The field and office staff at Adventure In, Adventure Out are always trying to find the most effective ways to transform groups of individuals into effective teams that have the potential to thrive in any situation. Intriguingly, we regularly find ourselves coming back to the work of Bruce Tuckman.

Introduced in the mid-60s, Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development have remained relevant, and continue to serve outdoor educators and team builders of all kinds. They are: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Other stages, like Adjourning, have been added to his model as well.

To dive deeper into this effective tool, and to learn how the stages relate to each other, check out this article by the University of Washington. And for more information on our team-building offering for both schools and businesses/organizations check out Adventure In, Adventure Out’s website.

When Spiderman/Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben paraphrased Voltaire saying, “With great power come great responsibility,” he probably wasn’t referring to smartphones in the hands of high school students. But, as technology continues to find its way into the hands of children and young people, addressing techno-bullying becomes increasingly harder.

Thus, I say ‘Kudos!’ to the folks at Yik Yak:
“The founders of an up-and-coming anonymous messaging app called Yik Yak, that began to take off among the middle school and high school crowd where it has been linked to both bullying and threats, have taken the unprecedented step of actually blocking younger users from accessing its application while on school grounds.”

But while this is a valuable step, it’s only a small step towards greater inclusion, and the undoing of the underlying culture of bullying that is the painful reality for so many young people.

Click here to read the full Yik Yak article, and click here to learn more about Adventure In Adventure Out’s You Belong, “a bold and transformative program that engages students and teachers in the creation of a physically and emotionally safe environment where courageous action is encouraged, and the true expression of each person is welcomed and celebrated.”

For the last many months, things have been shifting and changing for Adventure In, Adventure Out. Our staff, as well as our passion for the work we do, is growing. It seems there’s an electric feeling in the air as we plan and implement new programs, and meet new clients who are sure to turn into long-term friends.

An integral part of this process has been the integration of the work of Stephen Covey, specifically his The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Imagine my excitement today when I learned about the The Leader in Me program, designed to help children be happy in the present, and strong, resilient, and inspiring community members in the future.

Check out their Seven Habits of Happy Kids, and stop by Adventure in Adventure Out’s new, re-designed website to learn about what new programs we have to offer.

If you’re a resident of the Connecticut River Valley, or Western Mass in general, you’ve most likely heard of Dave Hayes. But for those who haven’t…

Bob Dylan sang, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” and while that may be true, no matter the season, it can be really handy to have the most accurate weather forecast. How many times have you made travel, vacation, or day plans only to have them stymied by unexpected weather?

Enter Dave Hayes. An amateur meteorologist with a growing following, Hayes goes by the name “The Weather Nut,” and for good reason: he’s obsessed with meteorology! So much so that he pours over forecasts and reports from numerous sources to create the most accurate weather forecasts you’ll find for the area. He’s not perfect (is there such a thing as a perfect meteorologist?), but he’s the closest you’ll find to it, and his forecasts for weather onset, duration, precipitation amounts, etc. are almost always spot on.

He posts regularly, and you can ‘like’ his Facebook page here.
If you’re interested in learning more about him, you can check out this Gazettenet article as well.

Don’t worry, folks: spring is coming!

Unfortunately, Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses have become commonplace in the Northeast. Speaking from personal experience, they’re no fun, which is why this article grabbed my attention. Aside from being another example of the connections that sometimes exist in nature without our knowing, it provides interesting information on how possums, who’s movements will increase as we say ‘Goodbye’ to winter, can lower tick population numbers.

For the full article and accompanying WAMC podcast, visit the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

And for more information on Adventure In, Adventure Out’s tracking and adventure programs, please visit our website.

There is a lot of quality content being created and shared by the people at The Good Men Project, and this anti-bullying ad from France is just one example.

Recasting the bullied and the bullies as adults rather than children, it is quickly apparent just how traumatic bullying can be.

Go here to learn more about Adventure In, Adventure Out’s Look Again anti-bullying program.

You can also check out the original article by Joanna Schroeder here.

This year, as the sap is beginning to flow, I find myself reflecting on the sweet wonder that is maple syrup. I don’t know about you, but I love maple syrup. I’ll use it almost any chance I get for a natural dose of sweetness that I know is relatively free from processing (compared to white sugar and others).

If you feel the same way, then you might be interested in this article by Joshua E. Brown about the new sap-gathering technique being pioneered by University of Vermont researchers. According to Brown, the researchers’ “new technique uses tightly spaced plantations of chest-high sugar-maple saplings. These could be single stems with a portion — or all — of the crown removed. Or they could be multiple-stemmed maples, where one stem per tree can be cut each year. Either way, the cut stem is covered with a sealed plastic bag. Under the bag, the sap flows out of the stump under vacuum pressure and into a tube. Voilà, huge quantities of sap.”

It’s too early to say whether this will become the primary method for gathering sap in the future, but don’t be surprised if you see fields of small sugar maples sprouting up on a farm near you.

And don’t forget, you can tap maples to make your own syrup. If it’s something you’d like to try, check out this guide produced by the University of Maine System. It’s packed with information that you can utilize to determine which trees to tap, how much sap you’ll be able to harvest, and even how many taps to use per tree.

Have a sweet spring!

This video has been making the rounds recently, and for good reason. Reminiscent of Aldo Leopold’s Thinking Like a Mountain, it presents a convincing argument for the presence of large predators in ecosystems.

It’s beautiful, and I can almost guarantee that it will expand the way you view landscape.

Spring is around the corner, but winter is still with us. If, on one of our upcoming cold days you’re looking for something that will keep you indoors, stop by the Beneski Natural History Museum at Amherst College in Amherst, MA.

On a very memorable and stormy day last summer I had the good fortune of visiting the museum with a waterlogged group of campers, and it was a highlight of our trip. Filled with dinosaur skeletons, geological samples that explain the complex history of the Connecticut River Valley, as well as the worlds largest collection of dinosaur tracks (all from the valley), this is a place to spend hours exploring the areas natural history.

Admission is free, but the hours are limited; visit their website to learn more.

I couldn’t agree more with Jeremiah Anthony’s classmates: he is an inspiration.

Taking the simple idea of challenging bullying with compliments, he has affected his entire high school and created an environment of positivity that impacts students of all ages.

So many of us, including myself, have experienced bullying at some point in our lives. So, it’s heartwarming to know that, in addition to Adventure In, Adventure Out’s You Belong program, there are other individuals, organizations, and schools working to counteract the destructiveness of bullying.

To check out West Side Bros on Twitter go here, and visit our site to learn more about our You Belong anti-bullying program.