The Wild Minds Podcast

The Outdoor Teacher
  • 5.0 (3)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The Wild Minds Podcast

What if wild, not domesticated, should be our normal instead of factory-farmed lives? What if you could cultivate fulfilling lives and contribute to a healthy natural world? The Wild Minds podcast is brought to you by me, Marina Robb, an author, entrepreneur, Forest School and Nature-based Trainer and Consultant, and pioneer in developing Green programmes for the Mental Health service in the UK. I am the founder of Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC and The Outdoor Teacher and creator of practical online Forest School and nature-based training for people working in mental health, education and business. Tune in for interviews, insights, cutting-edge and actionable approaches to help you to improve your relationship with yourself, others, and the natural world. Music by Geoff Robb

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Children as Beings and Children as Becomings

    In this episode, I'm speaking with Sam Williams, headteacher of Redcliffe Nursery School, a state-maintained nursery school in the centre of Bristol. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtful exploration of his value of democracy and how this begins for nursery aged children. Really thinking about how a childs’s own agency, as well as being valued for what they think and say and do, links to this value of democracy. Alongside this, the skills and care that is encouraged and needed in understanding and supporting what is meaningful for young people. We also discussed that when children really care about the natural world or our climate, they have a lot of empathy for the living world, but this can result in children feeling really helpless which is contributing to the rise in eco-anxiety. However, if we develop agency in young people, then this has a positive affect on their wellbeing as they experience their ability to be heard, and then participate in the change they want to see. I do think as adults we have a powerful role to support young people’s voices and to advocate with them about what they care about. But For now, lets hear from Sam and his experience of working as a head teacher in Bristol. In this episode, we dive into:Revisiting the purpose of education and what it means for Redcliffe Nursery school.Embracing play as a core ethos.Exploring the idea of children as beings and children as becomings.Highlighting the importance of getting lost in the moment.Shifting our thinking to an ecological perspective, releasing pre-determined outcomes.Looking at creating space for the environment and materials to have their own agency.Reflecting on how ecological identity develops through agency, listening, and voice.Examining how eco-anxiety can be eased through eco-empathy and activism.Highlighting the value of state-maintained nursery schools and the critical importance of equity. Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-45-children-as-beings-and-children-as-becomings/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    55 min

  2. OCT 14

    The Essentials of Healthy Nature-Based Practice

    October has arrived and the days are growing shorter and colder, yet at this time of year, we also experience a last rush of some of the edible plants before the winter. For example you can find nettle, plantain, ground ivy and even cleavers, as well as all of the berries, and if you know what you are doing, its also mushroom season! Though this cycle of growth is coming to a close and death is all around us, thankfully this part of the cycle creates the ground for the next one to come, and soil and fungi science is particularly spectacular at the moment! During my trainings and programmes, we are gathering the last of the hawthorn berries to make hawthorn leather, and looking for rosehips to make cordial and medicine for the winter! In this episode I am grappling with how our choices bump up against the choices of others and the often invisible dynamics involved in our ability to make choices. I also reflect on some of the techniques we may use to create safe enough spaces.  Hope you enjoy this episode and do let me know if there are any areas you’d like me to cover in the future! In this Episode Marina considers: How we agree to be together as a group and with wilder spaces when creating groups.What matters to us, including our boundaries and needs, while setting community agreements and allowing permission to choose.The importance of consent for well-being and consider how and where we gather information. How much we go along with ideas or actions and the power of choice. The edges of risk to gain benefits.The role of the practitioner's tone in creating a safe environment. Relational agreements and voicing what we need, while understanding how power shifts in different contexts and identities.The dominant systems and their often-invisible impacts on everyday life.The elements of healthy nature-based practice, leading us to reckon with our assumptions. How core values in education make learning relevant beyond artificial intelligence.The journey of 'hospicing' our culture Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-44-the-essentials-of-healthy-nature-based-practice/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    32 min

  3. OCT 7

    Relationships Rooted in Consent

    My guest today is Sophie Christophy, co-founder of the Cabin and the Lodge, both self-directed learning communities for home educated young people. In 2016 Sophie established the philosophy and concept of consent-based education, which is the theme of today’s podcast. We start the conversation about our dominant culture, and how we find ourselves within a patriarchal world view, regardless of our gender, and that we can all behave, mostly unconsciously in a patriarchal way by normalizing power structures. In this episode, we dive into:What is consent-based education? Key ingredients of consent.What does our culture tell us about relationships, beliefs, behaviours and how do we pass this on? Patriarchy & normalised dynamics.Learning relational technology is rooted in consent. Living with assumptions and biases.From the old paradigm of patriarchy to new paradigm of consent.Agency for human and the more than human.Touching in to how we seek consent in a non-verbal relationship Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-43-sophie-christophy-relationships-rooted-in-consent/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    1h 2m

