20 December 2024
At Rootd, we understand that educators often find themselves torn between bushcraft experiences and more traditional multi-activity outdoor trips.
It’s estimated that just 21% of School pupils in the UK have the opportunity to go on a residential trip each year, making the choice of your next trip important. Both Bushcraft and Outdoor Adventure trips offer unique benefits, but the best fit can vary depending on factors like the age of the students, time of year, and prior experiences. Our guide is here to help you navigate these options, ensuring you select the best adventure for your students. We’ll help you find an enriching, age-appropriate experience that leaves a lasting impact long after the trip is over.
What does a Bushcraft trip include?
A bushcraft trip with Rootd is about more than just outdoor survival—it’s about thriving and forming a deeper connection with nature. The focus is on making the outdoors accessible and engaging, as children learn essential skills, “opening their eyes to their local green spaces; it’s not all deserted islands, but rather skills to enjoy and appreciate our local natural world,” explains Sophie, Rootd’s environmental educator.
Children are taught fire-making, shelter-building with natural resources, foraging, and the practical uses of plants, along with outdoor cooking methods. They develop patience, resilience, and creativity through these hands-on activities. Rootd also incorporates unique elements like camouflage techniques, knife skills and tool creation, recognising animal tracks, and navigating by natural signs like the stars or sun. These skills help build “independence and confidence from adults trusting them to partake in what could be viewed as dangerous activities,” shares Sophie. While practical, the experience is equally about self-discovery and joyful exploration.
What is a Multi-Activity school trip?
A multi-activity trip with Rootd is designed to be a dynamic, structured experience that encourages problem-solving, resilience, communication and teamwork. These trips feature high-energy activities such as rock climbing, archery, underground tunnels, crate-stacking, and high ropes courses, each aimed at developing physical coordination and resilience. These challenges foster teamwork and trust, allowing students to bond in a fun, interactive environment.
Not only do these experiences build confidence and social skills, but they also leave students with a sense of accomplishment in a safe, controlled setting. As Sophie, one of Rootd’s environmental educators, explains, “it inspires children to pursue challenges like the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and encourages them to embrace time outdoors.”
Key differences between a Rootd Bushcraft and Multi-Activity school trip
Rootd’s bushcraft and outdoor adventure activities trips each offer unique experiences designed to challenge students in different ways. Bushcraft trips focus on self-sufficiency and wilderness skills, where students immerse themselves in secluded, natural environments. These trips emphasise resilience, creativity, and adapting to the outdoors, with a slower pace that encourages patience and endurance. As Shane, Rootd’s expert bushcraft instructor, notes, “Bushcraft is also fantastic for teamwork as it focuses on how people’s individual strengths must come together to achieve the common goal of survival.”
In contrast, Rootd’s multi-activity trips focus on problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and resilience, all while fostering teamwork and confidence-building. Set in controlled, purpose-built environments, activities like rock climbing and exploring underground tunnels help students develop physical coordination and strengthen their ability to work together through exciting adventures and engaging challenges. Both types of trips promote growth but through distinct approaches.
Rootd Adventure Managing Director, Joe explained, “a benefit of both trips is that all Rootd adventures focus on personal development, it is not just about the practical skills that they will learn, whether it is how to light a fire on a bushcraft trip, or shoot an arrow on an outdoor adventure trip. These skills are accomplishments, however, it is not always clear how they can positively impact their learning or personal environments. At Rootd, we use all our activities as an opportunity to facilitate development, focusing on improving core skills in communication, emotional intelligence, information processing, problem-solving and confidence. We want every child to leave feeling more prepared for both the classroom and the world around them.”
Choosing a trip which best fits your students?
At Rootd, we understand that selecting the right trip depends on your students’ needs and previous experiences. For older children, particularly those in KS3 who may have already tried activities like archery or high ropes, bushcraft provides an exciting new challenge focused on teaching resilience, self-sufficiency, and a connection to nature.
If your aim is to build confidence and teamwork, our outdoor adventure activities are ideal. They help students strengthen friendships and boost self-esteem in an action-packed, supportive environment.
For a balanced adventure, consider a hybrid trip that combines both bushcraft and outdoor activities which we can tailor to suit the year group and the mix of personalities. This approach creates a rich, well-rounded experience for all.
Making the choice
At Rootd, we believe both bushcraft and outdoor adventure activities offer unique learning opportunities that can shape your students in different ways. When choosing the right trip, consider factors like student maturity, the goals you want to achieve, and the outcomes you envision. Whether you want to focus on self-sufficiency and resilience or build confidence and teamwork, both options deliver valuable experiences. If you’re looking for a balanced adventure, a hybrid trip might be the perfect choice. Explore both options or request a free consultation to start planning the ideal trip for your students.