Chris, Lisa and Phil discuss a concept that is a large part of High 5 trainings and also features in some of our books; The Thinking Practitioner. It can be applied to both challenge course operation as well as adventure activities and leads to more confident and competent practitioners.

Hutch Hutchinson (Senior Lecturer at Boston University Questrom School of Business) shares his road to working in Experiential Education, his love of the AEE community and the history of Outdoor Education based on his dissertation "Crafting an Outdoor Classroom: The Nineteenth Century Roots of the Outdoor Education Movement".

Katherine Conway (AMIGOS) discusses the importance of experiencing different cultures, conflict resolution strategies and gap year programming.

Find more about AMIGOS here: amigosinternational.org

In this episode Phil discusses the 4 primary neurochemicals that elicit happiness; Endorphins, Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin, as well as activities that you can use with your participants to help participants experience them.

Disclaimer: Phil is not a neuroscientist.

In this special episode we reached out to educators and asked them "What Inspired You To Become An Educator?" This is an inspirational and moving compilation of some of their responses. Thank you to all educators!

Ross (Hulbert Outdoor Center) sat down with Phil to discuss the "magic" of working in outdoor education, making an impact on clients and relating to the mission of the organizations you work for.

Learn more about Hulbert here: https://alohafoundation.org/hulbert/

In this episode Phil reads a blog he wrote back in 2018 titled "Finding Pinecones" which highlights the importance of being flexible with your agenda, reading your group's needs and enjoying the small moments.

Scott, founder and CEO of the Children's Mental Health Network discusses the importance of advocacy and connection, gives some advice to educators regarding student mental health and shares what gives him hope for the future of child and family services.

You can find more about CMHN and Scott here: cmhnetwork.org

Welcome to Vertical Playpen! The podcast all about Adventure and Experiential Education! Join us as we interview experts in our field and give tips and advice utilizing our decades of experience. If you are an educator in any way, this is the podcast for you. Thanks for listening!

Michelle joins Phil (while at the ACCT conference) to discuss how she got her start in experiential education, the importance of making connections and her parenting advice on coping with a world full of screens.

Find her website full of resources here: training-wheels.com