This is a terrific book and I recommend it, straightaway. There has always been a tendency for the informal educators to be safeguarding something precious about education. Similar to those in times past in early years provision, these groups of educators have been able to explore educational work without the distractions of formal schooling and the bureaucracy that comes with over regulation. Of course, those involved in school teaching may look longingly, or with disparagement, at colleagues who work beyond the conventions of the classroom, and, in many respects, the chief function of this alternative educational perspective is to agitate and provoke questions about what we mean by education.

Jeffs and Ord have done a really good job in editing the eleven chapters by a team of 10 writers, all based in the UK drawn from fields of youth work, academia, adventure and outdoor education and ecology. The themes covered include general critique on experiential education and specific contributions on aspects of outdoor work, for example, mountains, residential experiences, water-based environments and sustainability. There are a couple of chapters which I found, especially powerful, Jean Spence’s work on the living landscape and the significance of place, and Jeff Ord and Liz Mallabon on the importance of wilderness. These in particular highlight the distinctive impact of space and place on the educational encounter, a consideration rarely explored in the context of schooling.

There are recurring motifs across the chapters. Not surprisingly, Rosseau, John Dewey, David Kolb, Mark Smith and many others keep popping up as references to the long-standing literature base for this type of education. This also includes due regard for the early history of experiential education, including the work of early years education, through for example, Marie Montessori, as well as the Woodcraft Folk movement and the Scout and Guide Associations.

The historical perspective matters in this book because in some respects outdoor education has what some regard as dubious political tendencies. The early educational movements in the field have been seen as some critics as an extension of the colonialisation inherent in the wider European imperialist culture of the nineteenth century. Not only did experiential education have some roots in militarism, there was an underlying triumphalism in conquering nature. Clearly, much of these initial tendencies have fallen aside and for a good part of the last century, outdoor education moderated its ambitions in the form of ‘outdoor pursuits’ and adventure education. Contributing authors cover this angle and identify some of the limitations during this time; such activities invariably appealed to white, middle-class and predominantly male demographic. I enjoyed the way in which Jeffs and Ord have incorporated a developmental arc in the volume and bring the reader into the complexity of contemporary experiential education.

There has been a growth in using the outdoors for personal growth and in this respect has a particular relevance to this Journal’s readership. Counselling, pastoral care and psychotherapy can all be situated in the natural environment and readers may already be incorporating this in their work with children and young people. Contributions cover themes such as residential group work and personal growth, and a question is raised as to whether the natural environment remains only a backdrop to the intervention, or has a distinct agency of its own. It is this thread which I sense is the new frontier for the outdoor educator and leads into the concept of pedagogy of place. I suspect it is already clear, I found the book provocative, informative and, ultimately restorative in the sense that it reminds me again of the educational richness that comes in from the outdoors. I must get out more.