Celebrating our 20th Annniversary!

By Brian Lisson

This month Adventureworks! Associates, Inc. celebrates its’ 20th anniversary.  Anniversaries serve as a time to reflect and reminisce.  The past several weeks we have been reminiscing about the fun stories, incredible people, and exciting places we have experienced as a company over twenty years – not to mention my wardrobe in 1993.  We have also been thinking a lot about the changes to the ropes course and adventure programming industry in that time. 

I want to share with you some of the history of Adventureworks! with you and as a good experiential educator I will do that by answering the questions What? So What? and Now What?  Here are some reflections from 20 years of Adventureworks! Associates, Inc.

What?

Over the past several months many people have asked me how Adventureworks! started.  Here is the basic story.  In 1988 I was part of a group of staff at Canterbury Hills who had an idea to expand the use of the ropes course to groups in the shoulder seasons.  We were pioneers.  In 1988 when we launched the Adventure Learning Centre at Canterbury Hills we were one of the only programs of its kind in Canada.  This grew into a very popular program for schools, youth groups, and other community organizations in the local area.

In 1993 Canterbury Hills reorganized its operations moving away from being a programming centre to a host facility.  This meant that the Adventure Learning Centre would be closed.  At that time we entered into a new relationship with Canterbury Hills, taking over the operation of the Adventure Learning Centre and management of their ropes course.  One day in early September 1993 I completed my final day of work as an employee of Canterbury Hills and returned the next day as Adventureworks! with our first client group- St. Mildred’s Lightbourn School who continues to be a regular client.

In the first few years we focused on providing leadership and team building programs using the ropes course.  In 1994 we entered into the relationship with Crieff Hills and built a ropes course there.  Shortly after that we added outdoor rock climbing to our program services.

In those early days adventure programming was new. We were constantly explaining what we did, how we did it, and how safe it was!  While there were resources south of the border, there were very few in Canada (and no internet to help find them).  We made it a key part of our mission to not only design and deliver great adventure programs, but to become a key resource and centre for other people who were developing their own adventure based programs.

To support this mission we added ropes course instructor training, challenge course installations and inspections to our services.  Additionally, as clients continued to ask where we found these great activities and resources we began to carry a small line of books and other retail products. 

Over the years we have offered a number of other services to support growth and excellence in adventure programming.  These include our popular Authors Series and Annual Symposium, which transformed last year into our LEAP Conference.  Through these events we have been fortunate to host such industry leaders as Karl Rohnke, Jim Cain, Jennifer Stanchfield, Preston Cline, Sam Sikes, Chris Cavert, and Michelle Cummings.

We have also been active in trying to make a greater contribution to the field.  Members of our staff have been active in professional organizations such as the ACCT, COEO, AEE, and many provincial camping associations.  We have presented at conferences too numerous to count, sat on committees in various associations, and served on the board of directors of COEO and the ACCT. Our staff have contributed articles to journals and newsletters, and Kathy Haras even served as the Managing Editor of Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education.  We have also been active in the development of standards.  We have contributed to the current ACCT Standards, OCA and BCCA Accreditation Guidelines, and the OPHEA Safety Guidelines. 

So What?

Those early days were the beginning of what has continued to be a centre of creativity and excellence in adventure programming and experiential education.  Our roots as a programming operation and the tens of thousands of participants we have spotted, belayed, and facilitated have formed the foundation for all of our other services.  Our training curriculum is informed by the practices that have worked effectively with our groups for years.  New installations products are often field tested at our home site and designed based on our extensive experience delivering programs.  We only carry retail products that our own facilitators like to use.

Twenty years has taught us that the ropes course is a great tool for achieving intentional goals when it is used by a skilled facilitator.  The design of the program, the design of the course, and the relationship that the facilitator builds with participants are the keys to an effective adventure program.  Programming goals can be achieved when challenge and mastery are balanced to create opportunities for active engagement by participants.  Twenty years have also taught us that an adventure program balances intentionality with fun and spontaneity.

Now What?

Society and our industry have changed a great deal in 20 years. In the early days these activities were on the fringe and so were we. Everything was new and exciting. There were no industry standards to guide safety- we relied on the good judgment of our staff and common peer practices.  This left lots of room for creativity and innovation.

The increased popularity of rock climbing, climbing gyms, rock walls, zip lines and adventure parks in recent years has shifted adventure activities into the mainstream.  Being mainstream brings with it the benefits of improved standards, technology, and increased exposure.  It also brings with it increased regulation, costs, and the risk that the impact of these activities becomes diluted.

As these changes impact our industry, and our society becomes more risk averse we are challenged to continue to provide meaningful and relevant experiential education activities that utilize adventure while effectively managing risk.  As we did in the early days we must continue to make our case that adventure programming is effective, that the risks are necessary for achieving the learning outcomes, and that the risks we present to students are well managed.  Adventure has never been so safe!

As I look back on the past twenty years I am astonished at how fast the time has passed. In that time we have provided adventure programs to tens of thousands of participants, provided training to thousands of facilitators, built countless ropes course elements, and have traveled the country from coast to coast.  I am grateful to the hundreds of Adventureworks! staff who have made such a tremendous contribution to our organization, our participants and the wider field.  Finally, twenty years of Adventureworks! would not have been possible without the shared vision, work, and of my wife Tracy and our children Andrew and Meaghan.

As I look forward to the next twenty years we will continue to be driven by the very same purpose and values that were the basis for the original formation of Adventureworks! and the preceding Adventure Learning Centre:  creating unique learning experiences that lead to positive change and growth in individuals, groups, and organizations.  I look forward to helping thousands more participants achieve these goals in the coming years!