First Time Facilitator

Connecting, empowering and leading groups in the outdoors with Phil Brown (Episode 161)

Feb 21, 2021

39:17

When did I realise I loved talking about group dynamics? When I was 16, at a netball camp, we did a team-building high ropes course together.

Btw - I hate high ropes, but I loved the debriefing part afterwards!

The reason I share this, is because this week’s guest Phil Brown works for an adventure company called High 5 Adventure, and he joined the High 5 team as a lead trainer in 2015.

Phil will get you thinking about a lot of things:

What happens when we graduate from being a first time facilitator, where’s the career progression?

How do we define what we do to people who are outside our industry?

And he also shares a really great way of explaining work related to teams, and breaking these into three categories: Team bonding, team building and team development. Clever!

Originally from England, Phil first came to the US in 2008 working as an Outdoor Educator and Challenge Course Coordinator at the New York YMCA Camp. It was here that his love for the Adventure Education field was ignited, discovering the joy and rewards playing and teaching inside and out alongside such a varied range of people, all who benefit from the experience.

His work in the realms of summer camp, outdoor education, and physical education give him an invaluable perspective for working with of High 5’s varied clientele.

Phil believes that each experience with every group member is a learning opportunity for him, no matter who he’s working with. He also has a podcast called Vertical Playpen, sharing tips on adventure and experiential learning.

Connect with Phil Brown!

Email Phil at pbrown@high5adventure.org
Visit High 5’s website
Listen to Phil’s podcast - Vertical Play Pen

Other helpful links:

Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.
Tune in over here!

(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).

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