Outdoor Facilitation: Basic Skills & Foundations
About this Course
This journey is a professional starting point for anyone taking responsibility for groups outdoors. It combines essential facilitation skills with basic outdoor awareness and strong self‑management — so you can guide learning processes that are safe, ethical, and meaningful.
Throughout the course, we will explore key questions:
How do people learn and grow — individually and in groups — and what does this mean for my role as a youth outdoor leader and facilitator?
How can I safely and meaningfully design, facilitate, and hold learning processes in outdoor and nature-based settings?
How do I communicate, lead, and respond effectively — including feedback, emotions, and conflict — across diverse group situations?
Iterations
Contents
Key themes include:
How people learn (children, adolescents, adults) and what this means for outdoor learning
Roles & ethics: facilitator vs. trainer vs. coach
Core facilitation skills: session structure, process guidance, powerful questions, holding space
Communication tools: active listening, nonviolent communication, feedback & feedforward
Group development: phases, group energy, inclusion, and adapting your facilitation style
Basics of conflict awareness and de-escalation
Outdoor safety awareness: risk perception, group safety mindset, basic field routines
Self‑care and self‑management for facilitators (grounding, boundaries, resilience)
Structure
This is a 8-day, 7-night residential journey designed to immerse you in learning, facilitation, and outdoor education, combining theory, hands-on practice, and personal experience in a nature-based setting.
Each day follows a rhythmic yet flexible structure, typically including:
Morning check-ins to arrive, connect with oneself and the group, and set intentions for the day
Nature-based experiential learning to explore leadership, communication, and group processes through direct outdoor experience
Facilitation input sessions providing practical tools, models, and insights into learning theory, group dynamics, and facilitation processes
Guided group work and practice sessions to apply facilitation skills, communication tools, and outdoor methodologies in real situations
Reflection and feedback rounds to deepen understanding, integrate learning, and practice feedback and feedforward
Evening circles and story-sharing to reflect on experiences, process emotions, and strengthen group connection and trust
The program follows a flexible, outdoor-oriented structure that adapts to the natural environment, group development phases, and weather conditions. This approach allows learning to emerge organically, supports responsiveness as a facilitator, and mirrors real-life conditions of outdoor leadership and educational program delivery.
Throughout the training, you continuously move between experience, reflection, conceptual input, and application, building confidence to design, facilitate, and evaluate outdoor learning processes in a safe, responsible, and meaningful way.
Prerequisites
You are a good fit if you:
Age: 18+ years old
Want to work with groups in outdoor & experiential settings
Are open to reflection, practice, and receiving feedback
Can join the entire journey and all learning days
Have basic fitness and feel comfortable spending full days outdoors
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Outdoor Facilitation: Basic Skills & Foundations
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About the Organizer
YEP Academy
YEP is a catalyst to foster personal growth and sustainable living mindset.
We are here to increase your awareness of yourself, others, and nature.
We are using Nature as a Learning Field, referring to the concept of using the natural environment as a setting for education and learning.
YEP Academy is driven by a team of diverse individuals who have a passion for nature, outdoor activities, and empowerment.
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Dates
Dates
890 $
Mar 14 – 21, 2026