Chapter 4

Y18+, but if the preparation is done well, you can include even younger participants

90 minutes is a recommendation. You can adjust the length of time, if necessary and if the route requires it.

Envelopes with roles for participants. Hiking packages for participants with water, snacks and other needed requisites.

Activity should be organized in nature, preferably at already marked hiking path which should be familiar to facilitators.

Activity is done in a form of hiking. During the walk through nature participants are getting various tasks they have to fulfill. Tasks are formulated in a way that they can be resolved only through collaboration.

Choose the route that is moderatly challenging for your group. Tell your participants to put on the right gear for hiking (meaning comfortable and warm clothes if needed and shoes for walking). This activity should be implemented by at least two experienced facilitators.

Step 1 – Start by explaining the safety measures that everyone should have in mind during the activity. Share with your participants the tips for their safe journey and agree not to take unnecessary risks during the activity. Tell the group what the final point of the route is and advise that no one leaves the group during the walk.

Step 2– Share the papers with roles to your participants. Give them several minutes to understand and accept their roles: deaf person, person with learning difficulties, blind person. The roles are public to other members and the group can be informed about them. Not everyone in the group has a role.

Give the list of tasks to your participants:

1. You should decide about the order in line in which you will walk till the end of the task.
2. You should choose the leader of the group and somebody that should be your Negotiator. Leader will coordinate the group, and Negotiator will have a role to negotiate the change of the route with facilitators is needed and other changes during the activity that the group agrees about. One more role you have to choose is Timekeeper to tell when to implement which task.
3. At the 15 minute of the route you should start singing a song that the group agreed about as the inspiration for the march. Everyone should sing or contribute by making sounds with improvised instruments.
4. At the 30 minute of the route you should stop and make the highest tower you can with natural waste you will find in the woods.
5. At the 50 minute of the route play “I spy with my little eye…” in the group
6. Somebody from the group should walk backwards for 5 minutes after 70 minutes of the walk.
7. Facilitator will give you the final task at the spot at the 80 minute of the route.

Several participants should get secret tasks.

Task 1: Every time somebody gives a proposal you should complain about it and disagree.

Task 2: Every 5 minutes complain about the route and insist on going back.

Add another one: ????

You should rearrange the tasks to fit your needs but make them challenging.

As the final task you could tell your participants to walk slowly for several minutes/ walk on one foot/ try to close one eye for several minutes/ or anything that will make their walk little uncomfortable.

After asking your participants how this whole experience was for them try to find out about their impressions about their contribution and about the whole group performances.

Ask participants are they satisfied with their leaders and their work.

Did the negotiator had a hard task and was the timekeeper good in his/hers prformances?

Are they satisfied with their contribution?

How was it for the people with special roles in the group?

Did they manage well and did they got the needed support from the group?

Were there any other participants that were influencing the group dynamics and task implementation?

Share with your participants some inputs about the time management hints reflecting on how they managed to respond to the given timeframe.