Adventure Program Philosophy

At Beech Cliff, we recognize the history of adventure programming and choose to utilize adventure as a way for people to interact with their surrounding environments, chart the uncharted territory within them selves, live with wonder and search out answers, acquire outdoor skills, tools for leadership, and experience life in a way which defies description. We believe these benefits outweigh the value of any gold or incense that we might find along the way.

By virtue of functioning in a group setting, skills related to outdoor living, problem solving, conflict resolution, risk assessment and leading will be developed. The ability to see animal tracks and sign, identify plants and develop an appreciation for the wild places we travel in will be nurtured as a result of interacting with our surrounding environments. Learning cooking skills, camp site selection, “bear bagging” food, crossing rivers and Leave No Trace principles of minimum impact travel and camping are just a few of the areas where learning might occur.

As with all the journeys we facilitate, we practice our belief that establishing an atmosphere of physical and emotional safety is key in setting participants up to see the natural world around them with wonder, understanding, respect and to work and communicate with themselves and others in an effective, peaceful way. It is through these avenues that we wish to create opportunities for people to become more effective, responsible members of the natural & modern communities they are a part of.

Learning: We believe that any person can grow, at any age, at any time of year. This portion of our philosophy is mirrored in the fact that we have recently opened our doors to include year round programming with opportunities for ages 6 to 96. You will find that our facilitators embody our belief in life long learning while they are working with groups. We are constantly learning and feel that the process of learning is worth embracing and even worth celebrating. OK, so maybe we are just looking for an excuse to get excited, but why not get excited about learning? Learning can be an adventure into yourself, into the way other people think and experiences they have had; an adventure into the woods or down a river; and adventure in tracking a rabbit over a sphagnum moss bed or figuring out how to cook dinner or how much dinner to cook. We find that learning and growth is around every corner if you look for it.

Growth, is a word that we use frequently here. However, we feel that it is important to also embrace “who you are” and live in the moment as well. To be at peace with yourself and demonstrate full value for your self today while at the same time fully embracing those parts of you that you may be ready to “grow out of” is a balance sometimes challenging to find. When you are faced with a challenge, how do you know whether to face it or run the other way?

Challenge is another word that we use frequently. We believe that challenge and the art of stepping out of our “comfort zone”, into our “growth zone” and then becoming “comfortable” with the uneasiness you may feel there. This can create certain levels of stress. Good stress. We are often familiar with “distress” and associate all feelings of “stress”, whether it be good stress or bad stress, with distress. Sweaty palms, increased heart rate, shallow breathing, butterflies in the stomach, and other feelings of uneasiness can all be signs of “good stress”. If facilitated correctly, benefits of working through feelings such as these include increased self confidence, increased self value, character building, leadership development and other skill developments that prepare our character for challenges throughout life.

In all Adventure Programs at Camp Beech Cliff activities, we ask participants to, in some way, step outside of their comfort zone and into their growth zone. Exactly what the comfort zone is varies from person to person. Some individuals may be comfortable hiking 12 miles per day and staying in the backcountry for days on end and defecating in the woods. Others may be stepping outside of their comfort zone simply by signing up to go on a trip that hikes 5 miles per day and has privies located at the lean-to each night. In any case, the individual in the later example would be demonstrating huge amounts of courage and inner strength to put themselves in that situation. Since we all have different boundaries to our zones, we need to try and recognize and commend others when they step outside of their comfort zone and accomplish something that you may have not thought twice about doing.

At all times, our programs are “challenge by choice”. This means participants remain empowered at all times to say “no” if they feel that they are in their personal “danger zone”. This choice is respected because we want for people to begin to know what their limits are. When a choice like this is made we talk to the person and figure out how they can still participate in a way that would allow them to be in their growth zone or comfort zone and not their danger zone.

Environmental Sustainability

We will govern our programs in a way that preserves the integrity, stability and beauty of natural, social and cultural environments without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Personal Sustainability

In all programs, we will strive to promote physical, cognitive and emotional health and will be unconditional advocates for all people…..including ourselves.

Community Sustainability

We are in pursuit of providing opportunities for members of the human race to interact with, connect with and appreciate all living and non-living communities.