Ten Reasons to Re-wild Yourself

People ask me “So what is re-wilding and why would you do it to yourself?”

To help answer that question I have put together an infographic with 10 reasons to Re-wild Yourself and some fantastic quotes.  As a start re-wilding is just spending more time aware and part of nature.  There are some great references on the web documenting all the benefits for our health and wellbeing this can bring (e.g. compiled by the BBC and The Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing).  And there is more.  Re-wilding can bring about profound changes in you and in the culture around you.  The more you tune into the patterns of nature the more you will discover about yourself and find new approaches and paths for your life.  Your Re-wild journey will be unique for you but there are techniques and activities that can help you on the way and guides that can support you.

Rewilding is not going back in time to cave “man” days nor cutting yourself off from society; it is tapping into a great source of joy and inspiration, hard lessons and comfort and so much more.  It is about living fully today and being part of making a saner world that means more of us can flourish.

You can download the full infographic here: re-wild 10 reasons

If you want to explore what re-wilding could mean for you get in touch with me, Liana.

 

Liana

Re-wild your Grown Up

In July 2016 I piloted a new family outing experience called Re-wild your Grown-Up.  I was so chuffed to read this write up about the work:

“On a cold rainy day a brave crew of kids rugged up their grown-ups and bought them along to Queen Elizabeth park to teach them how to be wild again. Under the guidance of Liana Stupples kids showed their grown-ups how to play in the outdoors and enjoy nature. Both kids and adults enjoyed reconnecting with their senses, moving quietly along bush paths and creating nests to have some time alone in nature.
Liana was an enchanting leader of both kids and grown-ups. It was an invigorating afternoon, with everyone leaving with smiles and wild sparkles in their eyes”.

Thanks to all the organisers and participants including Kapiti Coast District Council’s Number 8 Wire Week.

Contact me if you would like me to run a Re-wild your Grown-up session near you.

Extraordinary Facilitation

 

EXTRAORDINARY

Extraordinary facilitation

tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/extraordinary-facilitation-tickets-26912731705

 

A Two day Bootcamp for emerging facilitators and leaders

Master techniques outside the ordinary: from Outdoor Adventure, Community Building, Creative Innovation, Ecopsychology and more

This intense and dynamic training course is a fantastic way to develop extraordinary skills in effective facilitation and leadership so that you can be more engaging and bring about deeper change for the people you work with.

 

Who is it for?

The course is for people who have already started facilitating or leading groups of people and who are hungry to branch out and try more effective techniques and ideas from outside the box.  This course will expose you to dozens of new tactics and give you are chance to hone your skills in a fun and supportive setting.

 

Learning Outcomes

 

During this course, participants will:

 

  • Deepen their understanding of the ideas behind facilitation and participatory leadership
  • Develop a bigger tool kit of practical techniques and skills and the strategies to collate them to make facilitation more effective
  • Experience dozens of common and uncommon facilitation techniques including:
    • Working in non-office settings to achieve more impact
    • Honing skills in supporting innovation and creativity
    • Developing greater self-mastery in tricky or challenging situations
    • Dealing with controversial issues and divergent perspectives
    • Developing a wider repertoire non-verbal communication skills
  • Try out new techniques for themselves and receive feedback
  • Reflect on your own personal strengths and receive coaching to boost your unique and effective style
  • Develop your own follow up action plan

 

Who runs it?

Your guide is Liana Stupples a facilitator with over 20 years international experience.  Liana has drawn from her diverse work co-ordinating everything from international human rights campaigns, community engagement for controversial resource management issues, national social innovation projects, youth going on outdoor adventures to community singing and distilled the most powerful and extraordinary facilitation techniques for you.

She has worked for all sectors including business, government and not for profit and understands the challenges of good leadership and facilitation in each.  She has trained an equally wide range of people from international diplomats, to woman in prison.

Liana somehow helps you feel relaxed and open to new experiences; she will stick beside you as you challenge yourself. She can find the playful side of most things and she commits to bringing an engaging energy as well as sensitive facilitation skills to every event she runs.  Despite the fun she is serious about building the capacity of people and organisations to tackle the real and the tough stuff. That is why she has been curious all her life about how to better facilitate and lead and wants you to practically benefit from this insight.

For more information see liana.kiwi.nz

 

What you get for your money

Two days training in a fantastic central venue including time outside

Fully catered lunch and refreshments

Full handbook of techniques and tips

Free follow up coaching session and peer support forum

 

One off Introductory Pricing

Waged/for profit or government organisations $450

students/unwaged/not for profits $250

early bird discount $50 off if book by August 31

 

 

Youth and Loving Nature

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Fossicking Find on Kapiti island Grandma Crayfish Shell

I spend a lot of time taking young people out into nature, mostly the local kids and scouts.  It could be a full weekend camp or just a night picnic in a local forest.  I do this because I really believe that helping kids know in their bodies the pleasure of being outside will be something that can be with them for the rest of their lives.  Oh and because its an excuse for me to get out too!

Kids and Teens need unstructured, off-line “play” for healthy mental and physical development.  More and more research is emerging about this;  as explained for example, in The Washington Post‘s recent article “Ten ways to help kids fall in love with being outside”.

Here are a three winners from me for all ages:

  • Any version of a hide and seek game – we have an ever morphing game called Mouse and  Karearea which involves being super stealthy and quiet and then intense moments of action, using all the senses and diving head first into bushes.  It always ends with “can we play again?”
  • A mini night solo – sitting on a track spaced about 10 m apart in silence and with your torch off just listening and looking and feeling then sharing about the experience after.  It always grounds and brings more cohesion to a group of kids.
  • Unstructured fossicking – encouraging young people wherever we are to look out for interesting nature things and to celebrate and ask questions about what we find; a dead jellyfish, poo!, a crayfish shell. This encourages curiosity and learning and builds confidence and wonder.

Right, off to organise a midwinter swim….

 

Liana

 

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Nothing beats mucking about in the river!

Nature Sounds on Song Camp

It was a real priveledge to work with Carol Shortis on her Women's song camp in January.  We spent a weekend at Waiohanga lodge in wonderful company singing, eating great food, swimming in the river and doing a weed walk.  I helped run an evening singing session amongst the trees and ran a few non singing challenges as well; group juggling and tightrope walking no less!

 

outdoor adventures and nature connection on song campDSC06450

 

The highlight for me was leading a sounds of nature session where we first tuned into listening to each other to solve a knotty rope problem and then a relaxing and focussing experience in listening to nature and then walking through nature together in silence.  We all noticed so much more and when we broke our silence and talked together afterwards about our experience, many said how moving that was for them.

Thanks Carol and Juli for including me.