  4. SEP 30

    Embodied Practice in our Special Education Needs-World

    It’s good to be back for a new season and notice autumn arriving! Isn’t it incredibly difficult to get away from screens and allow time for play, reflection, rest and social connection.  On a recent walk, I saw swallows, who will soon be leaving us for southern Africa, and I did some research on Atlantic Mackerel as I saw all these people fishing – turn out they are leaving too and going north – life is always on the move!  In this episode I highlight the increase in special educational needs and disabilities in schools as well as social, emotional, mental health challenges for young people. I continue to reflect on embodied practice, for me this means our capacity to notice sensations and feelings in our bodies, which is not easy and how this can help us to be in relationship with each other. I will be exploring some of my own (and maybe your) blind spots so that we can begin to address privilege and power and afford others more dignity and respect. In this Episode Marina discusses: Becoming more awareness of lots of power dynamics and privilegeLearning to be softer on myself and harder on the systemNoting the rise in June 2024 Data for Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) and Social, Emotional, Mental health (SEMH):Exploring how power influences our lives and addressing our blind spotsRecognising that what feels safe to me may not feel the same for othersHow can we be more regulated as adults and increase our bandwidth for expression of emotion before we tip into fight, freeze or dissociative behaviour.How empowered SEN schools can provide opportunities to engage in vocational learning involving practical embodied experiences that facilitate social interactions and bodies that move!Understanding how stress narrows our window of tolerance (Linked to Podcast: Behaviour is Communication).Welcoming multi-modes of working in a complex world.Practicing staying with the discomfort and trouble (Donna Haraway’s).Valuing diverse life experiences through a metabolic paradigm– everything is alive in its own way.Shifting from a screen-based childhoods to more play-based learning opportunities. Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-42-embodied-practice-in-our-special-education-needs-world/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    30 min

  5. SEP 23

    Special Education Needs & Vocational Learning

    Welcome back to Season 6! My guest today is David Cowell, Managing Director of ALP Schools, which runs special educational needs independent schools, funded by the local authority. These five schools are for young people between the ages of 6-19 and 25 who have diagnosed special educational needs. In this episode, we dive into:The potential link between criminal behavior and the kind of educational opportunities we provide for young people.What the purpose of education is.Providing other learning opportunities for young people who find traditional education challenging.How and why, David opened ALP The Lodge.The benefits and impact of vocational learning and outdoor learning for those with special educational needs.Creating outdoor curriculums.PSHE in the outdoors.A special focus on our new Paddleboard Project.The Rise in SEN figures in England. Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-41-david-cowell-alp-schools/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    58 min

  6. AUG 5

    Wild Hearts, Wise Bodies

    This is the final episode of Season 5 until we meet again on September 23rd around the Autumn Equinox! I find myself once again in July, re-committing to taking time to slow down and make sure I spend time in natural spaces. I think in order to walk my talk, particularly with regard to listening deeply to the natural world and the wisdom that might arise from this encounter, I know it’s necessary to slow down, to facilitate for deep body-based listening. This episode pulls together some of the threads from this season, I discuss spirituality and acknowledge that I want my own experience of the spiritual to remain somewhat private – something that I cultivate largely on my own, or with close friends, in order to avoid too many people’s opinions. In this Episode Marina discusses: How our own health and well-being is linked to the health of the planet.The importance of interacting with the world through our imagination and body intelligence. Why is it so awkward to talk about spirituality?The importance of boundaries and choosing when to keep things private or public.What is real anyway? Who has consciousness? How might we experiment stretching our own consciousness? Children’s capacity to apply their imagination through story, role-play, being another animal – their ability to place themselves as ‘the other.’Ourselves as wild animals with a wild heart!How we might explore listening to our dreams and body and notice what may occur.That communication is much more than words.Coming into balance – to be well, we need to balance demands and resources. Being open to other intelligences.Avoiding burnout and the Personal Responsibility Vortex (PRV) as described by Alex Eisenberg: https://www.protectthackerpass.org/the-personal-responsibility-vortex/What we can learn from trees. Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-40-wild-hearts-wise-bodies/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    37 min

