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What the experts say say

Tim Jepson (retired) was a trainer of teachers of
outdoor and adventure education.

The list of people whom he has taught and inspired as successful teachers and
leaders in the sector is phenomenal, and in outdoor circles his name is short-hand for
the highly influential course that he led.

Which adventure activities are you What have been the highlights of your
involved in, and how did you get to work, and what are the key motivations?
where you are now? Although I have had many, wonderful
My main areas are: mountaineering; rock- adventures shared with energetic and
climbing; kayaking and skiing. My interest enthusiastic trainee teachers, the true
began with my father and developed at motivation for keeping going has come later
university. I trained to be a Geography and when those trainees becomes teachers and
Outdoor Activities teacher and worked as an tell you of the adventures they are having
instructor at the National Mountaineering with their own pupils. That's true fulfilment!
Centre, Plas y Brenin. In my later career I
lectured in Education at Bangor University. What do you think the future holds for
adventure education?
What skills do you think are most valuable The need for adventure education to impact
to an adventure education practitioner? on young people's lives will never diminish.
An adventure education practitioner needs Adventurous experiences, physical, social
to be able to read people's emotions from and environmental, will become more
body language, facial expression, voice tone important as our lives become increasingly
and group interaction. They also need to be technical, hectic and uncertain.
supportive of individuals throughout a range
of emotional responses to adventurous What has adventure education taught
situations, and be creative in finding ways to you about yourself?
modify adventures in order to best meet To be open-minded and to never make
changing circumstances. assumptions - I'm still working on both
of those!
What did you personally hold as
core principles in your work in Tim Jepson
adventure education?
Learning to work towards outcomes which
are uncertain is good practice for life;
adventure is a process not an outcome;
each adventure is unique to the individual
who experiences it; adventures shared with
other people are richer than those you have
on your own; the outdoors is a great place to
have adventures, but you can have
adventures anywhere; lessons are learnt
from adventures, whether the adventurer
recognises them or not; adventures are best
when initiated by the adventurers.

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