Danny changing the cargo net on the high ropes course
This is my second spring at Adventure links. After a long winter here at the park, some of our new seasonal staff have arrived. It took me a little while to realize that one of the great aspects of my job was going to be meeting new people each season. Working with someone on small projects and training them on equipment and tools really allows you to get to know them quickly.
Remembering names is not one of my strong suits, especially when you are introduced to ten or so at one time. Meeting the staff and learning what their attributes will be for the upcoming season, as it applies to the facility and vehicles, sure does make it easier to remember.
Everyone has something positive to offer, and that positive attitude and enthusiasm we can work together to get things done. Its hard to imagine a job where you would work with and see the same people month in/month out…or even year in/year out. The guarantee of meeting new faces and getting to know young people from all over the country sure is a nice perk.
Staff working on a project in the field
The little things in life! So often I hear about the importance of the “little things”. Yet, the “busy”ness of business promptly ushers me away reminding me of a meeting, a proposal, a capital purchase, a new hire. You know..the “Big” things! That’s what it’s about right? Hitting your goals. Expanding market share. Increasing Profit. But how do you get there?
I don’t really have an answer, but I do have an idea: it’s in the little things. I was recently presented with a “junked” chainsaw by an employee. The dealership explained it would cost more to repair than the saw was worth. How can this be, it’s only a few years old? Frustrated at the proposal of buying yet another $500 saw…wait they don’t make that anymore. I’ll have to get the new model for $625. Ugh! I took a deep breath and started counting to $625…..1,2,3,….. Before I made it to 50, my scowl turned into a grin…I’d just uncovered an opportunity. That’s right, I was going to learn how to rebuild a chainsaw.
I dug right in asking questions. Starting with parts: The dealership wanted $350, I found them for $125. I sort of knew there was some “special” stuff you needed to do with 2-cycle engines, so off to Youtube I went. A tachometer, a vacuum leak tester, a homemade crank case splitter and 30 Youtube videos later, I was ready!
I won’t bore you with the details and challenges I faced in the process. Just suffice it to say that it took waaaaylonger than I expected AND it was absolutely worth it! The fact that the saw works is testament to one of two things. 1) I was freakishly lucky or 2) I now understand what it takes to completely rebuild a 2-cycle engine from the ground up. Since I’m the one writing this, I’ll choose #2!
Okay, great. The saw works…good for me. Whoo hooo! So what? The difference for me was redirecting the energy that could have been wasted on being frustrated with the situation. Instead, the energy was excitedly focused on not just a solution to this singular broken saw, but to a body of information that allows me to tackle and teach others how to diagnose and repair this key tool of our business operations.
Like most things in life, it was about slowing down, being present and paying attention to the little things. So much can be avoided if one does that. In comparison to time lost and replacement costs, maintenance costs little when you take the time to truly understand the function of each piece of the whole. But I guess if the 3 loose exhaust nuts had been seen, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. My life is richer for it.
Have you seen the photo on the internet with the picture of a trail that say’s “there is no Wi-Fi in the forest, but I promise you will find a better connection”?
I love this quote, because everything we do here is to get people to work together and want to be outside. Creating positive experiences outside is what we love to do. And five or ten years ago you would have spent the day out here, or your camper would have spent a week or two with us and then once home you would have developed the pictures off your camera and told your friends and family all about your experience.
But today’s world is different. Our friends don’t always rave about a great new restaurant to us anymore, instead they post about it, they review it, and they share pictures all online. This is the dilemma we are faced with here. We want our participants and staff to concentrate on the experience they are having in the moment, but we also want them to share their experience. We would like them to be able to look back at their newsfeeds and timelines and relive the moments they had with us and remember what a great time they had outside with their friends.
We want the involvement and the memories to last without crossing that line of bringing the technology with all of it’s distractions into the outdoors, so we are left with the dilemma: to #hashtag or not.
