My first day was spent at the Boots 'n' Paddles main office at Cabrich near Inverness. There I met with, Mike Dunthorne, the owner of the two companies I will be working for over the next six weeks. He gave me a quick tour around the office before briefing me on his expectations and the thinking behind agreeing to my placement.
Mike outlined my main tasks; firstly to help create teacher resources for use by school groups visiting the TreeZone aerial assault course which is based on the Rothiemurchus estate near Aviemore. Second to train as a TreeZone instructor and finally to experience some of the other activities that the Boots 'n' Paddles side of the business provide. Mike told me that one of the motivations behind the teacher packs was that many of the teachers felt that the TreeZone experience was quite short. They had asked about further activities that might extend a school group's time at the centre. He felt that providing teacher resources and creating some other activities that could be done on-site at TreeZone would add value to the experience.
I spent most of my first day continuing my research into resources available from other outdoor providers. This was in preparation for my initial meeting with the TreeZone manager Chris Ellison, with whom I would be working directly on the educational activities and resources. Mike also discussed all the different groups they work with, these range from school and youth groups to corporate team-building events and hen and stag parties. He also discussed the roots of his business incuding his time as a senior instructor at another local activity centre. Mike has a real passsion for the outdoors and was very knowledgeable about the Curriculum for Excellence guidelines on outdoor learning. From the conversation I had with him I could tell that this was more than just a business enterprise and that he had a genuine interest in the positive impact outdoor experiences can have on people.
I also had a chance to meet Alison who dealt with much of the administrative and booking side of Boots 'n' Paddles as well as Phil and Jon, two of the instructors working for Mike (it was actually Phil's first day as well). Jon showed me around the store and discussed the huge variety of activities that Boots 'n' Paddles had to offer. This included raft-building, mountain-biking, white-water sleds, archery, open-boating, kayaking, hill-walking, gorge-walking, abseiling, rock climbing, mini-highland games and even inflatable hamster ball type things for running about in on the water. Jon seemed very enthused about the range of activities provided and told me Mike was always open to new ideas.
I felt very welcome at Boots 'n' Paddles and I look forward to meeting Chris and his team down at TreeZone and working with them over the next few days.
Mike outlined my main tasks; firstly to help create teacher resources for use by school groups visiting the TreeZone aerial assault course which is based on the Rothiemurchus estate near Aviemore. Second to train as a TreeZone instructor and finally to experience some of the other activities that the Boots 'n' Paddles side of the business provide. Mike told me that one of the motivations behind the teacher packs was that many of the teachers felt that the TreeZone experience was quite short. They had asked about further activities that might extend a school group's time at the centre. He felt that providing teacher resources and creating some other activities that could be done on-site at TreeZone would add value to the experience.
I spent most of my first day continuing my research into resources available from other outdoor providers. This was in preparation for my initial meeting with the TreeZone manager Chris Ellison, with whom I would be working directly on the educational activities and resources. Mike also discussed all the different groups they work with, these range from school and youth groups to corporate team-building events and hen and stag parties. He also discussed the roots of his business incuding his time as a senior instructor at another local activity centre. Mike has a real passsion for the outdoors and was very knowledgeable about the Curriculum for Excellence guidelines on outdoor learning. From the conversation I had with him I could tell that this was more than just a business enterprise and that he had a genuine interest in the positive impact outdoor experiences can have on people.
I also had a chance to meet Alison who dealt with much of the administrative and booking side of Boots 'n' Paddles as well as Phil and Jon, two of the instructors working for Mike (it was actually Phil's first day as well). Jon showed me around the store and discussed the huge variety of activities that Boots 'n' Paddles had to offer. This included raft-building, mountain-biking, white-water sleds, archery, open-boating, kayaking, hill-walking, gorge-walking, abseiling, rock climbing, mini-highland games and even inflatable hamster ball type things for running about in on the water. Jon seemed very enthused about the range of activities provided and told me Mike was always open to new ideas.
I felt very welcome at Boots 'n' Paddles and I look forward to meeting Chris and his team down at TreeZone and working with them over the next few days.