Ambleside, Lake District
Ambleside, located in the heart of the Lake District at the head of Lake Windermere, is a small town surrounded by mountains—making it an ideal setting for hands-on learning in nature. It’s widely known as a hub for outdoor education, offering easy access to hiking trails, field studies, and environmental learning experiences for students and educators alike.
Dr Jamie Mcphie is an Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities and Social Science, Course Leader for the MA Outdoor and Experiential Learning degree, and the research lead for the Human-Nature Relations theme as part of the Centre for National Parks and Protected areas (CNPPA) at the University of Cumbria, UK.
Jamie had hosted Anna for one week in Ambleside during the module The Reflexive Practitioner, which he is leading.
In this module, Jamie combines research and practice in critical outdoor learning, and invites his students not only to grow into reflexive practitioners, as the title suggests, but also to connect theory with their own experiences, as many of them already work—or plan to work—in the field of outdoor education.
Jamie had hosted Anna for one week in Ambleside during the module The Reflexive Practitioner, which he is leading.
In this module, Jamie combines research and practice in critical outdoor learning, and invites his students not only to grow into reflexive practitioners, as the title suggests, but also to connect theory with their own experiences, as many of them already work—or plan to work—in the field of outdoor education.
"Death by PowerPoint"
On this day, students engaged with relevant theoretical concepts (implicit bias, diffraction, Sublime, nature-culture binary) and came to understand that a lecture in a classroom (e.g., with help of PowerPoint slides) can also constitute experiential learning.
Here, Anna introduced herself and couldn’t resist reflecting on the futures of the world, backed up by a near life-threatening number of PowerPoint slides.
Here, Anna introduced herself and couldn’t resist reflecting on the futures of the world, backed up by a near life-threatening number of PowerPoint slides.
The transformational experience of coming out of Plato’s (Rydal's) Cave.
Jamie took us to a Rydal Cave to engage with "Plato’s Cave" activity. Plato’s Cave is a metaphor about how people often mistake appearances for reality, seeing only shadows of the truth until they step outside their limited perspective. It got us thinking about how everyone sits in their own little cave where they watch their favorite shadows and call them “truth.” And honestly, who knows, maybe even the philosopher outside is just showing his own cave's viewpoint.
The Sublime, the rainbow and the cow interested in Jamie's rucksack
On Wednesday, we drove to Claife Heights to explore the ideas of the Sublime and the Picturesque, and how, in earlier times, people would sometimes faint while gazing at the majestic (awesome/awful) vistas. At some point, we saw a fantastic rainbow in the viewing spot. Jamie asked everyone "Where is the rainbow?", which apparently wasn't everywhere, or in our eyes. In fact, it was in the collection of things (as Andy, one of the students, thoughtfully noticed) or in the assemblage, as Deleuze and Guattari put it. While we talked about the Sublime, a cow quietly approached, drawn by Jamie’s rucksack. It felt like a lovely reminder that curiosity isn’t a human monopoly.
Grizedale-forest walk & talk, and "What does it do?" question
During our walk in the forest, we came across Andy Goldsworthy’s A Wall That Went for a Walk - a twisting, mossy stone wall that seems to walk/move on its own. It messes with your sense of perspective; trees appear to swap sides depending on where you stand. Jamie invited us to think about what the wall actually does to us, and whether it is solely a wall, as an object, or more so it is a multispecies assemblage in the making. After a few days together, students knew that “just a wall” was never going to be the right answer :) We later visited another art object - a room in the forest - and together discussed "What does it do to us?" question, with some thoughtful ideas popping up.
The countermapping lines
The task invited students to expand their perspective of Ambleside by adding onto the framed map-like acetates 1–3 visible (material) or invisible (conceptual) lines that shape the place but are often missing from traditional maps. Students added a short legend to each line explaining its meaning and it was later discussed in relation to power, exclusion, and belonging. Finally, all acetates were combined to reveal the diverse ways human and more-than-human lives are affected by/through these lines and how the place might be reimagined toward multispecies well-being. E.g. among lines were aircon trails, bird call from the hills, fairy lights, a line of closed shops after 5pm or town boundary.
Presentations Day
On this day, some students presented their finished projects developed during the week, while others shared ideas still in progress and received feedback to help polish their work. Although only a month into the programme, the students demonstrated a strong understanding of the problematics of dualisms, the need to recognise the multiple privileges we, as practitioners, are part of, and the importance of deconstructing the anthropocentric hierarchies often present in education.
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Noticing is a change.
Example of a countermapping line Anna gave to students. As it rains in Oulu, many worms appear on the paths, and countless of them end up crushed by people walking or cycling, often without even noticing. The photo shows one worm finding its way through a small crack-line. What if paths with such tiny cracks were seen as gestures of care? Could roads be intentionally built to include cracks like these?