Back in 2004 I was lucky enough to be in a position to be invited to attend a three day training workshop with my co-workers lead by Tom Leahy, president of Leahy & Associates out of Boulder, Colorado. The workshop was titled the Innovative Team and focused on facilitation of team building and teaching tools for group problem solving. I gleaned a lot of new information and techniques from Tom, I was impressed by his facilitation style as one that would allow for the group to take charge of how we were going about completing the task but he also knew when to step in and re direct us. He also taught us some tools that helped to move the process forward while still allowing everyone to have their say in decisions and be heard when needed.
At the time of the training, I was still young and had recently been promoted into a leadership position focused on staff management. I had been working on developing my own leadership style and especially how to manage employees who were older than me; many of which were also in this training. It was a struggle to work with them sometimes, either because of the age difference or maybe it was just a difference in personality types, whatever it was my frustration level was pushed to a breaking point during the workshop. We got trapped in “Analysis Paralysis” over and over again; talking, questioning, re-questioning, and afraid to try anything, then questioning our fears and why we couldn’t move forward. Ugh!
I found myself holding back in the beginning because I felt unsure of my role in the group which was a combination of administration and corporate facilitators and I was one of the youngest in the room. I guess I must have been muttering to myself about how I thought we should solve the problem and Tom overheard, because at the end of the second day he encouraged me to speak up more. So on the last day of our training I stood up and made my voice heard and it went great. I feel like in some ways that day was a turning point for my relationship with many of the corporate facilitators. With Tom’s help I was able to show them why I had earned my new position in the company and I felt a new level of respect from them from then on. At the end of the workshop Tom pulled me aside to congratulate me on stepping up and told me to keep it up because this team needed a good leader. That meant so much coming from him and has stayed with me all these years since.
ACCT conference in beautiful Palm Springs, CA.
At the beginning of this month I had the opportunity to travel to sunny California for the 25th annual International Association of Challenge Course Technology conference. So many crazy outdoor educators all in one place! The conference is jam packed with workshops about every aspect of our profession from facilitation to operations and management of challenge courses and zip line tours. I was so happy to see that Tom Leahy was leading multiple workshops over the next couple of days because of the experience that I had with him ten years ago, but with all the workshops to choose from I questioned if his would be the most beneficial for me since I had already been though one of his trainings. Luckily as I was debating which workshops to attend I ran into Tom and asked him what he would suggest. His answer was simple, after ten years there is a lot that he has continued to learn and improve about his facilitation and trainings. And he was right; the two workshops of his that I attended were both very informative and inspirational. It reminded me of the importance of not becoming complacent with how I have always done things, but to constantly seek out new perspectives. Also I have been very appreciative of the reflection that this experience has lead me to about where I have come from, where I am now as a leader/trainer and the growth that I still have in front of me.
Giant domino activity in a corperate leadership workshop.Debriefing activity using random objects and toys.
I always smile when one of our participants mistakenly calls it “Experimental Education”, because in a way Experiential Education is about experimenting and trying new things. However, the principles of Experiential Education have evolved since at least the late 19th century, and are well past the stage of being considered a far out “experimental” form of education.
Experiential Education is rooted in the actual experience of an individual or a group. The more remarkable the experience is, the more opportunities exist for profound learning and growth. Educational philosopher John Dewey (the same John Dewey that invented the Dewey Decimal System) observed in the early 1900’s that if students learned the skill of critical thinking, they would teach themselves far more over the course of their lifetime than they could ever learn by memorizing historical dates or mathematical formulas.
Mr. Dewey also believed in the concept of “serious play”, that people can strengthen their critical thinking skills by reflecting on experiences that challenge them to look at the world in a new way. Experiential Education allows participants to form opinions and plans, test out their hypothesis, see the results, and think about what just happened and what to try next; much like the scientific method of experimentation.
So whenever I hear someone say Experimental Education, I usually don’t correct them. After all, some healthy experimenting is a big part of the learning experience!
To learn more about John Dewey’s educational philosophy, check out one of his most well-known books, Experience in Education.
One of the things we struggle with here at Hemlock Overlook is dampness and humidity. Especially when it comes to our gear. Anyone who has ever spent time in Virginia during the summer can relate.
One of our winter projects has been to create a storage and supply area for our paddling gear. This Personal Flotation Device (PFD) shed is a ventilated and lockable structure, and is like a normal shed, except for a few things.
