires. Our last intervention was a gratitude intervention based on 3 good things. In a circle, we each went around and shared 3 good things from the day, focussing on the gratitude aspect. For example, I was grateful to Lucy for asking me to host this field trip, I was grateful to the students who came along and I was Grateful I got to call this work.
Before we headed back to campus the students took some photos to remind them of the day and give them prompts for reflection later on. I did the same thing, knowing I would want to look back on this.
On the walk back to campus we were delighted to see tons of Deer along the way peacefully laying around in the sun. This was great as we were now out of the woods but felt like we were still there.
I had lots of individual conversations with the students throughout the day. They were asking me questions and sharing their experiences and stories, it was great to hear their passions and excitement. A few of them even told me that this day had inspired them to get outside more or pick up a hobby they used to enjoy but no longer do. This was the icing on the cake for me, inspiring others to do things they’re passionate about and get outside in nature more!
I am very much looking forward to reading their feedback on the day and planning the next one!
