The Adventure Syndicate Podcasts

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP6 Maxine Geary

In this episode I chat to Maxine Geary, a holistic lifestyle lifestyle coach. Maxine shares her experience of transitioning from predominantly exercising indoors to discovering the outdoors and the joys of trail running, cycling, hiking and wild swimming. We discuss how the outdoors offers a different type of fitness and provides many more benefits to typical gym based exercise. We also talk about the value of finding groups of like minded individuals to plan adventures with and how adventuring outdoors helped her process hair loss following illness. Maxine also shares how she tackled the fears she has faced with the different challenges she has undertaken. Finally, Maxine talks about how she aims to combine her love for the outdoors with her holistic lifestyle coaching business, joyful living, with the hope that she can help other people also experience the benefits of spending time outdoors and having adventures.

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP5 Beth Thomas

On this podcast I chat to Beth Thomas. A yoga teacher, mental health professional and trustee for the charity Mind Over Mountains. We have some really great conversations about mental health and the power of nature and yoga in the recovery process, as well as helping us manage fear and anxiety. We talk about how she has felt strongly connected to nature throughout her life and the foundations for this being laid in her younger years. We then talk about the impact of feeling less connected during a period of illness in her teens. Beth tells us about the charity Mind Over Mountains and the work they are doing to help people with mental health difficulties benefit from spending time outdoors. We then talk about the adventures Beth had while travelling and the impact that returning home had on her own mental health.. We discuss the importance of yoga and spending time in nature in helping her feel better, as well as the value of talking therapies.

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP4 Kate O’Brien

Conversations with Dr Jen is a podcast exploring how spending time outdoors and having adventures has help people overcome different challenges in their lives. It’s about promoting the health benefits of the outdoors, drawing on theory and personal experience and inspiring people to find adventures of their own. No matter how big or small.

In this episode, Dr Jen interviews Kate O'Brien, Project Manager for Outward Bound and Expedition Coordinator for The Adventure Syndicate. Kate is currently working on the Generation Green Project which seeks to improve nature connection for young people, primarily through looking at the 5 pathways to nature connection discussed in the Podcast.  

Kate also tells us about the Overnight on a School Night programme which she runs for The Adventure Syndicate as well as the wilderness therapy programmes she works on. We talk about the tendency for young females to drop out of sport in their teenage years and the value of engaging them with the outdoors and sport through an overnight bikepacking expedition. We also talk about the value of wilderness therapy for young people with mental health difficulties and the transformative effects of nature and the wilderness. Kate shares some stories of the transformations she has witnessed as well as some of the tribulations and gives you some tips for planning your own adventure.

Hosted and edited by Jenni Myers, founder of The Nature Mind, an online ecotherapy resource.

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP3 Emily Greaves

Conversations with Dr Jen is a podcast exploring how spending time outdoors and having adventures has help people overcome different challenges in their lives. It’s about promoting the health benefits of the outdoors, drawing on theory and personal experience and inspiring people to find adventures of their own. No matter how big or small.

In this month’s podcast Jen chats with one of The Adventure Syndicate’s regional coordinators Emily Greaves. Emily shares some of the highs and lows of raising a family who seek adventure. She talks about some of the pressures teens face to fit in and how this can impact upon young peoples participation in the outdoors, as well as the key life skills which they can learn from becoming independent in the outdoors.

Emily also tells us some heart warming and entertaining stories of some of her family's adventures. There's also an appearance from her daughter Jas, who tells us a little about her experience of adventuring as a family. Emily also gives some great advice for anyone thinking about starting a family but might be nervous about what that means for their adventurous lifestyle.

Hosted and edited by Jenni Myers, founder of The Nature Mind, an online ecotherapy resource.

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP2 Jessie Stevens

Conversations with Dr Jen is a podcast exploring how spending time outdoors and having adventures has help people overcome different challenges in their lives. It’s about promoting the health benefits of the outdoors, drawing on theory and personal experience and inspiring people to find adventures of their own. No matter how big or small.

In this podcast I'm talking to Jessie Stevens, a youth climate activist and founder of the movement People, Pedal, Power. We discuss Jessie's experience of climate anxiety and how spending time outdoors and going on adventures helps her process her fears towards the future of the planet. She also shares stories from her recent 570 mile ride to COP26 and the ups and downs she experienced along the way. We also discuss the accessibility of adventure for young people and the pressures of being a teenager, where it's not always cool to go out and get muddy.

Hosted and edited by Jenni Myers, founder of The Nature Mind, an online ecotherapy resource.

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP1 Natasha Barlow

Conversations with Dr Jen is a podcast exploring how spending time outdoors and having adventures has help people overcome different challenges in their lives. It’s about promoting the health benefits of the outdoors, drawing on theory and personal experience and inspiring people to find adventures of their own. No matter how big or small. Hosted by Jenni Myers, founder of The Nature Mind, an online ecotherapy resource, and Adventure Syndicate Regional Coordinator.

This weeks episode introduces Natasha Barlow, a Associate Professor in Geosciences who shares her experience of recovering from Long Covid. We discuss how the ability to get outdoors and go for a walk was critical in helping her feel normal again. We talk about different perceptions of endurance and adventure and how this changes, especially when recovering from illness or injury and rebuilding fitness. Natasha shares how her experience of Long Covid has helped her to appreciate the small things, being able to get out, be in nature and have adventure.

We also discuss mindfulness and the similarities this has with the restorative effects of nature and it’s benefit to our mental health. I introduce the Attention Restoration Theory and explain how spending time meditating outdoors can enhance the benefits of both meditation and spending time in nature. This leads us to exploring perceptions of what nature is and the tendency to see ourselves as separate from nature. We discuss how adventure is often described as going in to nature and how changing our perception of our place within nature may change our relationship with it.

If you would be interested in being interviewed about your experiences of using the outdoors and adventure to help you overcome different challenges in your life please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

 

Brought to you by:

@adventuresynd

@adventures_of_drjen

@the_nature_mind

Conversations with Dr Jen - EP0 Introduction

Conversations with Dr Jen is a podcast exploring how spending time outdoors and having adventures has help people overcome different challenges in their lives. It’s about promoting the health benefits of the outdoors, drawing on theory and personal experience and inspiring people to find adventures of their own. No matter how big or small.

 

Hosted and edited by Jenni Myers, founder of The Nature Mind, an online ecotherapy resource.