As you can see the sides are made of lattice for increased airflow. We are able to hang up to 60 PFD’s on the rack system in the rear of the shed to allow them to air dry and not be exposed to the elements directly. After the vests are dunked into a microbial solution they are hung to dry for the next days use. The rack system allows for the vests to be hung according to size.
We used 1.5 inch PVC tubes that were cut to about 20 inches. The tubes are seated into a hole that was drilled with a hole saw. After applying adhesive on the end of the pvc tube, they were tapped into place using a rubber mallet. The floor area underneath the life vest was left open to allow the water from the PFD’s to drip off and not make the rest of the shed floor wet.
Keeping the Road-Rage Out of Corporate Team Building
One of the best parts of my job is when I get to lead a group of adults on our team building course. Whether it’s a local company, a government department or group of teachers they are always in for an exciting and educational day out with their co-workers. Often in the morning when the group arrives, I can tell that there is a mixed bag of emotions due to whatever it is they think they are about to get into, but usually after the first couple of activities the group’s buy-in is at 100%.
I find that most people who have not yet experienced a program like ours have a variety of different ideas of what will happen; i.e. a crazy challenge course where they may not be physically able to keep up or the other end of the spectrum of holding hands around the campfire with a chorus of Kumbaya being sung. In reality though, most of my days with adult groups are full of laughs, many high-fives, some hugs, maybe a couple of tears, but my favorite is the moment when somebody inevitably shouts out “this is exactly what happens to us at work!”. The point is to make the connection, find the patterns and make plans for needed behavior changes to help strengthen the team back at work; a positive shared experience.
Now it’s rare for me to get to ever participate in anything like our team building course because I am usually the one leading it, so when I went to a grand prix indoor race track and saw that they do “Corporate Events” I was very excited. Maybe this could be something that I could bring the rest of the Adventure Links team out to do for some fun and bonding; but now that I’ve experienced it I don’t think I will ever offer that idea to our team, I like them too much.
Don’t get me wrong, the race track was super fun. I got to wear a racing onesie and helmet, my race name was Pickled Ginga and those little cars go way faster than I thought they would, but I found myself with a little road-rage trying to get around people or when someone would pass me. The worst was when on the last lap I was clipped by another car, rammed into the wall and was disqualified. I got angry! If that would have been one of my co-workers… well, let’s just say us redheads are known for our ability to hold a grudge for unreasonable amount of time. So I guess this means no corporate event paint-balling or laser tag for me, maybe just a day at the place with the room full of trampolines.
Facili-Trees and Port-o-Pines, The myth of our park bathrooms
Campers and students always ask the tough questions. One of the first is usually…Where do I go to the bathroom? Do I have to go into the woods? Well we have your answers! They might surprise you too.
Our Park Is equipped with standard toilets, stalls to maintain your privacy, sinks to wash your hands, and dryers instead of paper towel to help keep our park clean. We have a huge bathhouse that surrounds all of these tech savvy waste disposal units.
For those groups who adventure here for more than just the day, they will experience our showers as well as much more. Perfect pressure and heavenly hot water. Don’t forget about your own personal showering space. Oh it’s just like home, except for the memorable conversations and bathroom barter system that occurs for those who have come a little less prepared but with the help of their friends will not go without.
We are getting both sad and excited around here. Friday November 21st is just two weeks away and it marks the last day of our 2014 program season. We break the week before Thanksgiving so that our staff have the opportunity to spend the holiday at home. Our staff travel far and wide to, places as far as California, Michigan, Florida, and Vermont. Our staff are the faces and soul of Adventure Links and we will miss this year’s crew when they leave for the winter.
That is the sad part, the exciting part is that Monday, December 1st is the opening of registration for Summer Camp 2015. After we have devoured our turkey dinners, shopped our hearts out on Black Friday, and rested up and traveled home over the weekend, we will already be looking towards 2015. We are extremely excited for what is going to be an amazing summer, and we look forward to hiring and planning out the final details this winter and spring.
Make sure to check out our website as we get closer to registration for the posting of the 2015 schedule.
-Danny Stevens | Facility and Fleet Director
-Ashley Suntheimer | Group Program Manager, 