  7. JUL 29

    Listening to the Wild World

    I’m thrilled to introduce my guest, Rebecca Wildbear. Rebecca is the author of Wild Yoga, a book that guides us to inhabit our bodies and listen to the animate natural world. She tracks dreams, invites us to embrace vulnerability, listening deeply to nature, and to be open to what arises. Rebecca holds an M.S. in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University and spent fifteen years working as a Wilderness Therapist. She’s also a professional river guide, having captained boats through pristine, fish-filled rivers. With over 20 years of experience working with dreams, Rebecca has been a soul guide at Animas Valley Institute since 2006, where she now serves as a Senior Guide. In this episode, we dive into: What does it mean to say the natural world is alive?Revisiting an animated view of the natural world and delving into direct experiences with living, animate species.Exploring the potential for consciousness in plants and rocks and acknowledging the challenge this poses to our modern egos.What is a Soul Guide?Rebecca's book: 'Wild Yoga'.What is wholeness for a human? How can we apprentice to other natural beings to support this wholeness and remember our natural capacities?Exploring visualisation, deep imagination, and dreaming, and how to cultivate an intimate relationship with a tree and listen to what happens next.Inviting listeners to turn off their minds, avoiding the impulse to figure things out, and instead practice open-ended listening.Highlighting how the way we see the world influences how we participate in it. We discuss the 'Personal Responsibility Vortex (PRV) by Alex Eisenburg. Show Notes: https://theoutdoorteacher.com/podcasts/episode-39-listening-to-the-wild-world-rebecca-wildbear/ Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com Please Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts If you have enjoyed today's episode, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This really helps me to spread the word to more people like you, and to empower more people to take their practice outdoors! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, "follow" the podcast, as if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.

    55 min

  8. JUL 22

    Transforming Education and Health Through Nature

    Welcome to Episode 38! Today, I'm delving into the transformative power of nature in education and health. I'll be sharing the backstory of Circle of Life Rediscovery, my community interest company, and our journey in offering nature-based programmes and green interventions with the National Health Service and various teams over the past 20 years. In this Episode Marina discusses: Celebrating the nettle seeds from the female nettle plant (Urtica dioica). They have separate female and male plants, full of nutrients, proteins, omega 3 oils. How we can begin to apply our imagination and vision, reflecting on the role of power and participation.Marina shares her journey on how we can participate and create systems that nurture both ourselves and the natural world.Marina delves into how individuals and collective actions can drive system change and discusses strategies to influence and transform existing systems.Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC and an introduction to the Rediscovery Model, which kick-started the delivery of nature-based programmes.Early Days of Eco-Therapy defined by MIND, focusing on a model that listens to young people and provides space, time, safety, and choice around participation. This model listens to young people, offering space and time, safety and choice around participation – If you would like to know more about our green interventions projects please do get in touch. The development of the Certificate in Nature-based Practice as the primary training to offer the tools and practices to enable NHS, health and social workers to take individuals and groups outdoors. Our training Certificate in Nature-based Practice runs twice every year, in the Autumn and Springtime. Marina shares exciting news about Natural England funding for 20 NHS practitioners in mental health and public, primary, and community health services. If you want to fund an NHS practitioner to take part in our Certificate it costs £1000.00 per practitioner. Please contact us on info@circleofliferediscovery.comTo receive and share the latest research report on the impact of nature-based training on practitioners in mental health and public, primary, and community health services. Please follow this link:  download the full report here : Exploring the impact of nature-based training on practitioners in mental health and public, primary, and community health services by Dr Max Hope. Please feel free to share this link with the wider community stakeholders.Be sure to follow Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or via...

    29 min
See All (46)

Trailer

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

What if wild, not domesticated, should be our normal instead of factory-farmed lives? What if you could cultivate fulfilling lives and contribute to a healthy natural world? The Wild Minds podcast is brought to you by me, Marina Robb, an author, entrepreneur, Forest School and Nature-based Trainer and Consultant, and pioneer in developing Green programmes for the Mental Health service in the UK. I am the founder of Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC and The Outdoor Teacher and creator of practical online Forest School and nature-based training for people working in mental health, education and business. Tune in for interviews, insights, cutting-edge and actionable approaches to help you to improve your relationship with yourself, others, and the natural world. Music by Geoff Robb

Information

  • Creator
    The Outdoor Teacher
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 The Outdoor Teacher
  • Show Website
    The Wild Minds Podcast

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada