From 31 August to 6 September, Aurora Network co-organized the Erasmus+ training course „Confident Trails: Design, Deliver, Reflect“ together with Outward Bound Croatia in Veliki Žitnik, Croatia. Youth workers from 7 European countries spent seven days in the forest, with no internet, working on one goal: to go home with more confidence in working with young people in nature.
Seven days in the forest
We hiked, planned, led activities, learned from each other and spent every evening talking around the fire.
What we worked on
During the week we explored Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and comfort zones, and worked on group management and on emotional and physical safety. Participants practised risk management by creating risk assessments for different simulations and outdoor activities.
In the second half, participants worked in groups to design their own outdoor activities for young people, from planning and materials to risk assessment. On the last day, they delivered them to each other.
The trainer was our Katerina Popovska, who successfully delivered the whole program from the first to the last day.
What participants told us
At the end of the training, participants shared how ready they feel to take what they learned home:
- 91% will use what they learned in their work
- 83% feel prepared to facilitate a group activity outdoors
- 80% feel prepared to design and deliver sessions on their own
- 79% feel prepared to conduct a risk assessment
Thank you
Thank you to Outward Bound Croatia for the chance to work together, to Lana, the project coordinator, for supporting Katerina throughout the week, and to all participants for their energy.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.