Taking a Breath: A purposeful walk in the woods
One sunny day this September, my friend, Judith Tolley and I ran our first woodland metafari. This event was designed to facilitate exploration, reflection and connection. It took place in a beautiful woodland setting with a team of twelve from a London university as our participants.
After the introductions and welcome the participants moved in a woodland meditation, to induce a state of relaxation and alignment with nature.
Woodland Meditation
“Meditation was a great way to start the day”
Refreshed by the meditation, they moved onto a structured metafari walk. This took them on a winding trail of seven key woodland features. At each waypoint, Judith talked about the ecology of the forest, and participants were encouraged to reflect metaphorically on the ecology of their organization, stimulated by provocative questions.
On the metafari
“I learnt a lot about forest systems, which I really enjoyed applying to the work context”
The honeysuckle legacy
Looking, thinking, sharing
“The forest analogy has given me some additional reassuring insights into positive approaches to change”
“Judith would speak very passionately about how she knows the land, and Sarah would have an interesting translation to consider”
Illuminating a metaphor
We experientially explored perspectives within a system
Exploring perspectives
Overall the event was very positively received.
“I connected with colleagues in a way we never usually have time for
I particularly enjoyed that fact that the brief was not to produce a specific outcome.
Taking staff out of their usual setting and opening up the opportunity to chat without barriers was priceless’
The day was extremely enjoyable and had a very positive effect on my mood and general wellbeing
”
Towards the end of the event participants co-created a ‘found objects’ collage which enabled participants to express and connect their experiences of the day.
co-creating a collage account of the event
“Would love to have spent more time working on the collective collage”
“The M School Woodland Safari was a brilliant opportunity to step away from the pace of everyday life at CSM and create some genuine space to think together. Being in a completely different environment encouraged fresh conversations, new connections and a different perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead. What I valued most was the sense of collective energy and openness across the group. We came away with stronger connections, fresh thinking and a renewed sense of our shared responsibility for shaping the future of M School. Judith and Sarah created just the right balance of reflection, challenge and conversation, helping us look at familiar questions in new ways. And, remarkably, nobody got lost in the woods.”
All is all, we feel we achieved proof of concept with this pilot. In addition the feedback included valuable suggestions that will allow us to improve the next iteration.
We are considering offering this on a commercial basis next year as a ‘A Woodland Metafari’ for teams of up to 12 people. There are challenges, particularly the location and the vagaries of weather. However, the enthusiastic response of this first group to the experience it has encouraged us to ‘find a way’.
Please contact us here, if you think this might be an experience your team could benefit from in the future.