AdventureEDU Guide Training Held Successfully

Over eighty applicants, 22 pre-selected guides including 3 women attending the AdventureEDU Guide training held June 13 – 20, 2016. The training was conducted to improve the skills and learn new perspective about leading themselves as leaders in the adventure travel guiding industry. This training was organised by the collaborative effort of Adventure Travel Trade Association(ATTA) , Wilderness Medical Associates International and Samarth-Nepal Maret Development Program(funded by UK Aid) through its Great Himalaya Trails program.

The training was conducted by 3 AdventureEDU educators for 5 days. Jean-Claude Razel and Dan Moore led the instruction of course materials along while Gordon Janow facilitated the overall training. The final three days of the training focused on Wilderness First Aid led by Susan Purvis and Peggy Miller of Wilderness Medical Associates International.

The 8-day course started at the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) facility in Kathmandu with two days of classroom lessons. Course content expanded upon the recently released International Adventure Travel Guide Qualification and Performance Standard. “The training was great,” one participant commented, “The instructors were very knowledgeable with what they were teaching and training materials were sufficient. The course was also very relevant and very applicable to what I do in Nepal as a guide.

Working through group exercises on day 2. Photo by: Jean-Claude Razel

Participants were also taken to Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park in the Kathmandu Valley for 2 days of immersive field sessions. The sessions were mostly about applying and refining skills taught in the classroom. This included how to model and convey Leave No Trace Principles in a group setting, applying natural and cultural history interpretation techniques and refining general technical skills. The main motive of the session was to provide  a dynamic environment for the participants to implement the knowledge in realistic scenarios. Everyone returned to the TAAN facility on day five to review lessons learned and complete a final exam. Three days of Wilderness First Aid training program was also provided by Wilderness Medical Associates International. Course curriculum centered around altitude sickness and treatment plans, musculo-skeletal injuries and wound management, basic life support skills, and long-term patient care in a wilderness setting. Topics were taught both in classroom and outdoors with realistic scenarios.Participants received ATTA Certificate of Completion and digital badge as well as Wilderness First Aid Certification valid for 3 years at the end of the course.

Courtesy:http://www.adventuretravelnews.com/adventureedu-leverages-nepal-guides-with-8-day-guide-training